Union44

I'm 18 and don't have much travel experience. I know a little German already and have a good bit of confidence I can do it. I want to visit 2 cities in Germany. What 2 cities should I look into visiting?

Also, what are some good travel tips for being over in Europe/Germany?

easytraveler

Berlin and Munich

However, to answer you properly we will a bit more information:

How much time do you have in Germany? One week, two weeks, a month? What is your budget? What are your interests, in other words, what do you want to see and do? Do you want to party or go to museums? What time of year are you going?

Union44

Going in March for 6 nights. Want to see some historical architecture, cool shopping areas, museums. I'm willing to spend about 1k for food, shopping, and other activities.

PRLCH

Berlin! Heaps to do, good shopping, great museums ... a place young and old seem to really enjoy. You could easily spend all 6 days there. I expect March will be REALLY cold on Berlin, so be prepared.

LSky

Go to Berlin! 6 days isn't that long of a time and Berlin will keep you busy.


Why two cities?

Union44

I wanted to see Munich

Mainhattengirl

If you wanted to see Munich, then why are you asking people on a forum where you should go? Go visit Munich. Do some side trips from there if you like.

6 days is not a lot of time to be honest. Where are you flying in from?

Union44

I'm flying from Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Union44

Should I just do 1 city if I'm only there for 6 nights then?

Pegontheroad

I think I'd stick to just one city. That way you wouldn't spend half a day or more flying from one city to the other.

Personally I like Munich better than Berlin. Munich has great architecture, great museums, good food, lots to see. You can also go to other places nearby, such as Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau, Oberammergau, Linderhof, and Garmisch, and see wonderful Alpine scenery.

You might get a guidebook to help you decide what you want to see. If you don't want to buy one, you can get one at the library. Personally, I find that reading the guidebook and planning what I want to see is an enjoyable part of my trip.

Pegontheroad

Oh, I forgot to say that English is very commonly spoken in Germany, especially among younger people.

I've traveled a lot, and much of it has been solo, but it's probably different for me because I'm much older than you are.

Germany is generally a very safe country, by the way.

easytraveler

Thanks for giving us a few details.

Lots of young people travel about Europe, you wouldn't be the first nor last, so, of course, you can do it.

Germany is especially a good place to start, since it is safe and easy to get around.

Here are my suggestions:

Look at wombat hostels in both Munich and Berlin. You don't need to stay anywhere else. Prices range from about 12-40 euros a night in dormitory style rooms. These are excellent and inexpensive hostels - very clean, very safe, with locked lockers for your luggage, and with lots of young people with whom you can interact. The price is excellent and it includes an ample breakfast. There is also a free tour of the city which starts from the hostel, so that it will give you a good overview of the city. A nice safety feature is their sound-proof bar at night, you can do all the drinking you want without having to negotiate trying to get back to the hostel. Although I have never seen a single person in my room not being able to get up early in the morning either to continue their travels or to go sightseeing, so the drinking can't be that heavy.

http://www.wombats-hostels.com/

The one in Munich is right by the main train station (the main train station is called the "hauptbahnhof" if you didn't know this already). The one in Berlin is a bit further away, but right by a metro station, so very easy to get to.


You can either get a book from the library or just stay online and read about your destinations. The Wombat site, for example, has links to all kinds of hints and travel destinations:

http://www.wombats-hostels.com/vienn...s/hostellinks/

As you read more, you will naturally have more questions. Do come back to Fodors. This is a very friendly site and Fodorites in general love to help with anything that deals with travel.

You'll never regret making this decision to travel, especially at your age! Happy planning!

Union44

Thanks for the input easytraveler. The hostel in Munich next to the train station would be very nice.

Southam

I just returned from a week in Berlin and could have used twice as much time to even scratch below the surface. Munich is certainly both scenic and historic, well worth a visit. But the heartbeat of new life beats in Berlin, rushing headlong towards the new. For the young, Berlin is a turmoil of visual and musical daring, the focus of Western Europe's politics and the pivot for German self-examintion of its 20th Century cataclysms. And friendly to the traveller's budget, too.

LSky

If you want to see Munich then by all means go to Munich and the surrounding areas. It's beautiful country.

pauljagman

As others have suggested, stay in Munich and do some day trips. I am assuming you are not going alone. If you are going alone, my first bit of advice is find someone to go with you.

easytraveler

One of the things to do now is to go onto google maps and bring up the Munich map. Get familiarized with the general layout of the center of Munich, which is where you will be spending most of your time. It's not a very large area. Start by finding the Marienplatz and work outward in a circle from there.

Alos critical for a successful trip to Munich is to get familiar with their excellent local transportation network. This consists of the U-bahn (blue signs) that go underground, the S-bahn (green signs) that goes above ground and longer distances, the bus and tram systems. The local transportation network is fast, easy, and will take you almost everywhere that you need to go.

For six days, I would suggest looking into the weekly pass (Is it still Monday-to-Monday?) for local transportation, or the three day pass or even the CityTourCard.

http://www.mvv-muenchen.de/static_la...ome/index.html

Union44

One other question. How much money should I bring for food, transportation, shopping, and other activities for a week?

suewoo

That really depends on what you want to do. I'm in Germany now, and have been here before. You'll find food and shopping more expensive than at home, so don't let it surprise you.


As much as I enjoyed Munich, I loved Berlin. Then again, I was there when they blowtorched the Berlin Wall and hauled it away. Before you were born. I felt like I was part of something big.

Good for you for doing this. Where ever you go, you'll never regret it.

LSky

As far as money, you have to decide how you typically eat and sightsee.

My husband and I are not foodies. We like good food but aren't into going to expensive restuarants. Are you happy with a brat and a beer one night and a doner the next?

Sightseeing. This is where we spend whatever the situation calls for. After all this is why we travel. You may want to plan a day going to Neuschawnstein (the famous castle) so figure on transportation to get there and admission etc.

You may want to take a day trip to Salzburg.

You're best bet is to haul out some guide books or do a search here on Fodor's for Munich. Read some trip reports etc.

Don't forget to calculate the Dollar vs the Euro, this is easy to do at xe.com

the more info you give us the more we can help. You can pretty safely assume that your trip (minus air) will be about $200 a day. Less if you are careful, more if you're not.

What's your budget?