Category — Germany

The continent of Europe is one big playground when it comes to festivals and events. No matter the time of year, there is certain to be something fun and entertaining on, whether it’s a music festival or a festival steeped in tradition.

Carnevale

Based in Venice, Italy – Carnevale is a wondrous and decadent renaissance festival. With amazing costumes and set against Italy’s picturesque water city of Venice, Carnevale is not to be missed!

St. Patrick’s Day

Get your green on for St. Patty’s day in Dublin, Ireland. With a massive parade, a treasure hunt that haves people ferreting all around the city and the ‘Skyfest’ (an enormous fireworks display) – St. Patrick’s Day is a week of ‘craic’ where it will be hard not to have a great time.

Edinburgh Fringe Festival

What to say about the Fringe festival? Well it has got to be the largest arts related festival on earth, with thousands of performances every year in 300 venues all around Edinburgh. It runs for three weeks in August, and quality of the comedy and drama and everything in between seems to get better every year.

Notting Hill Carnival

This London based festival will often get over half a million spectators, with crazy floats and costumed dancers – it’s a lot of fun. The festival is on the last weekend of August.

Oktoberfest

It may well be steeped in history, but we all know Oktoberfest is all about one thing, the beer! With huge tents full of the delicious and frothy stuff – you’ll mingle with a lot of Australians, Italians and Germans too of course. It’s one of those festivals you really need to go to at least once, just to experience it. Occurs every year – with the majority of the event actually occurring in September and running into earlier October.

So there you have it, five fantastic festivals you should surely check out next time you’re traveling or backpacking through Europe.

This was a guest post from Tom at http://www.activebackpacker.com – he loves writing about places, tips and tricks all about backpacking.

Berlin is a fantastic city to visit also one of the top tourist cities in Europe. The German capital is known for its important historical architecture, alternative culture and fantastic night-life. Many people who come here on a city break choose to stay in cool hotels Berlin or unusual hotels Berlin to make their trip a little more interesting. Here are five places to visit in Berlin that really shouldn’t be missed:

1.Tacheles – This is a very funky place, it’s actually an old department store turned warehouse artist residence. It’s an interesting visit full of eccentric artists and their even more eccentric paintings and sculptures. There’s also a cool DJ bar outside complete with a sandy beach in the courtyard.

2. Checkpoint Charlie and Checkpoint Charlie Museum – This is a very important historical tourist attraction and will give you a taste of what life is like before the fall of the Berlin wall. Also visit the interesting museum which which details Germany during the cold war with plenty of real photos to illustrate the stories.

3. Hackesche Hofe – This is a great place in the very trendy Mitte district. It’s actually a redeveloped courtyard with an attractive Moorish styling. You’ll find lots of funky bars, hip cafes and even an art-house cinema. A great place to meet with friends or just hangout for a bit. Also a great place to stay as there are plenty of Berlin style cool hotels in this area.

4.East Side Gallery – This is the largest preserved part of the wall which can be reached a little out of the centre of Berlin. Artists from all over the world has adorned the gallery with their own interpretations. Don’t forget to take your camera!

5. Reichstag – This is a very significant but highly controversial building but one which is also very beautiful. If you plan to visit just remember the queues can get very long.

I just found out today that I got the job I applied for in Munich, Germany. I don’t start for two months so I think I will resign my current position with two weeks notice and then travel for a while before I have to start working again. Even though I’ll be living in there for a year I thought that it would be a good idea to read some Germany travel tips. The tips will give me a good idea of what to expect as a foreigner whether I’m traveling or living there. I will have about five weeks to explore in Europe before I start my job.

Since I’ve always wanted to go to Rome, I think I will start my pre-job travels by backpacking Italy. I’ve already found a flight that works with my schedule so now all I have to do is quit my job so I know what day to book. If I start in Rome I can work my way to the coast and then slowly head towards Venice. I’m sure there are many places in between that I should visit.

I’ve heard that Italy can be expensive so I will have to be careful with my budgeting. When I was looking around for a hotel in Rome, the cheapest place I could find was 50 Euro a night. That seems like a lot to me but I’ve spent the last three years in Thailand so I’m not used to things costing a lot. Luckily, my new position is setting up a place for me to live so once I arrive in Munich my living costs won’t be too high. I’m really looking forward to this opportunity of experiencing another culture by living within it. My time in Thailand has really been one of the best times of my life.