Beautiful modern country…clean, safe, high quality of life, and with wide range of cultures.
The German vibe as best described to me as clean and polite. Perhaps Germans and German culture is not so extroverted and outwardly charmy as say the Spanish or Italians, but indeed it has a lot of its own charms. Look past the stereotypes of beer-drinking polite people, and you’ll find so much more to explore.
I would say Germany is the most multi-cultural country in Europe. Does it have more ethnic groups than say England? Probably not. But it feels in Germany, there are more cultural groups staying true to their culture (and not assimilating so much into German culture). Depending on who you talk to, this can be a good or a bad thing. As a tourist, I’d say it’s a good thing since you get to see many flavors of people in one place.
Germany is known for having great economic power and quality of life, making it an ideal place for immigrants and visitors to be. It’s beautiful, charmy. Has old school way of things, but also modern way of things. Well-functioning infrastructure in every way.
As for the cities themselves. Germany is definitely a big country in that there are many cities worth visiting. 1 week is enough to say you saw Germany, 2 weeks is better to get some range, and 3-4 weeks if you really like it and want to explore more of what Germany has to offer.
General tips for traveling in Germany:
- Cash everywhere – many places take only cash. Be prepared!
- Language – they speak good English in most areas.
- Public Transportation – really good. Trains, metros and buses will take you everywhere you need to go. It’s a very developed and civilized country. Do not try to get on without paying, they check often and you will get a fine.
- Deustchland Ticket – as of summer 2023, 49euro gets you a monthly pass that can be used on all public transportation (train, subway, tram, bus). The only thing it doesn’t cover are the international ICE trains.
- Rideshare – FREE NOW, Bolt, and Uber are the popular apps. They cover many cities but also miss many cities as well.
- Freeway (autobahn) – drivers tend to drive fast on the freeway. Whatever time GoogleMaps estimates, can easily be beaten by a car. For example, FREE NOW quoted me 50 minutes and the driver took only 30 minutes.
- E-scooters – Bolt, Tier, Voi, and Uber Lime.
- Weather – a relatively moderate from hot summer to cold winter. Not so extreme as in other places.
- Law abiding – Germans are generally very law-abiding. People will say something to you if they see you being improper…such as riding escooters on the sidewalk, putting your feet up on the seats in public transportation, etc. Please don’t represent your country poorly.
Miscellaneous tips:
- sdfd
Safety tips:
- Germany is really safe. Many there are some neighborhoods you should avoid in the bigger cities but by large, it feels incredibly safe compared to 99% of other places in the world.
Foods to try:
Customs & Language:
- dsf
German cities (* = recommended, ** = must see):
- Munich** – prettiest city in Germany probably. Big but also super charmy and nice. Very cultural compared to the modern/industrial-looking Berlin. Munich is the #1 tourist city in Germany for me. I’d recommend going here first if you actually want to see real Germany. Berlin is cool and hip but it has its own German sub-culture. Kind of like how New York (while being very American) doesn’t represent the rest of America.
- Berlin** – probably the most popular town for young tourists and backpackers, also expats as well. Very diverse and hipster culture. Its large size also creates many different neighborhoods to choose from and easy enough to find affordable housing. Of course, thriving nightlife.
- Cologne – Cologne has more nice big buildings, Dusseldorf is more green/nature. Both are nice cities. Cologne is bigger and more people would say there’s more to do here.
- Dusseldorf, Bonn – I’d say Dusseldorf is underrated for me. Very diverse and nice quality of life, many things to do and less expensive than other towns.
- Bonn – is the nearby town.
- Hamburg – shitty weather but nice vibe and nice place to live (expensive) with lots of cultural and hangout activities. Worthy of being its own country with its own vibe. Some people say it’s boring but I’d argue it’s not true. Perhaps it’s not so dense and can feel less lively than other big cities.
- Nuremberg – small cultural town with a castle old town and water.
- Frankfurt – nice big town as well. It has a bad rep from the people who see the homeless/druggies around the main station. Which honestly isn’t that bad compared to the worst of American ghettos. But Frankfurt has many nice areas to be…just don’t hang around the main station and you’ll see them!
- Wiesbaden – a very nice rich town with tons of foreigners/immigrants and historically was the richest or 2nd richest city in Germany next to Munich. All the elites/wealthy hid out here during World War 2.
- Mainz –
- Heidelberg – another nice small town
- Stuttgart – haven’t been.
Nearby countries:
- Netherlands – lots of bikes! Probably #1 bike country in the world? Flat everywhere. Beautiful and clean. Feels a bit like Germany in culture… polite and serious, but a little less multicultural. Bit expensive.
- Belgium – really like it. Kind of a mix between French, Dutch, and German culture. Small country and easy to get around to many different parts, just 30-60min train between popular cities. Cheaper and more chill vibe than surrounding countries.
- Luxembourg – haven’t been but heard it’s nice.
- France – lots of culture…french stuff.
- Switzerland – beautiful nature (lakes and mountains), kinda sterile culture and vibe. Super clean and polite. Expensive place.
- Leichtenstein – never been and know nothing about it.
- Austria – something between Germany and Switzerland.
- Czech Republic – beautiful country.
- Poland – awesome country with lots of charmy cities. Along with Czech Republic, marks the beginning of central eastern Europe. With it’s slavic vibes and charmy history.
- Denmark – beginning of Nordic vibes and somewhat similar to Sweden, Norway, Finland. Very nice and clean cities. Polite people. Very white.
Unfiltered notes: