First Stop, Germany

The morning of the trip we rented a car from Redding, CA where we were leaving from. We got the rental car and drove to Oakland airport where we boarded our plane heading to Germany. We chose to fly from Oakland and make our first stop in Germany because it was a great one way price and we had places in Germany we were excited to explore. The flight fed us a meal and entertained us with movies and for me, the back of my eyelids. I made sure to sleep on this flight since it was so long and overnight with one quick layover in Oslo, Norway, which was beautiful from the windows. I could see myself going back there to explore. After that stop it was just an hour flight to our destination. Since we had a mid day flight we didn’t lose anytime because when we arrived it was mid morning and we had the entire day to explore!

We arrived in Berlin, it was warm and after sitting on a plane for that long it took us a minute to think about how we were going to get to our destination. We quickly pulled out our phones and requested an uber to our hostel that we had previously booked. The driver was quite aggressive, but I think this may be how they drive there because it never got any better. The city was clean and had lots of construction. A lot of people out on bikes and runs and walking. I had read that in Berlin there are good biergartens near the river. With that I knew we wanted to be somewhere easy to walk around and access the town so I found a hostel called St. Christopher’s Inns which seemed to have a convenient location and we were able to get our own room with a double bed which we shared. We liked having our own room so we could lay our stuff out and not worry about others waking us up since we were staying at a hostel. Check in was easy and they shared a map of the town with us. After getting into our room we settled in and freshened up.

Once we got changed we sat down to take a look at some fun options to explore for the day. Since we had been sitting all day we decided to take a walk and get familiar with the town. In my research I read that there are 12 districts in Berlin and the most popular being the Mitte district which is where we were staying. From here we walked towards the Tiergarten which is a beautiful landscape and well maintained walking trail system right near downtown. On our way we stopped into a restaurant and ordered lunch, this is where I tried the famous German currywurst and of course an iced coffee. This was a very interesting thing, the iced coffees in Europe are not like ours here. Each country made them a little different, you never quite knew what to expect. This one they added a scoop of ice cream with whipped cream on top! It was definitely delicious.

I can’t say that the German cuisine was my favorite but I gave it a try. There were a few dishes that I ordered here that had a lot of different types of sausages but they all seemed a little bit too greasy for my stomach. I mean I am a meat and veggies type of girl but I think I am more used to lean meats. Apparently in Germany there is no such thing as a quick lunch, so afterwards we kept on our way to the Tiergarten. This was a huge difference from America where they are constantly trying to get the next customer in.

This was the first historical place I had read about, Praizer Platz. Honestly, I am not a huge history buff so I would say many other people have gone into great detail about it so I will just present the picture. But, here it is! Next, straight through this we walked for hours through beautiful pathways with statues and green coverage. Here we witnessed many people out walking, biking, and running. There were teams of people with team shirts on training together. The community seemed safe and active.

After strolling through the trails we made our way out onto the street where we found another tall statue that caught our eye.

We then noticed the clouds were rolling in and and the warm air was cooling down. At this point we decided it was almost time for dinner anyway so we found the river and followed it back to where we spotted some lively people and restaurants earlier. We saw a lot of bridges going back and forth over the river.

Also, big boats bringing huge amounts of people up and down the river. The lights all started coming on and the city was coming alive. We stopped a few times to get a couple pictures of the different bridges and buildings. Being from a smaller city I can’t say I have been to many cities where the walkways and trails throughout town connect so well and still give such character. Also, the buildings have such amazing architecture that has withstood many years! We barely made it off the walkway from the river up to the street when we were just about a mile from our hostel and a huge rain and thunder storm started. We tried to pick up our pace and then decided to slip into a bar due to such hard downpour.

