Travel in Germany- My Experiences in Bavaria, the Eifel, and Berlin

I was stationed in Germany for three years, from 1994 to 1997, as an Air Force Captain stationed at Spangdahlem Air Base. Spangdahlem is located in the Eifel region of Germany, near Belgium and Luxembourg, and not too far from Holland and France. In the military we say, “embrace the local culture.” In that spirit, I traveled as much as I could, though there’s never enough time or money to get your fill! My then-spouse was a fluent German speaker, which obviously helped a lot.

My favorite travel destination in Germany was Bavaria. I was able to travel this area three or four times while living in Germany, and twice while on temporary duty for continuing education when I was stationed in Turkey.

Being only an hour or so from Trier, Germany I was able to travel there and to surrounding towns many times. I took in quite a few wine festivals in that area.

I made one trip to Berlin and was able to visit several of the museums.

I’m taking this opportunity to do my “capstone” hub of my travel in Germany. I’ll probably add and refine over time as I remember more details. I have tons of pictures, but they are “old fashioned” 35mm photos and have to be scanned. This can be slow, and some of the photos may not be the quality I would like, so I’ll recruit my brother to help me clean them up and add in others over time. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

The Romantische Strasse

I really loved traveling to Bavaria.  From our house in the Eifel region, we took A6 Autobahn, a stretch referred to as the Romantische Strasse.  We stayed a couple times at a small gasthaus in Feuchtwagen, with beautifully decorated rooms, and a great restaurant where we had seasonal pfifferlinge (mushroom) specialties.  We visited several of the walled cities along the Romantic Road, the most famous of which was Rothenburg ob der Tauber.  We stayed at a gasthaus inside the walls, and took a horse carriage ride.  The driver had to catch the poop in a bucket, or be charged a steep fine! 

Munich

Munich is a highlight of Bavaria.  We stayed several times in a 100 year old house within walking distance of the Hofbrauhaus, one of the most famous beer halls in the world.  The first Hofbrauhaus beer dates back to 1592.  The beer is served in one liter glass mugs, which are incredibly heavy.  There are several floors in the Hofbrauhaus, but we always hung out on the main level with the band, who always played Who the F#&$ Is Alice.  They have a full menu restaurant on the first floor.  Their website has full menus available in German and English. 

When the weather is nice, I recommend relaxing in the Marienplatz in front of the Glockenspeil, which is like a giant coo-coo clock.  Wait for the top of the hour and watch the figures spin and rotate. 

Dachau

About an hour or so from Munich is Dachau Concentration Camp.  The main building has movies and exhibits.  You can visit mock-ups and reconstructions of barracks with bunks and latrines.  You can also see the crematorium.  On the grounds are block outlines of the many barracks or bunk houses.  There are also multiple religious memorials and flowers.  If you don’t care to see the concentration camp, I highly recommend you visit the beautiful gardens of nearby Dachau Palace. 

Berchtesgaden and Obersalzburg

Head on down toward the Austrian border to Berchtesgaden and Obersalzburg and visit Kehlsteinhaus, Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest.  You park and buy your tickets for one of the buses to take you to the base of the mountain where the elevator will take you to the top.  There you can wander around and enjoy a spectacular 360 degree view.  The house up top was built as a fortress and retreat for Hitler, but reportedly he did not use it much.  It is snowed in and closed most of the year, but I have been fortunate enough to visit three times.  It now houses a restaurant, which is quite good.  Their website has an abbreviated menu. 

Nearby is Hitler’s bunker, underground under the Hotel Zum Türken.  If I recall, you have to be able to descend a spiral staircase.  They don’t allow pictures, but sell books and fold out cards.  It’s a concrete maze with thick walls and square cut-outs for guns.  Rumors say there was a secret passage to Hitler and Eva Braun’s home.  There are also ruins of German barracks near the old hotel that was at one time a U.S. Armed Forces Recreational Center resort. 

King Ludwig II’s Castles

The most beloved destinations in Bavaria are no doubt the castles of King Ludwig II.  The most well known castle is Neuschwanstein Castle, often called “the Disney Castle”.  This magnificent castle is within view of Hohenschwangau, Ludwig’s parents’ castle, where the family spent summers.  Neuschwanstein was started in 1869, but never finished.  Ludwig stayed only 170 days here. 

Herrenchiemsee is on an island in Chiemsee, on the site of a former monastery.  Herrenchiemsee reflects Ludwig’s admiration of Louis XIV, and is his Versailles.  Ludwig stayed here only a few days in September of 1885.  He died mysteriously in June of 1886. 

