I looked for a couchsurfing host in Munich because even hostels were too expensive at this time of year, and I was ready to get a taste of the couchsurfing spirit. I couldn't find any hosts in town for the holidays, so I posted my request as a public trip. A woman named Sarah wrote to me expressing that she and her family would be out of town for the duration of the holidays, but that she would be happy for me to stay at her apartment as long as I help take car...

The train ride from Berlin to Dresden, Germany was bizarre. When the conductor started making announcements over the microphone, I heard a man screaming and shouting in the background. He was speaking clearly enough that the German people in my train cabin could understand what he was shouting about, but of course I don't know more than ten words of German. I asked the people in my cabin what was going on, as they were tittering to each other about it, but they d...

I arrived at Wombat's Hostel in Berlin at noon on Friday, dropped my luggage off, and took a long walk around the city. I didn't know where anything was but saw the huge GDR television tower in the near distance, so I headed that way. As I walked I came across a variety of street artists and musicians followed by a very alternative crowd that was already sloshed from day drinking. I met a bulldog on a skateboard which made me laugh out loud. Then I discovered a...

I had the most wonderful time in the east German city of Leipzig. The hostel I stayed at was a steal, in a four bed dorm with a private bathroom and free breakfast. It's so small that I found most of the highlights could be explored in just a couple of days. Though the town is tiny, Leipzig is packed with culture and history. It was the home of such great cultural influences as Bach, Mendelssohn, and Goethe. Leipzig is also said to be the birthplace of the civi...

Months ago I arranged to meet Kim as a travel companion for the German cities of Hamburg and Leipzig. Kim is a native German who has been living in the UK for the past decade or so. Although he grew up in Germany, he had never explored these two cities and looked forward to seeing them from a tourist perspective. Kim made his fortune in the tech industry, and agreed to book lux accommodation in my name at his expense. When we made the plans, the clearly defined...