James Anderson-Pole
Travel recommendations
Australia
- Cockatoo Island, NSW
- National Pass, NSW
Czech Republic
Germany
- Berlin Nordbahnhof: Train station with exhibition on Berlin's ghost stations.
- Berlin TV Tower
- East Side Gallery
Malaysia
Netherlands
New Caledonia
- Amedee Island: Recommend booking with MaryD.
New Zealand
- Mount Kaukau, Wellington
Samoa
Singapore
- Battlebox: 1942 Malaya Command Headquarters
- Changi Chapel and Museum: World War Two Prisoner of War camp.
- Former Ford Factory: Here the British surrendered to the Japanese in 1942. There is an exhibition on World War 2.
- Rail Corridor: I recommend the Central Section if you are short on time.
- Reflections at Bukit Chandu: Historical World War 2 site.
Thailand
United Kingdom
United States
Newseum: Was an excellent musuem but sadly closed at the end of 2019.
Travel Plans
Germany
Baden-Württemberg — 12 nights
- Heidelberg — 5 nights
- Accommodation ibis Heidelberg Hauptbahnhof
- Day 1 Technik Museum Speyer (day trip)
- Day 2 Technik Museum Sinsheim (day trip)
- Day 3
- Studentenkarzer (Student Prison): university lock-up used 1778–1914 for minor student offences, cell walls covered in graffiti left by generations of inmates; quick visit (15–20 min) before heading out
- Zeughaus-Mensa im Marstall: former princely armory turned university dining hall, "Mensa of the Year" 2010 and 2011; lunch stop a few minutes from the Studentenkarzer, pay-by-weight buffet until 21:00
- BASF Visitor Center: company-history exhibition spanning the Nazi-era IG Farben period, with a Stolperschwelle memorial outside (day trip to Ludwigshafen)
- Gedenkstätte KZ Osthofen (Osthofen Concentration Camp Memorial): one of the first Nazi concentration camps, established March 1933 (day trip)
- Video 10 German Cities Where History Comes Alive — From Charlemagne to the Berlin Wall: mentions the Studentenkarzer (Student Prison)
- Video Stunning Heidelberg | Germany's Most Beautiful University Cities Pt. 2: mentions the Zeughaus-Mensa im Marstall and the Studentenkarzer (Student Prison)
- Day 4 (day trip to Frankfurt; avoid Monday/Saturday — Adlerwerke closed to individual visitors both days, Museum für Kommunikation also closed Monday)
- Museum für Kommunikation Frankfurt (Museum for Communication Frankfurt): visit in the morning
- Main Tower: observation deck at 200m, open-air 360° view over the Frankfurt skyline; midday
- Historischer Ort Adlerwerke (Historical Site Adlerwerke): memorial to the Katzbach concentration camp, a subcamp of Natzweiler-Struthof; individual visitors only Tue–Fri 14:00–18:00 or Sun 14:00–17:00, near Hauptbahnhof so visit last before the train back
- Video Frankfurt: Main Tower, St. Paul's Curch, Apple Wine | Travel Tips for Frankfurt | Visit Mainhattan: mentions Main Tower
- Video Frankfurt am Main with Alemanizando: from half-timbered houses to the top of a skyscraper: mentions Main Tower
- Website Frankfurt (Main) Hbf | A brief station guide
- Stuttgart — 4 nights
- Accommodation ibis Stuttgart Centrum
- Day 1 Memorial at Hotel Silber
- Day 1 Stauffenberg-Erinnerungsstätte (Stauffenberg Memorial): exhibition on brothers Claus and Berthold von Stauffenberg and the 20 July 1944 plot against Hitler, in the Altes Schloss. Open Thu–Sun only.
- Day 1 Birkenkopf
- Day 2 Straßenbahnmuseum Stuttgart
- Day 2 SWR Fernsehturm Stuttgart
- Day 3 Palais Thermal: historic thermal bath with spa-palace architecture (day trip)
- Website Stuttgart Hbf - a brief station guide
- Baden-Baden — 3 nights
- Accommodation TRIBE Baden-Baden
- Day 1 Caracalla Therme: modern thermal spa day with indoor/outdoor pools and sauna areas.
- Day 2 Friedrichsbad: Roman-Irish bath house and historic thermal spa experience.
