💑 Honeymoon in Germany: route for lovers

Almost every girl dreams of a traditional wedding set: a white dress, a romantic photo shoot and a honeymoon on a trip. The details change from person to person, but the basics remain the same. Choosing a place for a honeymoon is a separate conversation (or rather, even an argument).

Oh, how many options my fiancé and I once went through; among the most striking I can remember Japan and Vietnam. It was a comfortable year in 2019 and there were no problems with logistics. But we decided to save money and choose Europe, especially since there was no visa issue then, we both had the necessary documents. We finally agreed on Germany in May.

I wanted to see Neuschwanstein, I already wrote that I consider this place one of the most romantic, and my husband also planned to go to the traditional spring wrestling show. One of the cities on their tour was in Magdeburg. That's why we visited it too. Our final route looked like this: Warsaw – Berlin – Magdeburg – Munich – Fussen, Schwangau and castles – Munich – Warsaw.

Tickets

We traveled to Warsaw and back by Ecolines. We traveled between German cities either by Flixbus bus (not everything was always smooth, but read on about that), or by train, for example, from Munich to Fussen. It was worth it, it was comfortable and the views from the window were stunning, the closer to the Alps, the more beautiful. Although Bavaria itself is an atmospheric region. We wanted to fly back by plane, but decided against it. It was a comfortable year in 2019 and traveling around Europe by bus for two weeks on our honeymoon seemed like a cool idea. We will tell our grandchildren about it someday, but for now I’ll tell you about it.

In each city we made a connection for at least 2-3 days, so that we could travel actively and have time to catch our breath. We only stopped in Warsaw for one day, and then took a night bus to Berlin.

Warsaw

We've been to the Polish capital more than once, so we mostly walked around the parks and the garden on the roof of the university library – a gorgeous place. I advise everyone to go there. There's a nice lookout there and a super cute botanical garden. Free admission. But check the opening hours.

We had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe – a colorful themed place in the city center. But be prepared that the food there is also hard! I couldn't finish my huge burger with a knife in the core. But the musical atmosphere pleased me.

Berlin

If we did not spend the night on buses, we only stayed in hotels. Booked on booking.com. On every new trip I swear I’ll try to live in an apartment, but the hotel breakfast included in the bill decides for me.

In Berlin we stayed in a cozy hotel-pension Hotel-Pension Waizenegger, which looked more like a manor with the classic intimate atmosphere of an antique mansion. The hotel was located in the Charlottenburg area – this is the western part of the city, a little further from the center.

A very green area, many parks, alleys, the inside of our hotel was almost completely covered with ivy. I wouldn’t have remembered the name of the hotel, or even half of the travel stories, without the help of my Instagram, which I’ve been using as a travel diary for the last 6 years. So I recommend writing about your trips. As you can understand, I recommend the hotel too. I remember wandering around it and gawking at the vintage chandeliers, stained glass windows, paintings, photographs on the walls and the garden outside the window.

The first day in Berlin we relaxed more. We took a leisurely walk around our area and had dinner at the Marjellchen restaurant serving national German cuisine. In Germany you can try cuisines from almost all countries of the world. There are too many Italian and Turkish restaurants to choose from, but we decided to try German cuisine and we couldn’t go wrong. Tasty, satisfying, beautiful, aesthetically pleasing. I recommend it.

On the second and third days in the city we only walked around the center. Interesting thing: we climbed to the roof of the TV tower. If you like observation rooms, I recommend them.

We also went to the zoo. I had a childhood dream – to see pandas. All the world's pandas legally belong to China – and the country only leases the animals.

There are only a few zoos in Europe where pandas live. They require extremely delicate care and a lot of free space for reserve-level living. At that time, there were only two pandas living in Berlin.

Later I found out that they gave birth to two cubs, which are also the property of China. Very cute creatures. In the zoo you can also see penguins, lemurs, sharks, giraffes, and many famous animals – budget at least half a day for your visit.

Magdeburg

It only took two hours to get there, but we were out of luck then. For some reason, the police stopped the bus, collected documents, and dogs sniffed the luggage. Travel time has doubled. Although now I’m writing this, I remember the current 10-hour queues at the border and smile nervously. These were problems, of course.

When we finally got to Magdeburg and had lunch, the heat began. Google map showed the ideal route to the hotel, but starting from the station, our entire road was dug up and blocked. We had to make a hellish circle through some “forest” along a gravel path. And we barely reached it.

Otherwise everything was fine, except that on our third day in the city it started to rain, but Magdeburg is small. All the most iconic sights can be seen and explored on foot in a day. But the city has a rich history. Let us at least recall the famous Magdeburg Law of 805.

If you are there, be sure to stop by the main cathedral; I was captivated by its plant-covered walls and spiers. By the way, this is the oldest Gothic cathedral in Germany (1209).

I also remember artHOTEL – a unique hotel in the Green Citadel, designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser (don't try to pronounce it). You may have already seen other works of the architect, for example, his famous brightly colorful House in Vienna or Dancing in Prague.

My husband and I were separated for only one evening; I didn’t want to go to wrestling for the second year in a row. So he bought himself a more expensive ticket and closer to the stage, and I walked around the parks and talked to the locals.

Munich

We went there by night bus with a connection in Halle. But Flixbus buses tend to be delayed often, and when this happens at one in the morning, everything is much more unpleasant. We were freezing at the stop for two hours. Therefore, almost the entire next day until the evening we slept, had dinner somewhere near the hotel, and then I watched the Eurovision final on my phone.

But the weather was nice. After rainy Magdeburg, sunny +20 in Munich was like a blessing. It was the second week of the honeymoon. I’ve already written about where to go in the city here, so let’s move on – to the pearl of our trip.

Fussen, Schwangau and castles

I repeat, Neuschwanstein, a castle in the Alpine mountains is an ideal place for a honeymoon.⠀From German, the castle translates as a new swan cliff (stone), so merch with these beautiful birds is sold everywhere.

The building itself is not the oldest, dating back to 1869, but I’ve probably only seen more tourists in the Louvre.

To get there from Munich, I recommend buying a Bayern Ticket, free travel for a day throughout the region, even go to Salzburg. The ticket has a fixed price and an additional payment for each additional tourist (up to 5 people), for two it was 32 €. Now there may be more.

The castles are located in the village of Schwangau, but only tourists go straight there on excursions. It is more convenient to take the train to Füssen on your own. Yes, and the views on the road are amazing. Just check the transfers and better choose trains without them.

From Füssen to Schwangau it is about 4 km. Buses also go from there. If you have a lot of time, I advise you to take a walk around the town itself, and then go around the undeservedly neglected Hohenschwangau Castle.

We drove back from the castles first to Munich, and then, having rested, straight to Warsaw. As I remember now, at one of the connections we watched the last episode of “Game of Thrones”. The ending of the series may have been disappointing, but the honeymoon, even after several years, is remembered with great warmth. I wish you the same, no matter what direction you choose!