Lessons & Learnings from our Europe 2025 Trip

Europe

The driving age in Germany is 18, but you can drink beer at 16. In Germany, they learn to drink and then drive. In the USA, we learn to drive and then learn to drink.

Many Germans will greet you with a “hallo” or “Guten Tag,” but rarely ask how you are doing. That’s too formal and typically done among friends and family. Americans are more friendly but superficial, and usually assume that “how are you?” means you’re just saying hello. Europeans may ask about your trip or travel, but “how are you” appears too personal to many Europeans.

Why don’t hotel rooms provide anti-bacterial wipes for the remote? Some hotels may regularly clean them, but how should guests know if they’ve been washed? This idea could also apply to the United States and other international locations.

Beet, spinach, and cheese dumplings at the Hofbräuhaus in Munich. Delicious.

Stretch pants are not as common among younger people in Europe as they are in the States. Jeans among young people are still ubiquitous.

I’m somewhat unnerved by how many Europeans disrupt pedestrian traffic. You sometimes have people barreling out of a store onto the sidewalk, disrupting traffic. You must merge into pedestrian traffic instead of disrupting it. You have folks on pedestrian walkways who back up without looking, or pedestrians who abruptly turn around and go against the traffic flow, sometimes bumping into others going the opposite direction. One young person jumped back up abruptly and hit my knee in the process. I wonder how many of these people, when driving a car, will merge without looking or put their vehicle in reverse without first checking if it’s safe to do so. As I experienced this disruption in pedestrian flow, I very rarely heard any apologies. I guess with so many people in such a tight space, they don’t feel the need to admit their rudeness.

Oberbaumbrücke.

I was able to rent a bicycle in Berlin for 20 Euros. The air was calm, the temperature cooperated, and with partly cloudy skies, I was off peddling. Because there are so many bicycle lanes in Berlin, I had very little angst. Besides, I could always watch others and follow other bicyclists until I became more comfortable biking in a foreign city. Using Google Maps, I was able to visit many places, especially for photos, during my bike adventure. I first went and saw the Gendarmenmarkt to see the Concert House and the French Cathedral, before biking to the Museum Island. There I saw the Berlin Cathedral, the German Art Museum, and the Pergamon Museum. I walked with my bike to the Humboldt University, where a peace protest was occurring. After talking with a few people about the protest (pro-Palestinian, pro-Israel, no more nuclear war), I headed towards the East Side Gallery. However, I got a little lost and ended up at Alexander Platz right next to the television tower in Berlin. With a height of over 360 meters, it's the tallest structure in Germany. After about ten minutes of cycling, I found the East Side Gallery, but first I had to find a place to secure my bike. The East Side Gallery contains the original wall built separating East Berlin from the West. Many artists have created paintings on separate sections of the wall. One painting depicts Leonid Brezhnev and Erich Honecker in a socialist fraternal kiss (Fraternal Kiss). Close to the East Side Gallery sits the Oberbaumbrücke, a famous landmark and featured in the movie  "The Bourne Supremacy." On my way to Potsdamer Platz, I biked through Kreuzberg, a trendy and hip area of Berlin. Before handing in my bike, I happily biked through the Tiergarten on my way to the Berlin Zoo. Before biking down Kurfurstendamm Strasse, I stopped by the Kaiser Wilhelm Church, which was damaged during WWII and never repaired. My legs were tired, and mentally I needed a break, so I headed back to my hotel.

Fraternal Kiss

Berlin Central Station is an architectural marvel. There are four or five levels to traverse and many restaurants to provide travelers with meals or food on the go. However, there are very few benches on which to sit. Most travelers waiting for their train use their suitcases as chairs. I’m amazed at the limited seating provided for such a sophisticated train station. Bathrooms are not too commonplace. Besides, it costs six Euros ($7) to store your

luggage, even for an hour or two.

A crowded platform in Berlin Central Station.

I wonder if many Europeans get enough water intake daily. There are very few public drinking fountains; they may offer an espresso with a small glass of water. If you visit a Biergarten, they’ll keep serving you a liter or half-liter of beer without ever asking if you want some water too. Being a traveler and walking around a large European city, I always have water with me (you always need to be prepared). Even if Europeans visit a café several times a day, I’m still wondering if they get their daily requirement of liquid.

Prague 

We traveled to Munich, Berlin, Prague, and Vienna, all of which are in three different countries. If I had to single out an outlier, it would be Prague in the Czech Republic. With very little industry, Prague is much more dependent on tourism, unlike Berlin, Vienna, and Munich.

I had several vegetarian meals in Prague, where half the items contained peppers.