- Video Tourist Favorites in Baden-Württemberg: The Top 3 Cities and Regions
Bavaria — 10 nights
- Berchtesgaden — 2 nights
- Accommodation Hotel Mercure Salzburg City
- Dokumentation Obersalzberg
- Kehlsteinhaus (Eagle's Nest): Berg-Restaurant Kehlsteinhaus on site serves traditional Bavarian food (schnitzel, goulash, apple pie) on a terrace with panoramic alpine views up to 200km; a good built-in lunch/coffee break, best earlier in the day before tour groups fill up
- Video Stunning Landscape and Dark History in the Bavarian Alps: mentions the Kehlsteinhaus (Eagle's Nest) and the Dokumentation Obersalzberg
- Website Salzburg Hbf - a brief station guide
- Munich — 8 nights
- Accommodation ibis München City
- Day 1 Zugspitze (day trip to Garmisch-Partenkirchen)
- Zugspitze
- Video Tips for the Most Popular Travel Destination in Germany: Top Regions and Cities in Bavaria: mentions Zugspitze
- Video Munich and the Foothills of the Alps: mentions Zugspitze
- Day 2 Neuschwanstein Castle (day trip to Hohenschwangau)
- Neuschwanstein Castle
- Hohenschwangau Castle: King Ludwig II's childhood home, across the valley from Neuschwanstein; book tickets ~2.5h apart from Neuschwanstein's slot
- Marienbrücke (Mary's Bridge): iron bridge over the Pöllat Gorge with the classic photo viewpoint of Neuschwanstein, ~45 min walk uphill or shuttle bus
- Video Germany Bucket List Must-Sees: The Country's Most Popular Sights
- Website Munich to Neuschwanstein by train | How to visit Bavaria's fairytale castle!
- Video Tips for the Most Popular Travel Destination in Germany: Top Regions and Cities in Bavaria: mentions Neuschwanstein
- Video We Show You the Most Visited Castles, Palaces, and Fortresses in Germany: mentions Neuschwanstein
- Video Munich and the Foothills of the Alps: mentions both Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles
- Video 5 UNESCO Sites in Germany Everyone Should See: mentions Neuschwanstein
- Video The Best Way to See Neuschwanstein Castle | Things to See on a Bike Tour Along the Lech River: mentions Neuschwanstein
- Day 3 (day trip to Nuremberg)
- Reichsparteitagsgelände (Nazi Party Rally Grounds): former Nazi Party rally complex, including the Documentation Center in the Congress Hall's north wing and the Zeppelin Field parade grounds.
- Memorium Nuremberg Trials
- Historische Bratwurstküche "Zum Gulden Stern": Nürnberger Rostbratwurst grilled over beechwood, dinner stop in the Altstadt on the way back to the station before the return train to Munich
- Video From Nazi Party Rallies to the Nuremberg Trials: mentions the Reichsparteitagsgelände and the Memorium Nuremberg Trials
- Day 4 (day trip to Dachau)
- Day 5 (day trip to Nuremberg)
- DB Museum Nuremberg
- Museum für Kommunikation (Nuremberg)
- Bratwursthäusle: Nürnberger Rostbratwurst at the historic house by Rathausplatz/Hauptmarkt, lunch stop near the DB Museum and Museum für Kommunikation
- Day 6 (day trip to Erding)
- Therme Erding: world's largest thermal spa complex
- Day 7 Munich local attractions
- Deutsches Museum (Munich)
- Munich Documentation Center for the History of National Socialism
- DenkStätte Weiße Rose (White Rose Memorial): marks the spot at LMU Munich where Sophie and Hans Scholl threw anti-Nazi leaflets on 18 February 1943
- Isartaler Brauhaus: brewery restaurant in the former Großhesseloher Bahnhof (1890), house-brewed Stationsweizen; ~16 min by S7 from Hauptbahnhof, open until 23:00 with late trains back (evening)
- Video Germany Bucket List Must-Sees: The Country's Most Popular Sights: mentions Deutsches Museum
- Website Munich Hbf - a brief station guide
- Video Germany's Frankfurt and Nürnberg
- Video 10 German Cities Where History Comes Alive — From Charlemagne to the Berlin Wall: mentions Nuremberg
- Video Tips for the Most Popular Travel Destination in Germany: Top Regions and Cities in Bavaria
Berlin — 16 nights
- Accommodation ibis Berlin Hauptbahnhof for a practical stay near Berlin Hbf.