This was a great place. I loved the energy, the people, and the beer. We snuck our way up to the bar and ordered a beer. This place was packed, elbow to elbow, people having conversation, laughing, watching sports. Since I wasn’t sure what was good I ordered the “local beer” the bartender had suggested. It was delicious, it was a kolsch. We had gotten up to the bar next to a group of guys who were on a running team together, they were eating a lard dish that was very popular in the restaurant and they kept a conversation with us the best they could with the language barrier. Apparently, unless you put your coaster on top of your glass they think that you just want it refilled over and over again. Well, about 3 or 4 beers later we learned this since he kept filling them up just before they got emptied. Also, they keep tabs of how many beers you have drank by placing a tally mark on your drink coaster. At the end you add up your marks and then they charge you that way. Well, after being here for well over an hour the nice men bought our beers and off we went since the storm had calmed down.

Back to the hostel we made it. Of course, we were not quite ready for bed with the time change and jet lag oh and of course the excitement of being in Europe. So we sat up at the bar in our hostel and got to know a couple others who were traveling as well. Next, you can guess…. Bed time! It was warm and they had no AC but we were tired enough it didn’t matter. The next morning we woke up and walked less than a half mile to a Crossfit gym. We are both active and had been attending Crossfit back home so we wanted to see some gyms in other countries and meet some other athletes! I had looked into Crossfit Grenzganger and they allowed drop-ins. On our way over there we stopped and grabbed coffee and bread from a cafe that we walked past. It was crazy how you could get all of it for under a euro. Just change!! I am talking fresh bread too! This was a huge shock to me. We ate our morning snack on our way to the gym, got there early and started warming up. I am not going to lie, I was nervous, this was a great gym and the attendees were fit. I mean 6 packs all over. There were two coaches per class due to the amount of members. What I appreciated most about this gym was how helpful and welcoming they were. Despite me just dropping in they still came over and gave me small tips to help with different movements. In my travel this doesn’t always happen so I appreciated it. It felt great to move and get my heart rate up after the travel and long flights. At the end of class we talked with some of the members and even follow them on instagram now.

After this we went back to our hostel, got ready and headed for breakfast before getting on the train and getting to our next destination. Someone had recommended a place called Refinery so we found it and walked there with our packs on our back and ordered breakfast and of course, some coffee to tied us over on the train.

We googled the “DB” train times and purchased a ticket and off we went! I have to admit, I rarely take public transportation in America. Maybe that is because of where I live but from my experience its rarely convenient to travel that way and easier to drive myself. This was the biggest difference from America. We took public transportation almost everywhere! Anyways, we got on the bus and took about a 6 hour train ride to Fussen. It was gorgeous, we travelled south through Germany and it had many stops along the way. Small rural towns, rolling hills, farms. I could have stopped in multiple towns and spent the day exploring.

Six hours later, we had slept and gotten ready on the train so when we arrived at Fussen we were ready to check-in to our hostel and start exploring.

This was the cutest town ever! Well that I had ever seen in real life with my own eyes! Cobblestone roads with the old style buildings just like all the Disney movies I used to watch growing up! Mountains in the background with castles on top of them. This was becoming a dream come true! Don’t get me wrong I like big cities and I like all they have to offer. However, these small towns full of personality, just far enough away to keep the quaint feeling there, that is what I am into. I couldn’t help but want to wander down every street, taking in all the colorful buildings, walking down every alley finding small doors that lead to another shop. This was that feeling you get that you can’t describe but you know you hit the experience jackpot.

The character of this town was exactly the experience I was looking for. Next stop, check into our hostel and get on too exploring. We checked into our hostel at Old Kings Hostel. This was the first time I had ever stayed in a hostel that was coed with bunk bends that slept 8 people! Let me tell you, I walked into that room and we grabbed the last two open bunks, I took top. This was an experience I would never want to relive. I laugh now and I am sure I laughed then because I had never met more awkward people in my life. Here we are in a beautiful town with so much to see and explore and there are multiple people sitting on their bunks reading or on their phones. Granted I do think that the hostels attract the younger people but I felt the vibe and decided I needed to change and get going! First order of business was to find a good restaurant. I needed some food.

