Berlin and Munich Suggestions

Munich's Old town has many restaurants with traditional German food. I don't care for the german food in the U.S. but german food in Munich is fabulous. We had lunch at The Ratskeller in Old Town which is on lower level, so terrific if its hot outside. There's several traditional restaurants in Old Town with outside seating great in evening or if its cooler. We also took a rikshaw ride through the English garden - the largest garden in the world- which was wonderful - many Rikshaw drivers use an electric or electric-assisted bike. But again, I would calibrate your activity to the weather - if its hot you could tour historical buildings in Old Town or select a museum, just check if its air conditioned!
Kind regards,
Karen

In Munich, we liked their German meatballs and potato salad. In Berlin try the street food Döner Kabab. Also, Berlin is known for their currywurst (a bit too much ketchup for me :-).) Oh, and the goulash with potato dumpling was wonderful but that was in Erfurt. One more…the sauerbraten in Munich…..I liked the German food but I grew up with meat and potatoes so it’s more like comfort food.

Nick,
Schnitzel comes from the German verb, schneiden, to cut or the noun der Schnitt, a cut. It's essentially a thin cut of meat, which is lightly floured and cooked in butter (Wiener Schnitzel) or breaded and fried. It's the topping, really, which differentiates the various types of Schnitzel. There is Jaeger (hunter style) Schnitzel, topped with a brown mushroom gravy or, my favorite, Ziguener (gypsy style), in a slightly piquant, tomato based sauce with bell peppers and onions. Today, Ziguener is consider pejorative and sometimes replaced with "Hungarian" style.

Schnitzel, which is from the part of the pig (top or bottom round) that in our country is mostly made into hams, is one of the least expensive cuts of meat in the grocery stores and is often one of the least expensive dishes on the menu. There are lots of other styles of Schnitzel, such as Zwiebel (onion) or Hausfrau art (fried egg). I've never found a Schnitzel I didn't like.

In Germany, you can kind of interchange pork for beef in the menus. Pork is the mainstay, you'll often pay a premium for beef.

There is also Curry Wurst, wieners, usually with French fries, sprinkled with curry, or Mahltasche, big ravioli, often served topped with bacon and onion.

Olympiapark München looks gorgeous

We each find different reasons to travel and to find what is most interesting to us in a city. Munich is around 800 years old. It is full of historical buildings and neighborhoods that provide insight into the German people of the past and today. The Olympiapark is indeed very scenic, yet it represents an incredibly short moment of time in the history of Munich.

Regarding food, schnitzel is definitely worth having. In my opinion, spend the extra few Euros to have veal, rather than pork. Also, schnitzel is really Austrian, rather than German. If I may suggest a restaurant, try https://augustiner-klosterwirt.de and have their Edelstoff beer.

We were just in Munich and really enjoyed it so much. We have been in other German cities but just loved Munich for the first time. You must try an authentic Biergarten. We can recommend the Koenighlischer Hirschgarten for an authentic experience. ( and deer to boot!). It is within walking distance of the Schloss Nymphenburg as well. You must try some Kaiserschmarm to end the meal. For a grab and go we loved the expansive Viktualienmarkt in the Altstadt. You can sample so much Bavarian food there. Maybe try a currywurst here. We even bought bio organic mustard or senft to take home. For Schnitzel check out Andy's Grabblergarten near the Altstadt. I hear the Jaeger Schnitzel is the best in the city. And with a side of knodeln (dumplings) or spaetzle (cheesy noodle dish) you won't regret it.

Our one and only trip to Munich was in 2015, but the Olympiapark is still across the street from the BMW Museum, and we very much enjoyed both places.

We were in Berlin in May of this year. With one day, I would take a "highlights" tour - with a small-group tour, or maybe a HOHO bus. To me, the most fascinating place in Berlin was the Berlin-Karlshorst Museum, where Germany, at the behest of Stalin, re-surrendered to the Allies the day after surrendering in Reims. You get a glimpse of the Russian experience in WW2.

https://www.museum-karlshorst.de/

Hi again, thank you all very much for your suggestions! You all are so much more helpful than any stuck up person on Reddit. Truthfully if I was not just getting out of school I would have the funds and time to probably make this trip longer than it is, but since I'm limited on money I still wanted to say i did some back packing across at least some of Europe before I actually joined the work force and time seemingly escaped me. I hope this trop along with all of your suggestions will help me figure out where I should spend more time in the future. I can't wait!

What kinds of things do you like to do?
If art, there are some wonderful galleries; if history, some amazing tours etc…We did a bike tour for a couple hours in Munich that was a lot of fun and visited a lot of the major sights.

Bavarian Food in Munich - here My Experience

I visited the „Wirtshaus in der Au“ and ordered „ Ofenfrischer Schweinebraten mit Kruste,
dazu unseren Kartoffelknödel und Speck-Krautsalat “ (copy from the menue card). I loved it. It was so good. The beer was good, too. Possible seating inside and outside.

In Berlin, I would do a walking tour (it will hit the main highlights), then go to East Side Gallery to see a long section of the Berlin Wall, and end with a river cruise to see the city in the evening. There are also some good urban beer gardens. We liked BRLO Brewhouse in Kreuzberg and Hungry Bear is right near the East Side Gallery.

A good old fashioned post school trip! Good for you. With so little time, I’d stick mostly to cultural vibes with maybe one planned “sight” in a day (you can add something in the moment.)

First off, you’ll eat well in Germany. I’ve had some clunkers in Italy and France, but German cuisine doesn’t swing so hard and is overall solid. The true German delicacy no one talks about it the BREAD. Bakeries abound and it’s all great. Even the airport bakeries rock. Don’t miss out.

Munich: Englisher Garden is where you’ll find Germans at play. It’s a great vibe, beautiful park with a super beer garden in the middle (most beer gardens offer the same stuff and it’s all solid.) Don’t miss the surfers at the river, and be sure to dip your feet into the icy water. If you want to stick within the city center, VitulienMarkt (sic) is also a great beer/food/vibe zone. If you want to try for a sight, I thought the Residenz with its treasury was pretty cool. Though you might have more impressive palaces on your larger agenda.

Berlin: Kind of tough for just a day imo, I think it’s not quite as “accessible” for tourists as Munich. The Neues Museum is pretty great and the collection is right-sized. I’d also recommend Dokumentationszentrum Berliner Mauer about the Berlin Wall, and if East Germany interests you the DDR Museum in the Kulturbrewei is cool. Of course, seeing Brandenburg Gate is a must. With Berlin’s excellent bus/tram system you can connect these pretty well. A madcap day might see you string those together ending at the Gate. Personally, a lot of stuff (Berliner Dom, Reichstag) were fine from the outside.

Berlin- I did a great walking tour there last week. It was operated by Insider Tour Berlin and was called 2 hour walking tour third reich and Cold War. Great guide and a good introduction to some major sites and history. It actually lasted almost 3 hours because the guide was really into sharing his city and history. Cost was about $25.

I bought a day pass and used public transport to easily make my way around. I stored my luggage in the large lockers at the Central train station for €6 for 24 hours.

https://insidertour.com/

We were in Berlin last month and booked a 4-hour tour with Jeremy Minsberg, aka "The Berlin Expert." We choose him because he has been featured on Rick Steves programs, is mentioned in the RS Berlin guidebook, and Jeremy's Google and TripAdvisor reviews are glowing. We were SO glad we did this. Jeremy provides such a broad swath of Berlin knoweledge and experiences during your time with him -- the history, the politics, and the culture. If I only had a day in Berlin, I would make a private tour with Jeremy a priority. I hope this helps!

https://theberlinexpert.com/