- Day 1 ~15 min walking
- DDR Museum
- Humboldt Forum: site of the GDR's Palace of the Republic, exterior only
- Berlin TV Tower — Sphere Tim Raue: revolving restaurant at 207m, book a table 2 weeks ahead
- Park Inn Panorama Terrace: open-air viewing platform at 120m, right by Alexanderplatz; weather-dependent, tickets at the concierge desk
- Little BIG City: interactive miniature-model museum at the base of the TV Tower, 750 years of Berlin history in miniature with 6,000+ hand-painted figures
- Video Germany Bucket List Must-Sees: The Country's Most Popular Sights: mentions the Berlin TV Tower
- Video A Day in Berlin – What you MUST See: Join Alemanizando on a Special Tour Through the German Capital: mentions the Park Inn Panorama Terrace
- Video Top 10: What You Must See in Berlin | From the East Side Gallery to the Brandenburg Gate: mentions the Berlin TV Tower and Sphere Tim Raue restaurant
- Video Is Berlin's WelcomeCard Worth it? We Test the Popular Tourist Ticket: mentions Little BIG City
- Day 2 ~10 min transit, ~43 min walking, ~53 min total
- Berlin Story Bunker — Hitler: How could it happen?
- Topography of Terror
- Anhalter Bahnhof ruins: fragment of the portico and façade of what was once one of the world's grandest railway stations (built 1880, demolished 1960 after WWII bombing damage); used to deport Berlin's Jews during WWII; a short walk south of Topography of Terror
- Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus: 1953 East German uprising flashpoint, exterior only, with Max Lingner's "Building the Republic" Meissen-tile mural on the Leipziger Straße facade
- Watchtower Erna-Berger-Straße: last preserved BT-6 type watchtower on the former Berlin Wall, near Potsdamer Platz
- Berlin Wall segment at Potsdamer Platz: six original graffiti-covered Wall slabs near the U-Bahn station entrance, plus a metal strip in the pavement marking the Wall's former course
- Führerbunker site: now just a car park with an information board
- Checkpoint Charlie
- Mauermuseum — Haus am Checkpoint Charlie
- asisi Panorama — The Wall
- Timeride: VR ride through Berlin's history (currently paused/closed in Berlin — check before visiting)
- Video Germany Bucket List Must-Sees: The Country's Most Popular Sights: mentions Topography of Terror
- Video Berlin: Where You Can Still See the Traces of the Second World War: mentions Anhalter Bahnhof
- Video 75 Years after WWII: Memorials in Berlin | A History Tour of Berlin | Traces of WWII in Berlin: mentions the Führerbunker site and Topography of Terror
- Video A Day in Berlin – What you MUST See: Join Alemanizando on a Special Tour Through the German Capital: mentions Mauermuseum — Haus am Checkpoint Charlie
- Video Is Berlin's WelcomeCard Worth it? We Test the Popular Tourist Ticket: mentions asisi Panorama — The Wall
- Video Traces of the Berlin Wall, 60 Years On | A Look at the History of the Berlin Wall: mentions the Berlin Wall segment at Potsdamer Platz
- Day 3 ~38 min transit, ~15 min walking, ~53 min total
- Karl-Marx-Allee: GDR-era Stalinist boulevard of monumental architecture
- Computerspielemuseum: video game history museum, same street as Karl-Marx-Allee
- The Wall Museum
- Video A Day in Berlin – What you MUST See: Join Alemanizando on a Special Tour Through the German Capital: mentions Karl-Marx-Allee
- Day 4 ~6 min transit, ~47 min walking, ~53 min total
- Palace of Tears: former Friedrichstraße border crossing hall
- Deutscher Dom: free exhibition on German parliamentary history
- Museum for Communication
- Bebelplatz — "Empty Library": site of the 1933 Nazi book burning
- Neue Wache: Central Memorial of the Federal Republic of Germany for the Victims of War and Dictatorship
- Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (Holocaust Memorial)
- Reichstag: dome/roof terrace access covered by the Käfer dinner reservation below, no separate dome registration needed
- Käfer Dachgarten-Restaurant: dinner on the Reichstag roof terrace, table for one; reservation includes dome/terrace access via a dedicated faster entrance (West C), book at least 48h ahead and register for Bundestag security (full name + birth date)
- Video A Day in Berlin – What you MUST See: Join Alemanizando on a Special Tour Through the German Capital: mentions the Reichstag and Bebelplatz
- Video Discover Berlin with Dhruv Rathee | Travel Tips for the German Capital: mentions the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and the Reichstag
- Video Top 10: What You Must See in Berlin | From the East Side Gallery to the Brandenburg Gate: mentions the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and the Reichstag
- Video 75 Years after WWII: Memorials in Berlin | A History Tour of Berlin | Traces of WWII in Berlin: mentions the Reichstag
- Day 5 ~50 min transit, ~12 min walking, ~62 min total
