7 days in Germany

So I just looked it up...

“Church with the Greenish/Blue Dome”

Literally called the Berlin Cathedral and yes it’s on the island hahahaha

If it is a nice day in Munich eat either lunch or dinner at the Augustiner-Keller Beer Garden. It is a short walk from the train station. You get your food cafeteria style and look for open seats. We were only two so no problem. The seating forces you to interact with, in our case locals. We were sitting at the end of a 6 seat picnic table, across from each other. The gentleman next to us asked if we were Americans and could he practice his English. Sure. We had a lovely talk, he had been to Texas on business, and an even better meal. The pretzels are the best anywhere, hands down.
Also, there is the interesting, very small Asam Church. It is probably the smallest Church we have ever visited. It has an interesting background. Just an FYI.

I would shift a day from Munich to Berlin. Berlin is absolutely packed with places of historic and artistic interest.
If you are interested enough in art to visit the Museum Island, you need more than a day. The wealth of masterpieces is staggering. I believe you need a reservation for the Pergamon. Don’t know about the others.

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews and the Brandenburg Gate are just walk-bys, so day 2 seems a bit light. If you are planning to take the Reichstag tour (which I highly recommend), then you also need to make a reservation.

I love all the responses I’m already getting :)

So some insight on where my brain is at. I know the Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate, and Holocaust Memorial are all walk bys (didn’t plan to go inside the Reichstag), I figured the hour long walk to the East Side Gallery, time spent walking down the length (or part of the length), and then the hourlong walk back would help fill in the day without me rushing and exhausting myself. Plus things like lunch and dinner :)

I love art (I’m seeing the Louvre, Uffizi, and Vatican Museums) but I really was only planning to see the Cathedral and maybe two of the museums like the Neues Museum and the Pergamon. Enough to see some key pieces...of course I would love to spend more time if there’s time :)

As much as I would love to have a third full day in Berlin, there’s so much I’m trying to do while using Munch as a base that I really only have 2 days to work with in Berlin. Though because the Berlin Museum day is so light, the two full days I DO have are at least layed back and non exhausting (I think).

I did the train Venice to Munich. Nice, scenic ride

The Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate, Memorial are within a half hour of one another by foot. From there walk down Under den Linden past the Bebelsplatz and you are at the Museum Island / Dom (cathedral). And from there it isn't far to the Alexanderplatz and the Hackesche Höfe (past the Rotes Rathaus). This walk is not long, but it is SO full of things to see! HH / Alexplatz are good places for a lunch. From there it's only a few stops on a direct train to Warschauer Platz and the East Side Gallery. And after you've seen that hop back on a trail just a few stops back to Hallesches Tor and either transfer and go one stop to Kochstraße or walk a few blocks to Checkpoint Charlie. The outdoor Topography of Terror Museum is right there as well.

That is a full day despite the easy distances because of the sheer weight of history. You really feel it in your bones in Berlin.

For dinner, I would suggest heading over to the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche / Bahnhof Zoo / KuDamm and find a place that appeals. Or wander around there before / after museums. And if you have time on day 2, head over to Bayerischer Platz and read the signs posted around the square. Or go to the Track 17 memorial.

For Munich, I would suggest that while ducking into the Hofbräuhaus is fine, you get a much better experience at the Hacker-Pschorr at the Viktualienmarkt for an actual meal. For your walking tour, include the surfers at the Eisbachwelle and maybe the University and the White Rose sites.

Discover the joy known as a Döner.

And try a Currywurst in Berlin... preferably from a street stand.

Depending on your interests, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews can be much more than a walk-by. We spent several hours touring the underground museum which has some powerful displays on families who were wiped out by the Nazi "final solution."

I second the Asam church. Very small, dark, and moody. Just eye candy everywhere you look. My absolute favorite of all the churches I saw in Munich.

And in Munich... The Residenz Museum was fantastic.

The most efficient way to see a lot of Berlin or Munich, is to go on a high-quality walking tour. Either a public one or a private one, depending on your budget. You just spent lots of money getting here, so make it worth your while. If you only have 2 days for Berlin, which is a huge city, a tour will show you where everything is and later in the day or the next day you can go back and explore more. For Berlin, my recommendations are Insider tours for a group tour or Jeremy the Berlin Expert for a private. For Munich, Radius tours for a group tour or Dark History Tours for a private.

You might also consider going to Sachsenhausen or Ravensbrück Concentration Camps near Berlin as well as Dachau if this is a subject that interests you. The Olympic Stadium, Track 17, and Wannsee Villa are very interesting stops.

As much as love night trains, it would not be my first choice from Munich to Venice. That is a route you really should take during the day so you can enjoy the views of the Alps.

Oh wow lots to respond here! I hope I don’t forget anyone.

OK. Yes! I definitely plan to get a döner and curry-wurst while I’m in Berlin :)

In a very morbid way, I’m fascinated with all things WW2, Holocaust, & Cold War related. It is all just so interesting to learn about, and we should never forget about these events...so all the more reason to see them. Maybe I should add a day to Berlin. Haha somehow.

Wow the Asam church is absolutely gorgeous to look at, and yes it’s pretty small in terms of European churches. The Residnez is gorgeous too...like a German Versailles...which might have been the point. The Asam might be easier to see with only one real day dedicated to Munich? What was the church with all the holy relics? I should definitely look at those tours! Thank you for sharing the company names! :)

So as my trip is currently layed out...I have 7 days in Germany. My other trips have me spending 5 days in London, 5 days in Paris, 3 days in Venice, 3 days in Florence, and 5 days in Rome. If you could shave a day anywhere for the sake of adding a day to Berlin, where do you think you would make that cut?

And I think it might be more fun to take a day train to Venice from Munich since everyone is saying it’s such a pretty ride. Maybe I can find something on YouTube with that. How many train connections are there? Does it take all day to get between the two cities by train?

It takes about all day. There may be a train change, perhaps an hour from Venice if I remember correctly.

I would cut the day from Paris

There is a direct train from Munich to Venice in 6:50, I think it is runs once daily. In addition there are a number of one stop connections with a change in Verona that are around 15 minutes slower.

The Man in Seat 61 has a video that shows part of trip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uucEm3op7uc

There is a direct train from Munich to Venice in 6:50, I think it is runs once daily. In addition there are a number of one stop connections with a change in Verona that are around 15 minutes slower.

Correct. But that direct train (EC 87, dep. 11:34) is operated by DB, so they can offer you their savings fare ("Sparpreis"), currently €39.90. Connections with a transfer in Verona tend to be more expensive (you can price out them e.g. at thetrainline.com).