We wandered down the roads some more and of course down some alleys just getting our bearings and taking it all in. We found multiple restaurants that looked delicious with people outside sitting and enjoying the evening. We decided on one that was recommended and looked amazing. The Restaurant was called Nostalgie Restaurant Madame Plusch. In the video below, it's the last restaurant there on the left with the yellow paint. We sat right out there on the patio. Here is where we really got a feel for the lengthy meals. However, this time, we were in no rush and I enjoyed the server because of his helpful tips for ordering food and wine, and his patience with us.

He helped us with everything from ordering a bottle of wine, to appetizers, to dinner selections, to after dinner coffee, to German donut dessert! I have to say this place was a 10/10. I had nothing to complain about. We sat there and watched people stroll by and had great conversation for hours!

Once this meal was complete we made our way back to our hostel to grab a jacket and head out for a night walk. I knew Austria was just miles away from this town being that we were right on the border. We walked over a bridge and explored our way towards Austria.

It was beautiful and the town was so quaint, I will never forget it. I had researched that there was a waterfall nearby on our way to Austria called Lech fall. It was beautiful and an easy find! Plus we found a statue in the wall on our way.

After the waterfall we continued up the street and found this restaurant and hotel with people out on the patio laughing and drinking and sharing great memories I’m sure!

Well about a mile later we saw the border for Austria and walked as close to it as we could but never did find a sign. But at least I can say I stepped foot in Austria! We made our way back to our hostel by street light. I don’t know what it was, maybe jet lag, maybe excitement but I could not sleep at all. I was warm, restless, and eager. I think I tossed and turned all night listening to a couple guys snoring. Finally at 6 am I was up. I brushed my teeth and threw on some clothes. I walked the entire town. You would be shocked to know but nothing in this town is opened this early!! I thought I would sit at a coffee shop and eat a freshly made roll and enjoy my morning since I wasn’t sleeping anyway. That is NOT how it went. I wandered for hours. Finally I could smell coffee, I followed that smell a few blocks until I saw a man walking away with a coffee. I knew I was heading in the right direction. I kept on the path and the smell kept getting stronger. I found a cafe that was open! It was called Bakeri Hotler. I went inside was able to order a coffee and croissant. I sat down and enjoyed it next to a couple of older men reading the paper. Soon enough I got a text from Kayli, she was up. After packing things up and getting ready we headed to Newerchenstein castle. We took a quick bus ride, it was just out of town a few miles and got dropped off. Where we got dropped off we then wandered up the hill following the crowds. We were supposed to be getting to Switzerland that night and so we spent some time and finally booked a chauffeur service to pick us up near our hostel and take us to our next location.

Ultimately we wanted to see the castles, I didn’t need an elaborate tour and be suffocated next to a bunch of people. This really did bring huge crowds, I was shocked. Well we walked all round and got in with all the other people! It was my first castle and it was great but to be honest not the thrill I thought I would get.

I didn’t realize this was there was also another castle close by so we checked it out from afar as well. It was called Hohenschwangan castle. The views these castles have up on the hillside with great natural barriers were amazing.

On our way back down from the castles since we walked we got in some great views over looking the towns.

And of course, we had to try the German donuts since its not every day you get freshly made ones!

This is the place we stopped which was on the way down the hill. It was a beautiful hotel with a lovely restaurant.

After all that we took the bus back to Fussen and packed our things and waited for our ride. Once he arrived we gave him the destination and off we went. We got to go through mountain ranges, rivers, lakes, and many amazing towns. This was a great way to have a little space after our overcrowded hostel night and breathe the fresh air and enjoy the ride. We could have taken the train to get here and it would have been way cheaper. However, the times just didn’t work out and it would have made us travel all day and put us in Switzerland the next day. So some things are worth the extra money.

This was just the beginning of the trip, check back for the next post taking us through Switzerland together!