- Visited Berlin Wall Memorial (Bernauer Straße)
- Günter Litfin Memorial (Kieler Eck watchtower): preserved GDR command-post watchtower near Nordbahnhof; site of the first person shot dead by border guards while fleeing over the Wall, in 1961
- Berliner Unterwelten — "Underground to Freedom" tour: guided tour of Wall escape tunnels, book ahead
- Nuclear Bunker Pankstraße: book ahead
- Flakturm Humboldthain: WWII anti-aircraft flak tower remnant buried under a rubble hill in Volkspark Humboldthain; free viewing platform via a short climb, near Gesundbrunnen; Berliner Unterwelten also runs a separate paid bunker tour here
- Museum in der Kulturbrauerei: permanent exhibition on everyday life in the GDR
- Bornholmer Straße: site of the first Berlin Wall crossing to open, on the night of 9 November 1989; open-air exhibition ("Platz des 9. November 1989") at the former checkpoint by the Bösebrücke bridge, one S-Bahn stop north of Gesundbrunnen
- Video Germany Bucket List Must-Sees: The Country's Most Popular Sights: mentions the Berlin Wall Memorial
- Video Berlin Sights – From Must-Sees to Overrated Spots: mentions the Berlin Wall Memorial Documentation Centre
- Video Berlin: Where You Can Still See the Traces of the Second World War: mentions Flakturm Humboldthain
- Video 75 Years after WWII: Memorials in Berlin | A History Tour of Berlin | Traces of WWII in Berlin: mentions Flakturm Humboldthain
- Video Traces of the Berlin Wall, 60 Years On | A Look at the History of the Berlin Wall: mentions Bornholmer Straße
- Day 6 ~49 min transit, ~40 min walking, ~89 min total
- German Spy Museum
- German Resistance Memorial Centre (Bendlerblock): site of Stauffenberg's execution after the 20 July 1944 plot
- Schwules Museum
- Deutsches Technikmuseum: includes the Deutsche Telekom Science Center Spectrum interactive exhibit
- Tempelhof Field
- Video Berlin: Best Spots for a Summer Day (Without Breaking the Bank): mentions Tempelhof Field
- Day 7 ~83 min transit, ~8 min walking, ~91 min total
- Soviet War Memorial (Treptower Park)
- Oberbaumbrücke: U1 U-Bahn bridge over the Spree between Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain, a pedestrian border crossing during division
- Watchtower Schlesischer Busch: preserved GDR command-post watchtower on Puschkinallee, now hosting rotating art exhibitions
- Museum Berlin-Karlshorst: site of German surrender
- Stasi Museum
- Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial: former Stasi remand prison
- Video A Day in Berlin – What you MUST See: Join Alemanizando on a Special Tour Through the German Capital: mentions Oberbaumbrücke
- Video Top 10: What You Must See in Berlin | From the East Side Gallery to the Brandenburg Gate: mentions Oberbaumbrücke
- Video 75 Years after WWII: Memorials in Berlin | A History Tour of Berlin | Traces of WWII in Berlin: mentions Museum Berlin-Karlshorst
- Video How Did the GDR State Security Operate? We find out in Berlin!: mentions the Stasi Museum
- Day 8 ~75 min transit
- House of the Wannsee Conference
- Gleis 17 Memorial: memorial marking deportation trains of Berlin's Jews (1941–1945)
- Teufelsberg: former US Cold War listening station
- Allied Museum
- Video 75 Years after WWII: Memorials in Berlin | A History Tour of Berlin | Traces of WWII in Berlin: mentions the Allied Museum
- Video Memorial Sites for the Victims of Nazism in Berlin: mentions the House of the Wannsee Conference
- Day 9 Potsdam — ~25 km from hotel
- Lindenstrasse Memorial: memorial to political persecution under Nazi, Soviet, and GDR rule
- Cecilienhof Country House: site of the 1945 Potsdam Conference
- Leistikowstrasse Potsdam Memorial: former Soviet/KGB remand prison in the early Cold War period
- Glienicke Bridge: Cold War prisoner-exchange bridge between Berlin and Potsdam
- Video 10 German Cities Where History Comes Alive — From Charlemagne to the Berlin Wall: mentions Potsdam
- Video Potsdam — 30 Years since German Reunification | A Day in Potsdam | Travel Tips for Potsdam
- Day 10 Oranienburg — ~35 km from hotel
- Memorial and Museum Sachsenhausen: major former concentration camp memorial site
- Video Memorial Sites for the Victims of Nazism in Berlin: mentions the Memorial and Museum Sachsenhausen
- Day 11 Brandenburg an der Havel — ~65 km from hotel
- Brandenburg-Görden Prison Memorial: former prison memorial covering Nazi and post-war political repression
- Memorial to the Victims of Euthanasia Murders: documentation site on the Nazi "euthanasia" killings at Brandenburg an der Havel
- Day 12 Eisenhuettenstadt — ~120 km from hotel
- Day 13–15 Berlin Wall Trail (Mauerweg) — 3-day cycle of the full ~160 km loop
- inner-city leg (~43 km): ride the former East–West divide through the city centre along the old border patrol road.
