The Luka in Germany Blog #8 Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, Türkenfeld

WELCOME

to the Luka in Germany blog! Join me as I recap the first leg of my adventure backpacking through Europe on a trip to celebrate graduating college. I spent ten days in Germany, a country with fascinating history, beautiful buildings and scenery, and great people. I visited Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, and Türkenfeld. Let's go!

Enjoying a pretzel in the Alps

Hamburg

Although my first stop was Hamburg, my trip started with an amazing deal on a flight from DC to Düsseldorf for only $184.61! I took an hour to eat a Bratwurst and stroll around the Rheinuferpromenade in Düsseldorf before my train to Hamburg.

Bratwurst in Düsseldorf

I arrived in Hamburg and navigated to the apartment of the legendary Jan Krügler, my friend from NUS study abroad! This was the first of many reunions on this trip, and instantly, it was just like old times. I met his flatmates Dennis and Louis who were cooking us a very tasty and healthy meal for dinner.

Hamburg Hauptbahnhof (Central Station)

That night, we watched the Champions League final between Man City and Inter Milan. Jan bet €100 on Man City to win in regular time, and with a crazy profit boost for his first-ever bet, his payout was €245! The game ended up being quite boring, but the true entertainment came from watching Jan on the edge of his seat freaking out every time Inter got the ball.

Jan's hilarious gambling antics

We started each day with a very European breakfast: we walked to the bakery down the road, grabbed brötchen (bread rolls), and ate them with butter, salami, cheese, and hard-boiled eggs. This first day in Hamburg was a Sunday, so I learned the hard way that almost everything closes on Sundays in Germany, so much so that we couldn't even find somewhere to replenish the toilet paper, making for a long 24 hours!

A long line for the daily fresh bread

Jan, Dennis, and Louis showed me around Hamburg, from the Reeperbahn (entertainment, bars, and red light district lol) to the Rathaus (town hall) and the Binnen and Außenalster (lakes within the city). Jan took me to the Elbphilharmonie which is a huge concert hall on the Elbe River with a great view over the city and shipping port. We also went to the top of St. Nikolai Church which was the tallest building in the world from 1874-1877. As we toured around the city, we kept noticing a sticker that Jan's friends had made and stuck in different places all around Germany. I loved the idea and kept a keen eye out for it going forward.

Reunited with Jan!

Jan's friend's sticker: "Richtig Brettern" roughly translates to "Full Send"

St. Nikolai Church - the tallest building in the world from 1874-1877

Commuting under the river in the Old Elbe Tunnel

For lunch, we ate Döner Kebabs which were absolutely fire and started a habit for the rest of my trip. They're essentially a pita sandwich filled with veal or chicken cooked on a vertical rotisserie, plus salad and delicious sauces. They're a cheap and quick meal, perfect for a late-night snack, and are now all over the world after being popularized by Turkish immigrants in Germany.

The most fire Döner Kebabs ever

I got a great feeling from Hamburg: I experienced very little culture shock, and it felt so livable. Maybe living in Germany lies somewhere in my future. It also helped that I was living like locals. We went to the gym together, we did groceries, and we cooked at home. The groceries in Germany were mind-bogglingly cheap compared to the US, especially the alcohol. Take a look at the prices yourself. A cheap six-pack of beer is €2.39 and a cheap bottle of vodka is €5.49. 

Cheap cheap prices at Aldi

I loved finding these strawberry pop-up stores outside of train stations

So juicy and delicious

Throughout Germany, I got around on the U-Bahn and S-Bahn (underground and street trains), and what confused me at first was that there was nowhere to scan a ticket or card. There are no turnstiles or gates, you just walk into the station and get on the train. In Düsseldorf, I was riding around confused but happy that everything was free, but Jan explained that although it's unlikely, you have to buy the ticket in case the officials ask to check your ticket. I'll admit I was tempted to take the risk, but I did the right thing and bought a monthly pass for €49. It turned out to be well worth it because I was checked on my second day in Hamburg and avoided a fine of €60. I grew to love this system because it saves so much time and hassle.

Louis and Dennis on the U-Bahn towards Schlump

One awesome thing to do in Hamburg is visit the Miniatur Wunderland. It's the world's largest model railway system and is located in Hamburg's historic warehouse district. They've made miniature models of almost a dozen places, complete with over 4,000 buildings, 260,000 people, 10,000 trains/cars, and a bunch of fun, interactive displays. I was blown away by the painstaking amount of detail, even in places where you wouldn't think to look. I also really enjoyed the easter eggs they had hidden throughout with raunchy figurines or out-of-place objects.

