TRAVEL BLOG & INFO

This trip through Germany and Poland was different from almost any trip I have taken. Over two weeks, I visited places I had wanted to see for years, experienced places I felt I needed to see, and tested a style of independent travel that pushed me outside my comfort zone. By the end, I can confidently call the trip a 100% success. One of the things that made this experience so unique was traveling with a longtime friend who grew up in East Germany. He planned the itinerary,

My final day in Germany brought me to Munich, and I decided to focus on two things I particularly enjoy when traveling through Europe: bakeries and history. Fortunately, Munich delivered plenty of both. We arrived using public transportation, which continues to impress me. Navigating the vibrant subway system: even with local expertise, unexpected hurdles abound. The trains have been efficient, timely, and an excellent way to travel. Would I have attempted all of this public

Today was another travel day—but not quite a departure day. We moved hotels to be closer to the Berlin airport because tomorrow morning we have an early flight to Munich, the final stop of this trip. Before making that move, however, we had one more full day to experience Berlin, beginning with something I certainly do not do at home: taking a train into the city to have breakfast on top of the Reichstag. We boarded the fast train from the airport toward central Berlin, and e

The rental car has been returned, which means we are now 100% dependent on Berlin’s public transportation system: buses, trains, trams, subways, and apparently anything else that can get us from Point A to Point B. I joked that bicycles and unicycles might be next.

Walking from the visitor center at Auschwitz toward the camp, we passed through a tunnel where the names of people murdered at the complex were being recited. Hearing name after name immediately changed the atmosphere. These were not simply statistics from a history book. They were individuals whose lives ended here.

Walking through Oskar Schindler’s former factory in Kraków is a strange and powerful experience. Most people know Schindler through the movie Schindler’s List, but standing inside the actual building makes the story feel much more real.

I can now confirm with 100 % certainty that the castle hotel where we stayed was not haunted. At least, no ghosts introduced themselves to me. It was actually a very comfortable place to spend the night.

Today I visited the Old Synagogue in Erfurt, Germany, one of the oldest surviving synagogues in Europe. Unfortunately, this was one of those travel moments when I arrived at the right place at the wrong time. The synagogue is undergoing renovations connected with Erfurt’s UNESCO World Heritage designation, so I was unable to go inside.

As a Jewish person, I have always felt a need to visit a concentration camp, not because I expected it to be easy, but because there are some places where I believe you need to stand and confront history for yourself. Today, I visited Buchenwald.

Walking through Dresden today, it is difficult to imagine just how much of this beautiful historic city was destroyed during World War II. Everywhere you look, there are magnificent churches, palaces, museums, and public squares. Yet much of what appears centuries old has actually been painstakingly reconstructed after the devastation of the war.