- southern outer ring (~55 km): ride West Berlin's former border with Brandenburg, from Wannsee round through the southern suburbs to Rudow/Schönefeld.
- northern & western outer ring (~60 km): ride the forested northern and western border (now the "Green Belt"), through Spandau and along the Havel back to the start.
- Note book an e-bike rather than a standard bike — three consecutive days, book rental ahead
- Website Berlin Hauptbahnhof | A station guide
- Video Berlin
- Video Berlin's Most Visited Sights – Which of These Do You Already Know?
- Video 10 German Cities Where History Comes Alive — From Charlemagne to the Berlin Wall
- Video Is Berlin's WelcomeCard Worth it? We Test the Popular Tourist Ticket: covers the Berlin WelcomeCard
- Note Deutsches Historisches Museum: permanent exhibition (covers Nazi era and Cold War/reunification) closed for renovation as of writing, only the I.M. Pei annex's temporary exhibitions are open — check reopening status before adding
Brandenburg
Trips into Brandenburg are covered as day trips from Berlin.
Bremen — 4 nights
- Bremen — 4 nights
- Accommodation Apartment-hotel Adagio Bremen
- Day 1 Denkort Bunker Valentin (Bunker Valentin Memorial Site)
- Day 2 Universum Bremen
- Day 3 U-Boot Wilhelm Bauer (Submarine Wilhelm Bauer) (day trip to Bremerhaven)
Hamburg — 6 nights
- Accommodation ibis Hamburg Alster Centrum
- Day 1
- Hannoverscher Bahnhof Memorial: marks the former deportation station platform from which 20 trains carried over 8,000 Jews, Sinti and Roma to ghettos and Auschwitz-Birkenau (1940–1945), Lohsepark
- St Nikolai Memorial
- Bunker St. Pauli (Flakturm IV): WWII flak tower built by forced labourers and POWs in 1942, sheltering up to 25,000 people; now has a memorial and information centre alongside a public rooftop garden
- Video Germany's Hamburg and the Luther Trail: mentions the St Nikolai Memorial
- Day 2 Ohlsdorf Cemetery: mass grave and memorial to c. 38,000 victims of the 1943 firestorm bombing (Operation Gomorrah), whose bodies Neuengamme prisoners were forced to recover and bury (day trip)
- Day 2 Gedenkstätte Fuhlsbüttel ("Kola-Fu"): early Nazi concentration camp and Gestapo prison, opened September 1933, later a Neuengamme branch site; permanent exhibition on resistance and individual prisoner biographies since 2003, 15-20 min walk from Ohlsdorf
- Day 3 Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial (day trip)
- Day 3 Bullenhuser Damm Memorial: former Neuengamme satellite camp where 20 Jewish children used in medical experiments, and their four caretakers, were murdered on the night of 20 April 1945; on the same S21 line as Neuengamme (early start recommended to combine both)
- Day 4 St. Mary's Church, Lübeck: bells left shattered on the floor of the south tower exactly as they fell in the RAF's Palm Sunday raid of 28/29 March 1942, the first major British bombing raid on a German city (stopover en route to/from Neustadt in Holstein)
- Day 4 Museum Cap Arcona: former Neuengamme and Stutthof prisoners died when the RAF sank the prisoner ships Cap Arcona, Thielbek and Athen in Lübeck Bay on 3 May 1945, hours before likely liberation (day trip to Neustadt in Holstein, via Lübeck)
- Day 5
- Miniatur Wunderland
- Elbphilharmonie Plaza: free public viewing deck with 360° views over the harbour and Elbe, book a timed-entry ticket ahead
- U-434 Submarine Museum: preserved Soviet Tango-class submarine that ran espionage missions off the US East Coast during the Cold War (decommissioned 2002)
- Video Germany Bucket List Must-Sees: The Country's Most Popular Sights: mentions Miniatur Wunderland and Elbphilharmonie Plaza
- Website Hamburg Hauptbahnhof | A station guide
Hesse — 2 nights
Frankfurt is covered as a day trip from Heidelberg (Baden-Württemberg); Hadamar is covered as a day trip from Koblenz (Rhineland-Palatinate).