Most of this amusement park was functional

These clouds would start thundering when night fell every 15 minutes

So much detail

Easter egg 🙈

One of the highlights of my trip was on my last day in Hamburg on an adventure with Jan, Dennis, and Louis. They had ordered an inflatable boat on Amazon that arrived while I was there, so we brought it to the Außenalster, pumped it up, rowed out to the open water, and cracked open a few beers and ciders to enjoy in the sun. It was so peaceful and beautiful and was easy to enjoy with great company.

Rowing in the Außenalster

Enjoying the sun

Berlin

After my farewell to Jan, I jumped on the train to Berlin. Train travel in Europe is so smooth and easy, I love it. Upon arrival in Berlin, I met with my friend Corey's girlfriend Julie and her friends at a great market for lunch. It was the first time we had ever met in person, so it was a pretty awesome way to meet.

Luka meets Julie in Berlin!

My visit to Berlin was the only part of my trip that I was traveling solo, and I actually really enjoyed it. It's very easy to make friends when you don't have existing friends to fall back on, and I liked getting to set my own schedule. I headed to the iconic Brandenburg Gate which was of course packed. It was interesting noticing the American Embassy in a prime location right next door.

The Iconic Brandenburg Gate

I walked along the massive Tiergarten, saw a nice Goethe statue, then arrived at the Holocaust Memorial. It was a pretty powerful structure, organized as a grid of concrete slabs at varying heights. You can walk deep into the grid until you're lost among the maze of slabs that tower over you. I felt very pensive in the heart of the memorial. I thought it resembled a graveyard, but the artist intentionally left its meaning up to interpretation. There's also a decent museum underground the memorial.

In the labyrinth of the Holocaust Memorial

I checked out some churches, grabbed Döner for dinner, and walked into a weird experimental bird art exhibition on the way back to the hostel. These small random things are part of why I love traveling. One thing that surprised me throughout Germany was how frequently I was asked to pay with cash instead of card, especially for such an advanced economy.

Weird but interesting bird-themed art installation

Needed this more than I expected

I got free welcome drinks at the hostel bar to meet some other backpackers, and I met a really fun bunch of Indian guys in my dorm who were on a scholarship to Germany to work on their satellite startup. A Canadian guy and I joined them on a pub crawl that night, and we had an awesome night joking around, dancing, and bar hopping. I really enjoyed myself and felt like I was living the true backpacker lifestyle.

With the hostel lads on our pub crawl

The next day, I visited Checkpoint Charlie, the famous border crossing between East and West Berlin during the Cold War. It was pretty funny that as soon you pass through to the American section of Berlin, there's a McDonald's and KFC right there. Because there were so many tourists around, there were some scammers there doing the Three Cup Monte for a street audience, and the acting from the plants was atrocious. It was hilarious.

Entering the American section of Berlin (note the McDonald's)

Beware of scammers kids

As I walked around Berlin, it seemed like every building was either a church, a palace, a museum, a monument, or some other sort of historical building. It was pretty, but it also felt like the city was missing vitality in its historic districts. That being said, some of these buildings were pretty amazing. I passed by one large, grand building without any signs or labels, so I went in to check it out. I found a single, solitary statue inside that represented the dead from World War II. It was pretty powerful and super cool, and I got to experience it completely on my own.

Powerful, solitary sculpture that caught me by surprise

I crossed a bridge to Museum Island which contains, you guessed it, five of Berlin's most famous museums. I tried going to the famous Pergamon Museum but the wait was two hours, so instead I crossed back to the mainland and checked out the lesser-known Pergamon Museum das Panorama which turned out to be (probably) way cooler. The main exhibit was a huge circular room with one amazing 360° panoramic artwork across the walls that was a combination of photographs and paintings of the Mediterranean city Pergamon in its heyday. It's hard to describe the experience, but it was incredible.

One section of the panoramic artwork

Viewing from the platform three stories up

Luka and Heracles chilling at the Pergamon Museum das Panorama

The next amazing sight in Berlin was a visit to the Reichstag, the German parliament building with an impressive glass dome built on top of it. I went through some pretty intense security to get inside and I realized why: even at my 9pm tour, the politicians were still there debating and working away. I climbed the dome and got a great view of the city as well as an inside look at the live parliament floor beneath us.

The Reichstag (yes this is from Google images)

In the dome atop the Reichstag. If you look down you can see politicians on the parliament floor

To search for more life in the city, I headed to an artsy neighborhood called Kreuzberg and checked out their street art, thrift stores, and cafes. I like that Berlin has a ton of cool graffiti and stickers. I sent some postcards home and posted a photo on my Instagram story of some cool street art. The next thing you know, Geoffrey from high school messaged me and said he's in Berlin with a bunch of other Whitman friends! So Berlin, the city I thought I was traveling solo, turned out to be the place I met the most old and new friends. 

