Munich Germany

Munich Germany

Munich Germany

Munich Germany is the third largest city in the country and one of Europe’s most affluent cities. Located in south eastern Germany, in the state of Bavaria, the city boasts an urban population of over a million. Bustling both during the day and during the nightlife, a tourist in Munich will find no shortage of things to do and places to see.  

Much like her cousin Berlin to the north, Munich’s history has been highly varied. It has been home to Holy Roman Emperors and a revival of gothic arts. Later, it was occupied by a King of Sweden and suffered from the bubonic plague. Prior to World War I it was a popular home for artists and writers. The National Socialist’s power base was located in Munich Germany and the city even hosted the 1972 Olympics. The city has flourished in the good times and persevered through the bad.
Like most of Germany’s cities, Munich has a rich amount of history just waiting to be explored. Over a dozen museums dot the cityscape, including: art, sculpture, photography, and technical innovations, just to name a few. As a tourist in Munich, you’ll find many beautiful cathedrals such as the impressive Theatinerkirche. Munich Germany is also home to the Bavarian Opera House, a classic theater with a reputation for phenomenal performances.

Munich Germany

You’ll find plenty of options when it comes to the Munich Germany nightlife. All manner of bars and clubs are located throughout the city. Depending on where you go, you might see shelves with steins stored on them. They’re kept their by the locals who want to drink out of their own glass whenever they visit their favorite bar. A tourist in Munich with a fondness for live music won’t be disappointed in the cafes offering both local and international sounds. If you’re interested in the performing arts, you’ll find plenty there as well. There are a few jazz bars to be enjoyed and even a casino for those looking to do a little gambling.
Of course, no discussion of Munich is complete without mentioning Oktoberfest. Taking place each year starting in the middle of September and running through the beginning of October, this festival is full of singing, drinking, and dancing. Bands of all sorts play, including the famous oom-pah bands, and be on the lookout for those legendary Oktoberfest beer steins.
Whether you come for the historic sights, the fantastic Oktoberfest, or the Munich Germany nightlife, this city is full of pleasant surprises for any traveler.

Munich Germany

Munich Germany

Munich Germany

Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany

Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany

Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany

It is surely the most famous castle in the world — and, like its builder, one of the most misunderstood. Neuschwanstein (noy-shvahn-shtine) castle is a structure of contrast, irony, and mystery — and beauty. When it was built, the castle was not known as Neuschwanstein. Ludwig II wrote his friend Richard Wagner in May 1868: “I intend to rebuild the old castle ruins of Hohenschwangau by the Pöllat gorge (Pöllatschlucht) in the genuine style of the old German knightly fortresses...”

Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany

Just as his father had done before him, Ludwig wanted to build a splendid new castle upon the ruins of another. His new project was known as the “Neue Burg Hohenschwangau” (“New Castle Hohenschwangau”). Only later, when the castle was opened to the public on August 1, 1886, just weeks after Ludwig’s death, did the edifice come to be known as “Neuschwanstein” (“new swan stone”).

One of the biggest ironies of this castle is that a structure built to be a private refuge, “sacred and out of reach” (“heilig und unnahbar”), should now be host to thousands of tourists each day. Another irony: although it was built largely as a stage for Wagnerian productions (“a worthy temple for the divine friend [Wagner]”), the composer never set foot in Neuschwanstein. Nor was the castle’s throne room ever completed in time to contain a throne.

Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany

To execute his dream project, the king commissioned a stage designer as architect. The castle that Christian Jank designed for Ludwig inspires awe and surprise in visitors to this day. But in part because the Disneyesque image of Neuschwanstein has become such a cliché, it is easy to dismiss it as an ostentatious example of poor taste, an anachronistic piece of foolishness. Nevertheless, ever since it was opened to the public, Neuschwanstein has acted as a powerful magnet. The castle’s unique location combined with Ludwig’s “fantasy in stone” creates a special magic. But like any work of art, the more one knows about Neuschwanstein, the more one can appreciate it.

The engineering architect was Eduard Riedel (after 1874, Georg Dollmann; from 1886 to 1892 Julius Hofmann), and Neuschwanstein is an engineering marvel. The castle’s construction lasted 23 years, until long after Ludwig’s death. Although built in the Germanic late Romanesque style of the 13th century, the castle was equipped with the best technology available in the late 1860s. Quite unlike any real medieval castle, Neuschwanstein has a forced-air central heating system. Its rarely-used kitchen was of the most advanced design. The winter garden features a large sliding glass door.
Out of all of Ludwig’s amazing “fantasies in stone,” Neuschwanstein seems to be the most fantastic.
With some of the structure still not totally complete, Ludwig moved into Neuschwanstein’s finished rooms for the first time in 1884. The king spent eleven nights in his dream castle from 27 May to 8 June.
Contrary to popular legend, Ludwig’s building projects did not bankrupt the Bavarian treasury. Neuschwanstein, like Ludwig’s other castles, was financed entirely from the king’s own funds.

Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany

Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany

Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany

The Black Forest

The official sites of The Black Forest Tourism Board provide tips and information on more than 250 holiday destinations in Germany’s most beautiful region for prospective visitors, a region that has vineyards, river valleys, sunny peaks, wide panoramic views, calm forests, revitalising spas, exciting family destinations and a cuisine that is the most elaborate in Germany.
Here, even countryside restaurants have excellent chefs in their kitchen. Still looking for more? Just come to Germany’s sunny corner, where Germany, France and Switzerland meet and you’ll find everything you need to turn your holiday into a special experience.

The Black Forest

 The Black Forest

 The Black Forest

 The Black Forest

 The Black Forest

The Black Forest

Berlin Wall

Berlin Wall

Berlin Wall

Germany's past is incredibly rich, full of amazing events, achievements, and tragedies. As a result, it can be overwhelming deciding what to pursue. Well, without a doubt, one of the most interesting parts of German history involves the history of the Berlin Wall. It was a literally divisive construct, separating not only Germans but ideologies--with the forces of Communism on the east and those of Democracy on the west.
The history of the Berlin Wall originates from the end of World War II when Germany was split into four quarters to be overseen by the four world powers: the U.S., France, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union. Additionally divided into four was the city of Berlin—the formal capital of the Third Reich.
Throughout the late 1940s and 1950s, millions of East Germans migrated across the border into West Germany, and many of them did so by moving through West Berlin. Often times they were drawn by the economic opportunities created by the Marshall Plan. However, many of those living in West Berlin would travel to East Berlin where the prices were significantly lower. The loss of labor damaged East Berlin, and in turn the Soviet Union which subsidized the fledgling communist bloc because East Berlin was also responsible for repaying war damage done to Poland and the Soviet Union. For a time, the Soviet Union set up a blockade, refusing access by street or rail to West Berlin.
One of the interesting facts about the Berlin Wall was that it originally started as a length of barbed wire set up by the East Berlin government (with approval from Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev). It was located a short distance away from the border so as to not infringe on the West Berlin border so if one walked up to the fence—and later the wall—you would actually be standing in East Berlin. Soldiers were on hand during the construction with orders to shoot any who tried to cross. This prototype of the Berlin Wall split families and caused economic hardship to those East Berliners who worked in the West. However, the barrier was also built entirely around West Berlin as well. The Allies protested, but not strongly, only choosing to rotate brigades of American troops through West Berlin after construction of the Wall began in 1961.
The Berlin Wall was almost a hundred miles long and a second fence was built three hundred feet in. The area in between was swept away and became a no man's land and was often referred to as the "death strip." The Wall itself evolved over the years, starting as a simple wire fence, then seeing some improvements to the wire, before turning into a concrete wall, and finally a reinforced concrete wall with a smooth pipe running along the top to make it harder to scale. Additionally, border towers, bunkers, barbed wire, and other deterrents were set up. It is this fourth version of the Wall that is most recognizable.
The gates surrounding West Berlin were very strict. There were only twelve areas to cross at and all save two were reserved for Germans only. While officials, diplomats, and soldiers were allowed free passage into East Berlin, West Berliners had to undergo significant restrictions.
Some of the most compelling facts about the Berlin Wall involve the approximately 5,000 people were able to escape across the Wall and into West Berlin. Close to two hundred were shot and killed and another two hundred were injured while trying to cross. Some of the other escapes were truly cinematic--from tunneling to driving a short car underneath a gate to creating small ultralights and flying across.
Foreigners, on the other hand, were more than welcome to cross into East Berlin. The Germans welcomed their money and so long as they were thoroughly searched before entering and leaving, they were largely left alone.
A great change in the history of the Berlin Wall came on August 23rd, 1989. The country of Hungary dissolved its border restriction with Austria, and some 13,000 East Berliners escaped through Hungary. Through series of events, a tremendous mob formed at the gates of the Berlin Wall, demanding entry into West Berlin. The only deterrent left to the guards and city officials was to use massive lethal force on their countrymen, something they weren't willing to do. Throughout the days and weeks, people would go to the wall with sledgehammers and demolish it piece by piece.
One of the unfortunate facts about the Berlin Wall is that only a little bit of it remains today, not even the watchtowers that stood in East Berlin. However, the Brandenburg Gate was left as a reminder of the edifice and its significance on the whole of Germany. Located near the former location of the infamous Checkpoint Charlie is the Berlin Wall Museum.
The Berlin Wall museum features, of course, exhibits and stories about the history of the Berlin Wall. Some of the escapes are truly incredible. The museum is not altogether spacious, and can lack organization, but has exhibits that paint an important picture of Berlin's recent past.

Berlin Wall

Berlin Wall

Berlin Wall