Guten tag!

Another day, another dollar. The budget traveller I am, I chose to fly into Frankfurt in Germany in order to get the cheapest possible flights to Europe for my second visit of 2011, being lucky enough to get back within the year. First stop was Berlin, which was a cultural whirlwind, though as a city I think I had quite a differing experience than many I've spoken to. The hostel I stayed in, Wombat City Hostel, had great facilities, but I didn't quite get on with many of the people I met there. I did most of my sightseeing alone, which is completely fine by me as when exploring a new city I'm always pretty content to wander solo without having to worry about other people. I did make some friends, ironically on the last night and morning of my departure, but it's always great to have a good chat to keep loneliness at bay whilst travelling solo.

Berlin wall

Currywurst

Next up I ventured over to the Netherlands and Belgium to visit a friend, returning to Germany with a stop in Dusseldorf, which I had chosen purely for the perfect stopover location between Amsterdam and Munich. I had only planned to stay one night, but ended up being there for three, with it being one of my most unexpectedly enjoyable cities (despite a hiccup or two along the way). The first day arriving I noticed the hostel was quite empty - not the best sign, but in the end it meant we were almost forced into becoming friends with the few other backpackers there. I met two lovely guys in my hostel room, and decided to go out on the town with one of them as it was his last night there. His name was Jesus (what an excellent name), and we made our way to the pub area in Dusseldorf, with it proving to be a pretty crazy night of more shots and drinks than I can remember consuming. It was definitely not one of my classiest moments, but it was a bonding experience and a half! The next day me and my only remaining friend decided to venture across town to the city aquarium, although we left early so I could have a necessary recovery nap. That was where the Dusseldorf experience turned a bit sour, and as many solo female travellers would understand, there's always that one experience where you've been taken adventure of in one way or another whilst travelling. My so called friend turned out to be a bit more friendly than I would have liked, which developed into the most scary experience I've encountered travelling yet, and was incredibly lucky to find solace in a newcomer at the hostel who helped me escape the situation. My new friend was a Londoner, who took me out for a drink and a memorable karaoke experience, singing crowd favourite 'Barbie girl' before making a swift exit from the karaoke bar. It was a much improved end to an otherwise horrific day.

Surfing in the park in the middle of winter

A few days later than originally planned, I ended up in Munich at another branch of Wombat Hostels, which I found to be far more sociable than its Berlin counterpart. I quickly made friends in my dorm room, and having a drink in the hostel bar led to building ourselves a nice little drinking group for the first night. I hadn't met the rest of the people in my dorm, though I become somewhat acquainted with them in the early hours of the next morning when two had a pretty heated argument, and one of the girls got pretty aggressive. At a more reasonable hour, the crazy outburst served as a good means for becoming friends with all but the girl in question. The remaining few were actually really nice people, and I spent the day visiting the concentration camp of Dachau which was quite overwhelming. We decided to have a more lighthearted afternoon, taking a walk in the Englischer Garten and seeing the locals surf in the man made waves of the parks river. Ending the night in the Munich Hofbräuhaus, I indulged in a schnitzel and a pretzel the size of my head.  

Pretzels bigger than my head

A final stopover in Cologne was a quiet end to my German adventure, with an evening of checking out the breathtaking Cologne Cathedral before a nice dinner and an early night.

-Melissa