- Fulda — 2 nights
- Accommodation B&B Hotel Fulda-Hbf
- Day 1 Point Alpha: Cold War US observation post overlooking the Fulda Gap, with museums covering both the western (Haus auf der Grenze) and eastern sides of the former inner-German border (day trip via Hünfeld)
Lower Saxony — 2 nights
- Hannover — 2 nights
- Accommodation Novotel Suites Hannover City
- Day 1 Gedenkstätte Bergen-Belsen (Bergen-Belsen Memorial): day trip via train to Celle, then taxi or bus (limited service, none Sundays) for the last 25km.
- Day 1 Aegidienkirche: ruined church preserved since 1952 as a war memorial, destroyed in the October 1943 bombing raid that killed 1,245 people; free, central Hannover
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania — 4 nights
- Greifswald — 4 nights
- Accommodation Mercure Hotel Greifswald Am Gorzberg
- Day 1 Dokumentationszentrum Prora: unfinished Nazi-era "Kraft durch Freude" (Strength Through Joy) resort complex, documenting its construction and political background (day trip)
- Day 2 Historisch-Technisches Museum Peenemünde: V2 rocket development and testing site of the Peenemünde Army Research Centre (day trip, 2 changes each way)
- Day 2 U-461: preserved Soviet Juliett-class cruise-missile submarine, moored opposite the museum
- Day 2 Hans Beimler: preserved Soviet-design (Tarantul-class) NVA Volksmarine missile fast-attack craft
- Day 3 Pommersches Landesmuseum: permanent exhibition on 20th-century Pomeranian history, covering both world wars, flight and expulsion, and the GDR era
North Rhine-Westphalia — 13 nights
- Duisburg — 3 nights
- Accommodation Mercure Hotel Duisburg City
- Day 1 Wunderland Kalkar (day trip to Kalkar)
- Day 2 Mahn- und Gedenkstätte Steinwache: former Gestapo police prison, now a memorial on resistance and persecution in Dortmund, 1933–1945 (day trip to Dortmund). Closed for renovation, planned reopening mid-2028.
- Köln (Cologne) — 6 nights
- Accommodation ibis Köln am Dom
- Day 1 (day trip to Wuppertal)
- Schwebodrom: exhibition on the history of the Wuppertal Suspension Railway
- Wuppertal Suspension Railway
- Engelsgarten: bronze Friedrich Engels monument next to Engels House, near Adlerbrücke Schwebebahn station (~5 min from Wupperfeld)
- Engels-Haus: museum in the house where Friedrich Engels grew up, with a permanent exhibition on his life and work
- Museum für Frühindustrialisierung: early industrialisation/textile history museum forming the "Historisches Zentrum" together with Engels-Haus, also at Adlerbrücke station
- Skywalk: cantilevered viewing platform in Nordpark over the treetops, near Wupperfeld Schwebebahn station
- Nordbahntrasse: former railway line converted to a walking/cycling path; borders Nordpark directly, so worth a short stroll along it while at the Skywalk (the full 20km+ route to Vohwinkel is too long to walk this day)
- Video Follow DW's Lukas Stege to Wuppertal in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
- Day 2 Deutsches Museum (day trip to Bonn)
- Day 2 Haus der Geschichte (day trip to Bonn)
- Day 3
- Day 4
- Cologne Cathedral Tower Climb: 533 steps up the south tower to a viewing platform at ~100m over the Rhine and city
- Hohenzollern Bridge: railway bridge over the Rhine beside the cathedral, its fences covered in tens of thousands of love locks
- Schokoladenmuseum (Chocolate Museum): history of cocoa and chocolate on the Rheinauhafen peninsula, from the Olmecs and Maya to modern production
- Video Discover Cologne with Dhruv Rathee | From Cologne Cathedral to the Chocolate Museum: mentions the Cologne Cathedral Tower Climb, the Hohenzollern Bridge, and the Chocolate Museum
- Video 5 UNESCO Sites in Germany Everyone Should See: mentions Cologne Cathedral
- Day 5 (day trip to Solingen)
