Solo Backpacking Europe: Week 8 in Berlin & Munich, Germany

Don’t feel like reading? Here, I’ll read it to you

The funny thing about solo travel is one minute you’re lying on the beach on a Greek island and the next you’re shivering on a farm in Bavaria during a snowstorm. I like having an open itinerary, you could say.

As I wrote about in my Thanksgiving article last week, I spent the last leg of my trip in Germany. I hadn’t intended on going to Germany during this trip, but I’m so happy I did. The Christmas Markets, the history, the beauty, the people, connecting to my heritage; it was lovely. It’s a country I intend to return to.

Berlin

I spent a few days in Berlin getting the local tour from a dear friend Nic. He walked us all around the city, speaking on all the history, and stopping often for Glühwein. (Be careful. It’s tasty, warming, and easy to overdo it…I only heard this from a friend of course, not from a personal experience of being bedridden the entire next day.)

A really cool thing about Berlin is, well, a lot of things, but history was a big piece for me. In my last semester of college, I took one of the most challenging courses of my undergraduate degree. We analyzed the rhetoric of images, monuments, and the like. It was F!#*&$^ hard. But, useful. It wasn’t like my calculus class where I thought “when on earth will I need to know this?”

It has made all the difference in my travels. It taught me to look at things analytically and critically. I get so much more out of these historical sites than I had before this class.

The communications department at my Alma Mater’s tagline is “your degree for life” and visiting the Berlin Wall Memorial was a real-world moment that demonstrated it to me.

I later emailed that professor to tell him about my experience, noting how tough the class was at the time but how I was using it in real life. They are one of those professors that push you, but you respect them for making you want to throw your textbook out the window. You kind of hate the class a little because you are required to think critically and stretch your mind, but you also kind of love it because you feel so good about what you accomplish and learn.

So basically, make an effort to visit these sites and actually learn something from them.

One of the highlights of my time in Berlin was Feminist Brunch. A completely made-up occasion where me and my two friends, Audrey and Adri, met for brunch and instead of choosing one thing to order we just got everything we wanted. In the name of feminism, of course. It was awesome.

Of course, when in Berlin, I attempted the clubbing scene. For us, it was an epic fail as we waited in line until 5 am just to get denied. Butttt I wasn’t even mad.

At my hostel bar, they were playing American football on TV and somehow, I was sitting in front of the Vikings-Packers game. Being from Minnesota, this is a big deal I had to explain to my European friends. I never really cared about professional sports, but in being so far from home, it brought me comfort. I started to understand it more. I tried to teach them to chant “SKOL” but the hostel bar in Berlin didn’t bring quite the same gusto as the U.S Bank Stadium.

Munich

After Berlin, I headed to Munich to visit a friend. Within 5 minutes of my arrival, I was helping a friend of his, a complete stranger to me, move into their apartment. I can’t really explain that one.

I spent the next few days exploring Munich with my friend, and mostly just chillin’. By this point, I was 1. Too cold and 2. Too tired. I wasn’t in “let’s see lots of stuff!” mode anymore.

I did do a few cool, local things though. I got to make goulash, visit a few Christmas markets, wander the Nymphenburg Palace, and watch people surf the Eisbach wave. Surfing at 30 °F? Could never be me. Respect, though.

I was also able to visit my friend’s farm, which was pretty cool. I love to see the things people are passionate about. I am not a big farm girly, but hey, it’s all part of the “how did I end up here?” backpacking experience! After freezing my ass off for several hours in a Bavarian snowstorm, we made our way to Passau. Remember my friend Becca from Santorini? She lived there! It was so fun to be reunited with her and explore the quaint town of Passau. I fell in love with it and in another life, I’d live there. In some ways, it even reminded me of Winona, a town I lived in for four years.

At last, it was time to fly home. I love my first backpacking experience and wouldn’t change it. Thanks all for following along as I reminisced. Don’t worry, travel content is not over. I still haven’t told you about Hawaii! And who knows? maybe there’s another solo backpacking trip on the horizon…

Check out the scrapbook for more pics from my time in Europe