Exploring Kreuzberg

The Instagram story that shaped my evening

I met up with Geo, Ethan, Ray, and Matt at Markthalle Neun for the great Thursday night street food market. The joint was jumping and the food was great. We headed to a bar for beers, sausages, and pretzels, then went to chill at their Airbnb. On the way, we picked up a few drinks from a Späti, a type of late-night convenience shop that originated in Berlin which my brother Joe recommended from his trip to Berlin a few months earlier.

Whitman reunion in Berlin

Joe's recommendation from the busy Späti

I enjoyed Kreuzberg so much that I spent my last day in Berlin exploring another hipster neighborhood called Friedrichshain. I had a great vegan meal, sat in a park, saw more street art and thrift stores, and then headed to the famous East Side Gallery. This is a long stretch of preserved parts of the Berlin Wall with commissioned artworks on each block, including the famous socialist fraternal kiss.

Artsy neighborhoods do great brunch

"My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love"

Luka visits the Berlin Wall

That concluded my time in Berlin, so I hopped on another train for my next German adventure.

Munich

I spent one night in Munich on my own before linking up with friends the next day. On that solo evening, I wandered around Marienplatz, watched a street performance, and went to a Brauhaus to watch the Germany vs Poland soccer match while enjoying a delicious schnitzel. I sat at the bar and met two German men enjoying a drink while watching the game after work. We chatted away about soccer, work, traveling, and interestingly, the Superbowl. It turns out it's quite a big event in Germany, and heaps of people host watch parties every year. It was a very pleasant evening and once again a joy to meet strangers for a night.

Marienplatz in Munich

Schnitzel and Potato Salad while watching the soccer

Türkenfeld

I hopped on a train early the next morning for my next reunion: the famous Johannes Brix and Sam Watson, also friends from NUS! Johannes and his family were graciously hosting us at the Brix residence in Türkenfeld, a village outside of Munich. It's such a peaceful and beautiful place in the countryside. To celebrate our arrival, Johannes' parents raised the Bavarian flag in front of the house in our honor.

Johannes and his Dad Jürgen raising the Bavarian flag in our honor

Backyard soccer with Johannes

In true Johannes style, the first thing we did was run a 5k together around the village. Johannes' childhood friend Lukas, who we also knew from Singapore, joined us by bicycle. Afterward, we had worked up quite the appetite, so we indulged in a lavish breakfast that set the theme for our food and exercise-centric visit to Türkenfeld. Along with the assortment of bread and fruits, I really enjoyed the Munich Weisswurst (white sausage) with its special mustard.

NUS running team: Johannes, Luka, Lukas, and Sam

A gorgeous brekkie waiting for us at home

Fuel for the day

Now with a proper tour guide, we headed back into Munich, and Johannes showed us all of his favorite spots (especially the food spots that could satisfy his ferocious appetite). At Viktualienmarkt, we got a variety of sugary fried dough, bratwurst, and leberkase (meatloaf). We explored Marienplatz, the BMW museum (Bavarian Motor Works), and the Olympic Park from 1972. I like that they had converted a lot of the Olympic Village housing into apartment buildings.

Fried dough from Viktualienmarkt

Spargel - German thick white asaparagus 

Olympic Park

Smiling because I was thinking about 2012

Two of my highlights of Munich were the English Garden and the Eisbach Wave. We were there on a warm sunny day, so the garden was absolutely packed with people sunbathing, barbecuing, drinking, playing spikeball, and swimming in the river. 

English Garden

The Eisbach wave is an artificial wave created on one section of the river using the contour of the concrete beneath the water, making a continuous wave that can be surfed year-round. There was a huge queue of surfers jumping on the wave one by one trying out their moves. For a city without an ocean or lakes, they certainly know how to make the most of it. 

Surfing the 24/7 Eisbach Wave

Back in Türkenfeld, we began the next day with another 5k run and a round of push-ups to wake us up. I expect nothing less when hanging out with the Brixinator. For breakfast, Johannes' Mum Sonja gave us a cooking class on how to make Kaiserschmarrn, an Austrian fluffy shredded pancake that is Sam's absolute favorite. It was delicious.

The making of Kaiserschmarrn

The students and their master

After breakfast, we borrowed the family bikes and rode out to Lake Ammersee. On the way, we cycled through a fair in the Türkenfeld town center with live Bavarian music and the pure cheerfulness of small-town camaraderie in the air. There was so much Bavarian state pride which I didn't notice in the other states in Germany. Just like the English Garden, Lake Ammersee was also busy with hundreds of families swimming and sunbathing. We settled at a spot where Johannes' brother was working as a waiter and lifeguard. There was a diving structure with platforms to jump off at 5, 7.5, and 10 meters. Of course, Johannes climbed straight to the top and jumped in from 10 meters without a moment's hesitation, so I had no choice but to follow suit. 

