Dhanya Damodaran

Jan 15, 20205 min read

Gorgeous Germany

Updated: Feb 12, 2020

Visited in July 2015

Willkommen in Deutschland!!

Berlin Wall, Charming Bavarian Countryside, Magnificent Castles, Black Forest, Mercedes Benz... Our visit to Germany was action packed and remains fresh in mind!

All three of us had our desires to fulfil and that's why we chose Germany - Hubby wanted to do long drive in Europe, Son wanted to visit Mercedes Benz museum and factory and I wanted to get immersed in the magical beauty of the Bavarian Alps and this beautiful country fulfilled our wishes to great satisfaction.

Itinerary

1) Berlin

2) Munich

3) Garmisch Partenkirchen - Bavaria

4) Triberg - Black Forest

5) Stuttgart - Mercedes Benz Factory and Museum

We visited Berlin and took a walking tour of the city. The Berlin Wall - lots and lots of history...we can view parts of the wall at various sites in the city, we visited it at the East Side Gallery. How many souls were impacted by that wall - separated, left out, abandoned...its heart melting to understand the sufferings people in Germany went through at certain periods in the history, and these monuments stay as a mirror to reflect those to the world, at least as a a reminder not to take humanity back to those any time, anymore.

We used metro to commute in Berlin and was very convenient. We had a look at the Berliner Fernsehturm and then headed towards the Berlin Cathedral for a photo stop. Next was the Brandenburg Gate and the German Parliament - The Reichstag Building.

The next stop was at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. What more to say, when we all know the sufferings Jews had gone through! In Germany, we hear a lot about these, at some point, its difficult to stop the tears roll out of your eyes as you walk through the concentration camps of Nazi time.

Later we visited the Berlin Wall Memorial, where we can read a lot about the construction and demolition of the wall, Nazi era, concentration camps and the life during the rule of Hitler in Germany

Finally, we walked past the Check Point Charlie, which was the Berlin Wall crossing point during the Cold war. We bid good bye to Berlin and travelled to Munich for our Bavarian experience.

We were happy to meet our dear friend Sree, a super cool dude, who helped us with everything for our Berlin stay.

Munich - The gateway to Bavaria. Our son's wish of hiring his favorite car - Mercedes Benz was fulfilled as we rented the car for the rest of the trip here. We drove to Garmisch Partenkirchen (GP) and what waited for us was awesome landscapes and beautiful views all throughout the drive - such a beauty!

We stopped at various scenic locations on the way for photos, drove through the beautiful roads of GP and finally arrived at the Linderhof Palace built by King Ludwig II.

As we drove,w e passed through the beautiful village streets of GP, where the fairy tale stories were painted. There was a very special one with the story of Hansel and Gretel - incredible!

We then drove to the Ettal Abbey which is a Bendictine monastery with a frescoed dome and also has an attached distillery.

We walked around to view the place and bought beer from the distillery.

We explored GP, stopped at every possible site, clicked so many photos...every frame looked so scenic and the Bavarian countryside tickles our aesthetic sense to a very great extent.

Next was the base of Zugspitze mountain to the beautiful Eibsee lake. The water was crystal clear and we took a dip in it and relaxed and refreshed in the Alpine fresh water.

The final stop of the day was the Partnach Gorge. A very deep gorge indeed and a log trail to walk and hike. We walked for about an hour, thanks to the long summer days, and then tired, checked in to our Inn for a nice dinner and peaceful sleep. Not to forget the lovely lady who owns the Inn, so kind and helping. She spoke to us a lot about the place and was interesting.

The next morning was a long drive to Neuschwanstein Castle - a magnificently beautiful castle by Ludwig II. Majestic interiors, excellent design, fantastic views...castle has everything to blow your mind. Not to miss the most beautiful view of the castle from the Mary's bruck. This castle is said to be the inspiration for the castles in the Disney fairy tales.

We then drove to Triberg to experience the Black Forest and Cuckoo Clocks. The first stop was at the Triberg waterfall.

We checked into our Inn which was at a lovely location close to the woods, run by an elderly friendly lady. We roamed around the woods and meadows and then the next day visited that largest cuckoo clock in the world.

We were on the most exciting leg of the trip - Stuttgart, the cradle of automobile, to visit the Mercedes Benz museum and factory. We passed by the beautiful woods of Triberg to finally reach Stuttgart

We first visited the factory, where photography is not allowed. The place is amazing...you find more robots and machines at work than humans. Amazing use of technology, no wonder why this is one of the most loved and elegant cars. Our son was super excited to see hundreds of models of his favorite car brand all around. It was a guided tour of the plant and was extremely rich with information and equally entertaining.

Next we visited the multi floored Mercedes Benz museum - a must visit indeed. I could see our son running around in excitement unable to control his delight! From the very first model to the latest one - every model is displayed over here. A lot can be read and understood about the founders of this elegant brand Karl Benz, Gottileb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach ; how the name Mercedes was coined - everything can be found here - It was the name of the daughter of a successful Austrian dealer's, who loved Maybach's designs and ordered a large shipment.

After a superbly exciting time at the Mercedes Benz, we then drove to Dachau Concentration Camp - the air around narrates the deeply hurting incidents and every stone and grass around would shed their tears along with you as you go through and witness the worst and dark ages of history - the painful lives led by several Jews - no clean food, water, no medicines - being victims of medicine trials and tests, shot alive with bullets, killed by suffocation in poisonous gas chambers and dumped in the faraway backyard!!! - no one in their right senses can even imagine the level of cruelty humans could impose on fellow human beings! Every visitor would bow his head low out of shame on what had happened years ago to a sect of helpless people; however, we could also hear the stories of survival -rays of hope, humanity and love - how some of the victims of war were rescued, rehabilitated and brought back to life.

We returned to Munich, explored the city and the next day visited the Munich Palace and museum which is indeed grand and hosts the royal jewelry, dishes, artworks, sculptures, exotic show pieces and much more.