Beautiful Berlin

Hanna Fussman
Tourism & Travel
Bonn University, Spring 2018

Sometimes, I feel like Germany is underrated. I watch a lot of travel vloggers on youtube, and as much as I love the content they put out, it seems Germany is never a highlight of their travels. Honestly, of the people I watch, I’ve only seen a few go to Germany, and even then it’s usually a quick, twenty four hour stop.

Here’s the thing – travel vloggers are great! They show us the world that some of us can only dream of seeing, or help us come up with great ideas for the trips we’re planning. But there are so many beautiful places you’re missing out on when you only watch their videos and don’t travel for yourself.

Let me tell you – Germany is amazing. And it’s a place you don’t see plastered on these videos (or, at least, the videos of the people I watch). This means you might have to come up with some ideas for yourself, but if Germany is on your list of places to go then I can definitely give you a few tips about Berlin!

I’ve been lucky enough to go to Berlin twice in the past few years – once, right after graduating from high school, and last week, with my host university. It’s a city full of beauty and an intense history, and you definitely will need more than a day to see it.

I’m going to quickly cover my top three places, most of which are typical tourist places. But hey, who ever said being a tourist is a bad thing? (Don’t answer that question – I promise it’s fine when you’re respectful.)

Number three on the list is the Berlin Wall. Of course, how could you go to Berlin and not see it? And while it may be a tourist destination, it’s usually not all that busy. Both times I’ve gone, it’s been relatively quiet besides the group I’m with.

Number two is Potsdam. So, technically Potsdam is its own city, but it sits directly beside Berlin and it has some amazing palaces to see. I would definitely recommend checking out Sanssouci, but there are plenty to choose from!

Number one is probably the most touristy on the list, but it’s the one that I always wanted to do as a kid, and now I’ve been to it three times! The Brandenburger Tor is huge! And it’s so beautiful, much like the rest of the city.

There are plenty of other places in and around Berlin to see, some toursity and others not, but you’ll definitely want to plan for more than a few days here.