- Travel: train from Köln Hbf to Solingen Hbf (~45 min), then S7 to Solingen-Schaberg (~10 min), then a short signposted walk into the park to Haus Müngsten
- Brückenpark Müngsten: riverside park around the Müngsten Bridge, Germany's highest railway bridge (107m high, 465m long, built 1897, spanning the Wupper valley between Remscheid and Solingen)
- Brückensteig (Müngsten Bridge Climb): guided, rope-secured climb of 777 steps up the historic bridge structure to a viewing platform at the top; ~2.5 hours total (~1 hour on the bridge itself). Booking required in advance (no walk-ins), €79/adult. Note safety briefing is normally spoken — email ahead to check for a written/visual alternative before booking
- Website Cologne Hauptbahnhof | a station guide
- Paderborn — 4 nights
- Accommodation ibis Paderborn City
- Day 1 Gedenkstätte Möhnetalsperre (Möhne Dam Memorial): memorial to the victims of the 1943 "Dambusters" raid, including the forced labourers who died during reconstruction (day trip to Möhnesee)
- Day 2 Gedenkstätte Stalag 326 (VI K) Senne: memorial and documentation centre at the largest Soviet POW transit camp in the Third Reich, near Schloss Holte-Stukenbrock (day trip to Schloss Holte-Stukenbrock)
- Day 3 Kreismuseum Wewelsburg: exhibition on the ideology and terror of the SS, at the former SS ideological centre and concentration camp site (day trip to Wewelsburg)
Rhineland-Palatinate — 5 nights
- Koblenz — 5 nights
- Accommodation Mercure Hotel Koblenz
- Day 1 Deutsches Eck (German Corner): Rhine/Moselle confluence with Kaiser Wilhelm monument and Berlin Wall fragments
- Day 1 DB Museum Koblenz
- Day 2
- Rhine Valley Scenic rail journey: train from Koblenz to Bingen.
- Rhine Valley Scenic boat journey: KD boat from Bingen to St Goar.
- Panorama-Restaurant Loreley: lunch stop in St Goar directly opposite the Loreley rock, before crossing the ferry to St Goarshausen
- Loreley Plateau: hiking up and down via the Rheinsteig from St Goarshausen (ferry across from St Goar)
- Video Rails Down The Rhine: Cologne to Basel by EuroCity train EC9
- Video Amazing Train Trips You Must Experience in Europe: mentions the Cologne to Mainz route
- Video The Middle Rhine Train: Germany's Most Beautiful Train Ride – A Scenic Trip Along the Rhine: mentions Panorama-Restaurant Loreley
- Video Castles Along the Rhine River: From Bingen to Koblenz | Germany's Upper Middle Rhine Valley by Drone
- Video 5 UNESCO Sites in Germany Everyone Should See: mentions the Upper Middle Rhine Valley
- Website Rails down the Rhine - the scenic route by train
- Day 3 Government Bunker Documentation Site: Cold War continuity-of-government bunker museum (day trip to Ahr Valley)
- Day 3 Ahr-Thermen: historic thermal spa (day trip to Ahr Valley)
- Day 4 Gedenkstätte Hadamar (Hadamar Memorial): former Aktion T4 euthanasia killing centre, with preserved gas chamber and crematorium (day trip to Hadamar)
- Remagen — stopover en route to/from Cologne
- Peace Museum Bridge at Remagen: museum on the 1945 Ludendorff Bridge battle and its aftermath
- Trier — stopover en route to/from Saarbrücken
Saarland — 2 nights
- Saarbrücken — 2 nights
- Accommodation Mercure Hotel Saarbrücken City
- Day 1 Historisches Museum Saar: permanent exhibition on the Saar region's history 1870–1959, including the Nazi era and the 1935 and 1955 referenda on unification with Germany
- Day 1 Neue Bremm Gestapo camp memorial: former SS-run "extended police prison camp" (1943–44) where hundreds of prisoners of 14 nationalities were killed, most in transit to concentration camps further east; free, open-air, bilingual German/French panels
Saxony — 10 nights
- Leipzig — 5 nights
- Accommodation ibis Leipzig City for a practical stay near Leipzig Hbf.
