I understand Germany has a bad reputation historically due to World War Two, but I will admit that it has become one of my favorite European countries I’ve ever visited. Outside of all the tragic past that has happened in Germany, the Germans have definitely redeemed themselves with what they did with their country. I was lucky enough to drive around in our own car through the country’s never ending fields of wheat and sunflowers. We were visiting Germany during the summer so everything seemed to be at the peak of harvesting season. Every city we passed through in Germany had its own beauty, big or small. Bigger cities, of course, had astonishing technology and advanced architecture. I even got to stop by the BMW Museum since my family have been fans of German engineering for years now. For smaller towns, they had traditional German cottages that made you feel very welcomed and served the best food you can ever ask for. Oh my god. I am such a big fan of German food. Bratwursts, liverwurst, schnitzels, pretzels, mashed potatoes, you name it!

 
I believe that one of the most spectacular things I saw in Germany was when we entered the mountain range and saw the beautiful Alps. Of course we wanted to see from the highest mountain in Germany, Wetterstein Mountains, so we went there first! When we reached the top of Zugspitze, we went from standing in the summer grass to standing in the snow. After getting a beautiful view of Germany’s landscape, we would head down to continue to our actual destination, the fairytale castles of King Ludwig II of Bavaria. He went by two other names too: Mad King and Swan King. He was the swan king because he had swans migrate to the lakes near his castles and was even going to have a swan gondola lift for him to travel in from castle to castle (since this guy thought one was not enough). I remember walking around inside one of his castles and finding so many unusual rooms like an animal ballroom that he only used for himself. Odd. Well, the ruler felt isolated due to his homosexuality and most likely him suffering from schizophrenia for about twenty years before his suicide in 1886. He simply wanted to make a happy place for himself and I don’t blame the guy! He built himself a dream castle (Sorry, castles) for crying out. Not a bad place to locate your castles too. When I hiked up to these castles of his, there were beautiful woodlands, a crystal clear lake, and many swans swimming there in absolute peace. It really did feel like it came from a fairytale and made you feel like true royalty when you make your way around and inside the castles.