Cycling through the countryside

Swimming in Lake Ammersee

Jumping from 10 meters (~30 feet) was totally fine until I was in midair, then all of a sudden it felt pretty scary. The seconds between jumping off and landing in the water feel like a lifetime, and you just have to let go knowing that you can't change your mind anymore. But the satisfaction once you land is very freeing, aside from the stinging feeling on your feet and butt after impact. I held my nose with my fingers which turned out to be a very dangerous idea (people often break their noses doing this), and my thumb slipped and scratched my face just above my eye. So I learned my lesson and jumped again with my hands by my side!

Post-diving selfie

We hung out and napped by the lake, got Bavarian snacks at another fair, then went back to our locked-up bikes. However, we realized that the key had fallen out of the lock during the ride, so we were stuck there with three bikes locked together and no way of getting home! We went on a wild goose chase looking for bolt-cutters and wheeling around what probably looked like a triplet of stolen bikes. Eventually, firefighters came to the rescue and cut free our bikes just in time for us to cycle home before dark. Sam's diligent Strava tracking told us we had biked 30 kilometers that day. It's always hard but rewarding work hanging out with Johannes.

Three criminals getting away with grand theft bicycle

Every night we were there, Johannes' Mum Sonja prepared an absolute feast for us. We came home with huge appetites, and she kept bringing delicious food until we could eat no more, along with Riesling wine and Munich's Augustiner beer.

The main course of one of the many fabulous meals Sonja cooked

Homemade tiramisu for dessert

My last full day in Türkenfeld was an amazing one. We took the train going South to a ski resort town called Garmisch-Partenkirchen right on the Austrian border at the base of the Alps. The view as we arrived was breathtaking. It's amazing to me that this is totally accessible by public transport.

Arriving in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It honestly looked like a Mac background

To fuel up, we stopped at a bakery before our ascent and bought more than a dozen rolls between the three of us. Sam and I thought we had bought too much, but Johannes knew the hike ahead, and our stomach capacity had already grown from being with Johannes for two days.

Making our way towards the Alps

Over the next several hours, we ascended what looked like an insurmountable height from the base, covering 16 kilometers and 1,200 meters of elevation. We hiked through caves and forests, up rocky paths, underneath waterfalls, and across streams with incredible views at every turn. It was an amazing feeling at the top looking down over the mountain we had conquered. There were Bavarian huts along the way for toilet breaks and water refills, and of course, we stopped for a picnic to devour our bakery haul.

Satisfaction at the top

We took the cable car on the way down and checked Google Maps to discover that the next train back was in 25 minutes. We were still 4 kilometers away from the train station, but we knew we had a cooking class from Sonja waiting for us at home so we didn't want to wait for the next train. Therefore, immediately after finishing a 16-kilometer hike, we decided to run 4 kilometers at a 5-minute pace to catch the train. This is why I love traveling with Sam and Johannes!

Post-hike run to the train station

We arrived at the train on time, and of course, it was delayed by 20 minutes, but the run was great fun anyway. Back at home, Sonja gave us another cooking masterclass on how to make the famous Schnitzel and Potato Salad. It was delectable.

Pounding the schnitzel with a meat mallet to get that perfect thickness

Boil the potatoes before you peel them to retain the nutrients

The result

In the morning before I left, we went on one last bike ride and visited Johannes' childhood school. We did well over 30,000 steps every day I spent with Johannes and Sam. That concluded my time in Germany, and I loved every minute of it.

Goodbye to these knuckleheads

My main reflections from Germany

1. The public transport is fantastic.

2. The people are generally fit, healthy, smart, and friendly.

3. It's very bike friendly.

4. Almost everybody knows English.

5. The summer weather is quite nice (though I've heard bad things about winter).

6. German culture tends to be very orderly and neat.

7. Groceries are cheap (but closed on Sundays).

8. Cash is still more widely accepted than card.

9. I would love to live there someday.

10. I feel like this list should be 10 items.

Looking Ahead

This post only covers the first ten days of my trip, but I was in Europe for five weeks total. After Germany, I met up with the lads from high school and we traveled to Czechia, Hungary, Austria, Croatia, Spain, and Portugal. Stay tuned for more blogs!

Conclusion

Thanks for sticking around for the eighth blog! I hope you enjoyed it, and I'll see you in the next one.

Looking onto my next adventure