Welcome to another post of helping a reader travel!
This weekly post is to help readers get a ton of travel advice from thousand of Deals We Like blog readers. Thus far, we’ve been able to help other readers travel to a slew of domestic and international destinations. Check out recent destinations and comment on suggestions here.
Last week a reader wrote in asking for Germany. I was able to cover Germany as a whole, but wanted to hit on many of the major tourist cities within the country as well. This will include: Munich, Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, and any others that are requested.
This week is going to be dedicated on Munich. Here are some things I am sure readers will want suggestions on:
- Where to stay
- How many days to stay
- Sites to see
- Recommended restaurants
- Anything else you might think is valuable!
If you’ve ever been to Germany, specifically Berlin, let’s help out reader Dianna and I am sure many other interested readers!
Also, if you have any upcoming travel where you need some help, feel free to email me at dealswelike@gmail.com to be a featured “Help a Reader Travel” Monday special. Thanks!
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For Munich:
Hotel: Hotel Adria am Englischen Garten, fyi Munich as a whole is relatively expensive to stay
Restaurants: Hofbrauhaus- nice place to meet people/ communal table environment. The food here is about as traditional German as you’ll get- it’s hard to find in Berlin.
Places to visit: Residenz Palace Museum, I also highly recommend going up St. Peter’s Chuch tower- you have a view of the entire city from there. On a sad note, if you want to see a concentration camp while visiting Germany, Dachau is easy to get to by bus and is minutes from central Munich.
Days to stay- 2 (not including jet lag time), 3 if going to the castles. A car is not needed, the train system here is amazing.
For Berlin- The city is amazing. I recommend going on a bike tour there- Fat Tire Bike Tours was amazing, and is led by graduate students who have degrees in history. I would also recommend going on an alternative city tour. The city has graffiti from professional artists and amateurs, but is an interesting scene. One ‘have to visit’ site is the East Side Art Gallery, which is on one stretch of the remaining Berlin Wall. The food scene is more international here. If the menu is in English though, avoid it, it’s a total tourist trap. When you get to the airport, get a map of the S and U bahn, Berlin’s network of trains can be confusing otherwise. Berlin can be hard to fly back to the US from as it has 2 main airports, but not a whole bunch of direct flights to the US without a major stopover or two. Explore, new things are found in random places that you will not necessarily find on yelp or other sites that are amazing. I recommend going to a different neighborhood for each meal, the city is that diverse. One last bit- going out to Potsdam is a bit overrated, I would stay more in the central city. Also Potsdam is in region C, which means you need a whole different ticket for all public transport there relative to the rest of the city.
Berlin is home to some of the great museums of the world, even if you are not typically into such things. Seeing the bust of Nephretiti is an absolute must. To have captured such timeless beauty is mind boggling and the setting is beautiful, as well. It is housed in the Neues Museum and pictures absolutely do not do it justice. We visited the Pergamum museum and had to return the next day to spend more time, an archeological treasure trove! The museum pass allowed us to explore at our leisure.
Regarding Hotel in Berlin: if you are looking for a simple, cheap and well located hotel, I may suggest the Lebensquelle. It’s near the Checkpoint Charlie and the Subway. I spent a week with my wife there last year.
The Pergamon musueum is one of the absolutely unique ones in the world for ancient world archaeology. Instead of fragments of stone and statue, you get to see completely recreated altars, market gates, and the East entrance to Babylon! This is a must-see is Berlin.
The Holiday Inn Berlin – Alexanderplatz is a good use of IHG points – it was 10k the couple of times that I have stayed there. Easy to get to by bus from the airport and in a good location. Close to the wall area and also has a Hofbrau beer area very close. I also would recommend visiting the Turkish area one or two train stops away.