Author: traylorb

Most of the day was spent traveling to Rotterdam, with 2 connecting trains following our initial train from Hamburg. We finished up the day on a walking tour of the city with plenty of authentic food and drink from the Netherlands. This city is so lively and reminds me of a more modern version of [...]

Today we had a walking tour around Hamburg highlighted by City Hall and the fountain Hygieia-Brunnen and the St. Nikolai’s Church and clock tower. I spent the remainder of the day doing a few errands that I had been neglecting. I bought some snacks at the local grocery store and then took the train back [...]

We spent the day on a boat tour of Hamburg Harbor with an up-close look at some huge container ships with up to 10,000 TEUs of product ready to be distributed on each. Then we explored the Reeperbahn with a focus on the early history of The Beatles. I wrapped up the day during free [...]

Most of the day was spent traveling via rail from Prague to Hamburg. The train ride was quite long but surprisingly comfortable and pleasant. It was relaxing to spread out and be able to walk around to use the restroom or visit the dining car at my convenience without disturbing the people around me like [...]

Today, we visited the Škoda plant for a guided tour around 2 of the 4 main production facilities. It was interesting to see the differences in reliance on human labor versus automation, especially when compared to what we saw at BMW in Munich. By midday, we were free to roam Prague and I took the [...]

We began the day at the Museum of Communism. This was a sobering albeit interesting window into the Soviet era within Czechia and other nations shielded behind the iron curtain. Our tour guide led us through the museum followed by a walking tour around the historic inner core of Prague. We got to walk on [...]

This morning, we left Munich. The day was predominately set aside for traveling to Prague by motor coach. When we arrived, we had an opportunity to grab dinner and explore Wenceslas Square, including a tour of a former Soviet-era nuclear bunker (Cold War Museum). This tour was definitely one of the highlights of my trip [...]

We spent our final day in Munich visiting Allianz Arena, home of FC Bayern, and the BMW complex. Beyond being (by far) Germany's winningest football club, Bayern has a museum within the stadium to showcase their many championship cups and trophies alongside memorabilia. Time at the BMW complex was spent at BMW World and on [...]

Today we visited the Residenz Museum, filled to the ceiling (literally) with precious art and metals cladding the walls. We spent the afternoon at Dachau Concentration Camp; this stop was quite far out of the city center but proved to be worth the trek. Our guide was knowledgable and brought plenty of second-hand anecdotes from [...]

Today was our first day on our trip throughout Central Europe, highlighted with a tour around old-town Munich with stops at the Munich Cathedral and New Town Hall to watch the glockenspiel. This was particularly interesting because this is my first time visiting Germany and the guided tour allowed me to ask questions directly from [...]