Linderhof was completed in 1878, and was Ludwig’s primary residence.  The overall scale of the castle is small compared to Ludwig’s unfinished masterpieces.  Linderhof is not short on opulence however, with gilded walls and elaborate furnishings and fixtures everywhere.  The interior is actually quite busy!  There are beautiful gardens, a grotto, a Moorish palace, and a hunting hut on the property. 

Eifel Festivals

I went to a fair number of wine festivals and similar events within an hour or two of where we lived. These festivals typically have the German version of State or County Fair food. They often have live music entertainment and carnival rides. German beer is always available, and of course the wine festivals have plentiful wine.

I never missed the Bernkastel Kues Wine Festival, and went all three years that I was in Germany. This is a huge annual event, and very well organized. As you come into town, you are automatically directed to the next available parking. There are food stands and wine booths everywhere. You can buy tastes, glasses, or bottles of wine. There is a huge fireworks display at the end of the night.

Another of my favorite wine festivals, “the Roman Road” wine festival, was in Schweich, near Trier, Germany. I went to this one twice. It was a much smaller version of Bernkastel, which made it a more relaxed, laid back experience.

Rhine in Flames is an annual event with plenty of food and wine, and a huge fireworks display. It is a mockup of a big battle between rival castles. I only did this once. This was several hours from where we lived. We took a tour from the base, which included a dinner cruise.

The village of Wittlich, near Spangdahlem, holds an annual Pig Fest for a week each year. This is another huge event. I only did this one once. It was obviously a popular event, and was incredibly crowded. Pig Fest is similar to other festivals, but of course the big difference here was that roasted pig was the food highlight, with whole pigs on spits everywhere.

Trier

Trier is said to be the oldest city in Germany dating to about 16 BC. Trier is near Luxembourg, and in the Mosel River wine-growing region. The city’s most recognizable landmark is the Porta Nigra, a huge gray sandstone Roman gate that dates to around 200 AD. When visiting Trier, you can also tour the ruins of the Roman Baths and coliseum.

Trier is rich with beautiful and historic churches, including the Gothic Trier Cathedral. You can also view the pink Palace of Trier.

I worked as a school therapist in Germany, so we had to take vacations in the summer and on Spring Break.  One year we went to Berlin for Spring Break, and it was bitter cold!  We got a sleeper compartment in the overnight train and stayed in a “Bed and Breakfast” which was actually in a high rise apartment building.  This older couple rented out their spare rooms. 

Our first day in Berlin, we took the bus that looped the city, including the eastern sector, to get an idea of the layout, and start planning how we wanted to spend our time.  We then took the bus or the S-bahn (light rail train) everywhere we wanted to go.  We were able to see the couple remaining sections of the Berlin Wall from the train. 

Museum District

High on our list of things to do was to visit some of the museums in the Museum District.  When we were in Turkey, one of the tours we took from Izmir included the site where the Temple of Zeus used to be.  The guide said if you want to see the reconstructed ruins, you’ll have to go to the museum in Berlin!  While in Egypt, we encountered a similar experience.  Flabbergasting!  So we went to the dang museum in Berlin! 

The museum with the artifacts from Turkey and Egypt was very tourist friendly.  They had devices to give you an audio guide through the museum in your language of choice. 

There was another museum that had a lot of history and artifacts from World War II, including exhibits relating to the brutality to the Jews.  There were posters with dozens of pictures, instructing Germans how to recognize facial features that would indicate a person was Jewish.  This museum was German language only.  My spouse was exhausted from translating. 

There are no cars allowed in the Museum District, which would have been fine, except for the aforementioned bitter cold!  The buildings seem really far apart when it’s cold. 

Brandenburg Gate and Check Point Charlie

The Brandenburg Gate is pretty impressive and definitely worthy of a few photos.  Checkpoint Charlie on the other hand, could be easy to miss.  There’s a wire fence and a relatively small sign that says “You are leaving the American Sector” in multiple languages. 

Sachsenhausen Camp

The town of Sachsenhausen is at the end of the line at Oranienburg, on the northbound train.  Sachsenhausen is home to a concentration camp that, at least in the mid- to late 1990s was a well kept secret.  I had about five tour books of Germany and found it in only one.  When we got there, the bus driver claimed ignorance of any such place.  When we got to the camp, there was no literature in English.  We got the idea that similar to the museum above, they did not encourage non-German tourists. 

The camp was smaller and less restored than Dachau, but likely in part due to the cold, there were very few people there, which was good.  I think if you decide to visit a concentration camp, the more private the experience the better.  There are bound to be a lot of emotions to juggle for most of us, don’t you think? 

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