5 Places You Cannot Miss in Germany

5 Places You Cannot Miss in Germany

Germany, the land of beer and bratwurst also the scenic south for travellers. 5 places you cannot miss, including the origins of the Disneyland castles!

We left Austria, the slumber land of Mozart’s birth and white fluffy snow for München (Munich), a cosmopolitan city bustling with business, people, and best of all, BRATWURST.

We have been too spoilt by the series of scenic sights in Salzburg, Vienna, Prague and Budapest that the München city centre did not strike me as particularly charming. It was yet another church and another town hall with Gothic features that were typical of the buildings constructed during those ages. The streets are filled with continuous flow of tourist shopping at the usual shopaholic pilgrims. I am not particularly a fan of shopping so I choose to explore the city away from the shoppers. München, has a significant place in world history due to their involvement in the world wars. It seems that the city has put their dark past behind and took on a face of modern day commerce hub.


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The Olympic Park

The Olympic Park in Munich was constructed for the 1972 Summer Olympics. The park encompasses a stretch of sports infrastructure and also includes a scenic reservoir and the Olympic tower. The tower stands at 291,28 meters and you get a good view of the city . On a good day, you can even see the Alps from the tower! There are other interesting monuments too, like the results of the Games in Munich, as well as the Olympic Walk of Stars, which features prints of famous stars that supported the Games. Celebrities includes Bryan Adams, Aerosmith and even Sir Elton John. Spend an evening taking a leisure stroll along the reservoir as you watch the sun set and nature at play in it. Munich was also a candidate city for the 2018 Olympic Games, so it seems that the city and their love for sports have not faded even after all these years.


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Dachau Concentration Camp

We swung by Dachau for a day trip, it is a peaceful residential neighbourhood filled with lanes of pretty houses. Yet the little quiet town belied a grotesque past of torture and unspeakable horror.

“Arbeit Mache Frei” (Work Sets You Free) are the very words etched on the gates that imprisoned over 35,000 prisoners during the dark times of the war from 1933 to 1945. Two things struck me as I went through the information panels depicting what went through this camp. One was how quickly Hitler rose to his position as a dictator. The second thing was how people in the vicinity witnessed the torture but did nothing to help, some even profited from it. Indeed, the evil of the world is condoned by the silence of a few good men.

It took Hitler 8 years to jump start from a failed Austrian artist (he’s not even German!) peddling self-painted postcards to become the Chancellor of Germany. I wondered if the Austrian Academy of Fine Arts could have prevented World War II had they found his paintings were more than ‘mediocre’. A strange “what if”, but intriguing, nonetheless.

The survivor’s harrowing accounts testified their resilience and ability to endure interminable suffering. However, what really touched my heart was the kindness and camaraderie built amongst unrelated strangers caught in a sad twist of fate.

“Never Again” – The monument that stands in the parade square where thousands died in the bitter cold winter, speaks volumes of the hopes and resolute of the survivors. The world should never have to bear witness to the horror of Dachau and dictatorship rule again.


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Fussen – Town of Alpine Beauty

Imagine luscious greens against a painted blue sky and snow-capped mountains – that would be the picture of Fussen. In the town centre, Fussen presents a sight of colourful architecture in solid hues of blue, yellow, green and pink. The bus driver that drove us to the castle yelled out a greeting to the tottering elderly on the street and got a cheerful wave in return. Everyone seems to know everyone here in this small town!


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 Neuschwanstein Castle

We visited the Neuschwanstein Castle, which was the inspiration for the Walt Disney castle. Inside the castle, the walls are lavishly decorated with fairy tales, remaining true to the vision of King Ludwig, who set out to build a fantasy castle instead of the Gothic depiction of monsters and gore. A fan of white swans, the king also had most handles and even his basin tap modelled in the shape of swans. Unfortunately, the King only lived in his fantasy world for 127 days before he died at a relatively young age of 40. The local myths said he was murdered while some said he committed suicide. It was unfortunate that the king of fairytale did not get his “happily ever after” ending.


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The Romantic Road

The romantic road trails are said to be the most scenic and beautiful sights in all of Germany.  The trails ends at Fussen and it is easy to see why many have claimed that this particular stretch was the most beautiful of all. I highly recommend the romantic road trails to all!

Contributed by Travel.Happy.

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Christine Liu

Christine oscillates between the ordinary day-to-day and the magical worlds that travels bring. Be it a freakish encounter at Bagan or a heart-melting homestay in Busan, you can always find a little of everything in her travelogue. If any bit of you aspires to venture on your own adventure after reading about her travels, you would have made her day. Follow along on her adventures here or at travel.happy

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