- Day 1 Josep Renau mosaic murals: "Unity of the Working Class and Founding of the GDR" and "The Forces of Nature and Technology Controlled by Man", a restored 1974 Cold War-era mosaic (36m x 7.25m, 11,136 tiles), Am Stadion 5 (day trip to Halle-Neustadt)
- Day 2 Karl Marx Monument (day trip to Chemnitz)
- Day 2 Museum of Industrial Culture: industrial history and socialist-era context (day trip to Chemnitz)
- Day 3 Memorial Site Torgau: former prison and memorial site (day trip)
- Day 4 Runde Ecke: Memorial Museum
- Day 4 Zeitgeschichtliches Forum: contemporary history museum covering German history since 1945
- Day 4 City-Hochhaus Leipzig: tallest building in Leipzig, with a public viewing platform on the 29th floor
- Dresden — 5 nights
- Accommodation ibis Dresden Zentrum
- Day 1
- Kulturpalast
- Gläserne Manufaktur (Transparent Factory): glass-walled VW factory near Großer Garten, guided 45-min tours in English at 1:15pm and 3:15pm, book ahead
- Video Discover Dresden with Dhruv Rathee | Baroque Splendor: Saxony's Gem on the Elbe River: mentions the Gläserne Manufaktur (Transparent Factory)
- Day 2
- Soviet War Memorial: memorial to Soviet soldiers of the 5th Guards Army who died during the 1945 liberation of Dresden
- Tränenmeer: "Trauerndes Mädchen am Tränenmeer" (Mourning Girl at Tear Lake) sculpture at Heidefriedhof Cemetery, overlooking the mass grave of 6,865 people cremated after the February 1945 bombing raids
- Day 3 Bautzen Memorial: former prison memorial and museum-style site (day trip)
- Day 4
- Königstein Fortress: hilltop fortress in Saxon Switzerland; served as Oflag IV-B, a WWII POW camp for Allied officers (1939–1945), and later a GDR Jugendwerkhof youth reformatory (1949–1955) (day trip)
- Video We Show You the Most Visited Castles, Palaces, and Fortresses in Germany: mentions Königstein Fortress
- Video Germany's Dresden and Leipzig
Saxony-Anhalt — 4 nights
- Wernigerode — 4 nights
- Accommodation Altora Eisenbahn Themenhotel
- Day 1 "Richard" — Buchenwald subcamp memorial: former forced-labour camp on Veckenstedter Weg, converted to a Buchenwald concentration camp subcamp in 1943; memorial established 1974/75 in the former barracks.
- Day 1 Langenstein-Zwieberge Memorial: Buchenwald concentration camp subcamp where 7,000+ prisoners from 23 countries dug a 10km tunnel complex for secret weapons production; includes mass graves, an exhibition building and a guided tunnel tour (day trip to Halberstadt)
- Day 2 Grenzmuseum Sorge: free open-air inner-German border museum, preserving an original section of border fence, patrol road and a watchtower (day trip)
- Day 3 Gedenkstätte Moritzplatz: former courthouse and prison (1876) used for political detention by the Nazis, then Soviet and East German authorities including the Stasi (1958–1989); commemorates 10,000+ victims. Closed Saturdays and most Sundays (day trip to Magdeburg)
- Brocken — stopover en route to/from Nordhausen
- Brockenbahn (Brocken Railway): narrow-gauge crossing of the Harz mountains between Nordhausen and Wernigerode
- Nationalpark-Besucherzentrum Brockenhaus (National Park Visitor Centre Brockenhaus)
- Website How to visit the Harz Railway | Times, prices, tickets
- Video Harz Railway Part 1: Nordhausen to Brocken
- Video Harz Railway Part 2: Brocken to Wernigerode
Schleswig-Holstein — 2 nights
- Kiel — 2 nights
- Accommodation ibis Styles Kiel
- Day 1 Flandernbunker (Flanders Bunker)
- Day 1 U-Boot-Museum U 995 (U-Boat Museum U 995)
Thuringia — 5 nights
- Erfurt — 3 nights
- Accommodation ibis Erfurt Altstadt
- Day 1 Gedenkstätte Andreasstraße: former Stasi remand prison where over 5,500 GDR citizens were held for political reasons; site of the first occupation of a Stasi district office during the 1989 Peaceful Revolution.
- Day 2
- Buchenwald Memorial: main Nazi concentration camp (1937–1945), later a Soviet special camp until 1950; permanent exhibitions include "Buchenwald. Ostracism and Violence 1937 to 1945" (day trip to Weimar)
- Museum Forced Labor Under National Socialism: 2,000m² permanent exhibition in the former Gauforum, central Weimar, run by the same foundation as Buchenwald (day trip to Weimar)
- Video 10 German Cities Where History Comes Alive — From Charlemagne to the Berlin Wall: mentions the Buchenwald concentration camp
- Nordhausen — 2 nights
- Accommodation Nordhäuser Fürstenhof
- Day 1 Mittelbau-Dora Memorial: Buchenwald subcamp where prisoners were forced to build V-2 rockets and V-1 flying bombs in tunnels dug into the Kohnstein; guided access to part of the tunnel system, plus a renovated museum
General Information
- Check city cards and museum prices for savings.
- Website European Rail Timetable
- Website German InterCity trains
- Website German ICE trains | InterCity Express
Contact details
- Email: james@pole.net.nz