Hamburg

When I started traveling independently, I thought it was fun to have no plans whatsoever. I loved the romantic idea of an old car, a paper map and all the freedom in the world. I quickly learned that traveling with no plans at all is often a stupid idea -- especially in Europe during peak season. A spontaneous road trip through Southern France sounds great until you realize that showing up at a camp ground without a reservation in July is not the smartest idea. Learning from these major travel fails, I developed into a "vacation dictator" (that's what the [...]

On the list of the world's most visited countries, Germany can (almost) always be found among the top ten: Tourists come for half-timbered houses, ancient history and Currywurst from all over the world. People want to see the medieval loveliness of Rothenburg ob der Tauber (which is on the Lonely Planet Germany cover) and Neuschwanstein Castle (aka the castle that inspired Disney's Cinderella castle). And they come to see the two big cities: Berlin and Munich. But that's not all there is in Germany -- especially not when it comes to cities. Don't get me wrong, I love the street art [...]

Although I visited three different European capitals this spring, I was a bit travel-deprived lately. My springtime travels were amazing and I was getting used to sleeping in another bed every other three days. Of course, I loved being in Germany to see it turn from grey and frozen to blooming and colorful during the lasts months. Being at home is really not too hard when the weather is nice and you find time to explore your new adopted home town as a tourist visiting farmer's markets and climbing medieval church towers. Nonetheless, I've really, really been wanting to get out [...]