Germany

Hamburg:

  • Accommodation:
    • Jugendherberge Hamburg-Auf Dem: this youth hostel is located within walking distance of all of the city sites. It’s located on top of a hill that’s above the metro system and overlooks the Hamburg Shipyard. Breakfast is included.
  • Transportation:
    • If you are traveling with 2 or more people, the cheapest public transport option is to get a group day ticket. I would recommend riding the ferry up through the shipyard — it’s a great experience and much cheaper than the shipyard tour (important to note that almost all the shipyard tours are in German).
    • If the weather is nice or you are on a tight budget, Hamburg is a very walkable city.
  • Things To Do:
    • Check out Speicherstadt
    • Harbor Boat Tour — you can also cruise the river on the public ferry
    • Soviet Submarine Tour
    • Visit Elbphilharmonie — it is free to go inside the building and I would definitely recommend it
    • If it’s a nice day, visit the beach — get a pretzel and a wheat beer and enjoy the weather
    • Take a look at the Hamburg City Hall
    • Get some Laderach chocolate

Berlin:

  • Restaurants: 
    • Burgermeister
  • Transportation: 
    • The easiest way to travel throughout Berlin is by metro. The city is very big and it takes a long time to walk from site to site. Metro is the quickest way to travel and it is very reasonably priced.
  • Things To Do:
    • Berlin Wall Memorial
    • East Side Gallery
    • Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
    • Brandenburg Gate (Unter den Linden)
    • Reichstag Building
    • Gesundbrunnen Bunker – I didn’t get to do this because the tickets sold out, but it looked like a really cool tour so get your tickets ahead of time
    • Museum island
    • Berlin Cathedral – go to the top and walk around for really good views of the city

Munich:

  • Accommodation:
    • Meininger Hostel
  • Restaurants: 
    • Try traditional German food
  • Things To Do:
    • Visit Dachu Concentration Camp Memorial Site
    • The English Garden – go to the middle where the famous beer garden is
    • If you’re there on Saturday, check out the Saturday market

Notes:

  • The cheapest way to travel between cities is by bus. I would recommend FlixBus.
  • If you’re trying to save money, go grocery shopping (Lidl is the cheapest)
  • Try a bunch of different beers – wheat beer is my favorite and famous in Germany
  • Many places in Germany don’t take credit cards, so always carry cash with you.

Background picture was taken in Hamburg, Germany at Speicherstadt.