When employees at a restaurant mention veggies in a dish, you don’t say it’s mainly peppers and onions. What about seasonal veggies in October? Think pumpkins, rutabaga, brussels sprouts, and carrots. The cynic in me thinks peppers are more inexpensive than many other vegetables so that they may use them as a “filler” for many veggie and non-veggie dishes.

Bohemian and Check are interchangeable; Bohemian is an older term that’s rarely used today. 

For a touristy town, not many signs are bilingual. With a very different alphabet, reading street signs reminds me of those in Iceland. Often, unreadable.

We traveled to Prague in early October, thinking it wouldn’t be so hot, crowded, and uncomfortable. The weather cooperated, as it rarely got above 55 degrees Fahrenheit. However, the small alleys and pedestrian streets were crowded with tourists. It’s a beautiful city, but the number of tourists certainly dampened our visit.

In many German cities, to use a bathroom in a café or restaurant, you either have to pay one Euro or purchase something to drink or eat. In Prague, they are much more relaxed with WC (water closet) access.

Ketchup and mayonnaise are served out of strange-looking containers. Isn't that container something that belongs in a shower?

I think Prague is a poor cousin to Vienna. Inferiority complex?

Beer is typically cheaper than mineral or still water in Germany and Prague.

Vienna

We spent four days in Vienna, including walking through various neighborhoods in this beautiful city. The transportation system is easy to use. Our first attempt at the transportation system was taking the light rail (Strassenbahn) around the Vienna Ring (Ringstrasse) of the old city. Taking the light rail offers a visitor a nice view of some of the city's key sites, including the Vienna State Opera, Hofburg Complex (Emperor's Palace), St. Peter's Church, and Vienna Town Hall (Rathaus). We also had a family friend bring us to Cafe Central, and he organized a one-hour tour of the Schonbrunn Palace. After spending time in the old city, we spent two days with family and friends in Lower Austria. Part of the time was driving along the Danube River in the Wachau Region. We visited the Abbey of Gottweig and the Abbey of Melk (two monasteries in Lower Austria). We appreciated the ability to visit many sites in Lower Austria, some that many tourists never see.

The Danube River in Lower Austria.

Germany (Munich and Berlin)

For Oktoberfest in Munich, some hotels have tripled their prices. However, a liter of beer at Oktoberfest costs around 15 Euros, which is reasonable for this type of festival.

For example, a dish costs 20 euros, and a half-liter of beer costs 4.55 euros. The total is 50 euros for two, including tax, so you don’t have to tip (though it’s generally nice to tip between 5-10%). Even with a 10% tip, the total is 55 Euros. In the United States, a dish may cost 20 dollars, while a glass of wine might be $10, and a half-liter beer could be $8. A subtotal of $58 for two. Adding tax (8.5% in Lake County, Illinois) is $62.93. Adding a 20% tip ($12.59) brings the total to $85.52. I don’t think taxes should be part of the tipping calculation.

With all that walking, I think I deserve a beer!

At the Berlin central train station, there is a very long line for the WC, and no prices are indicated until you’re ready to pay. It costs 1.5 Euros even though there wasn’t any cold water. Why don’t ticket prices and restaurant purchases subsidize restrooms? I didn’t see any restrooms at any of the restaurants at this train station. An architectural marvel, but it fails in some execution.

After we checked out of our hotel and as we were on our way to the Berlin central train station, we were notified that our 10 am train to Prague had been cancelled. That meant we had to kill three hours. Why not inform us earlier so we could have planned to do something in Berlin for the morning?

The Berlin train station was very crowded, so we made the best of the situation. After taking a walk around the neighborhood near the station, we finally found something to eat and used our suitcases (limited sitting area) as a chair. 

Delish pastries from Cafe Central in Vienna.

Wine and beer are generally cheaper in Germany. Due to the local sourcing of ingredients and efficient processes, German breweries have lower production costs. In addition, the high number of vineyards and breweries in Germany creates a more competitive economic landscape. Regarding German culture, beer consumption is a significant part of it, resulting in more affordable beer in restaurants and bars. Surprisingly, in some areas, beer is less expensive than bottled water. 

Munich is where the Nazi Party was founded.

Picture of inexpensive wine.

Many people who live in the largest state in Germany (Bayern München) consider themselves Bavarians first, Germans second. Some don’t even want to be associated with Germany.

In Central Munich, there is a 100-meter limit for any new buildings. The law is to protect the cosines in the old city center.

I always wrongly assumed that a palace and a castle were interchangeable. Now I know that a palace can be like a castle, but it is usually not on a hill like a castle is. 

A handy diagram. We traveled by first-class rail while in Europe. However, on some trains, you didn't know exactly what part of the train was first class. This image in Vienna shows you exactly where you need to go.

We had a 10 am plane to catch from Munich to Chicago and were informed to be at the airport at least three hours before our flight. Since it was about 45 minutes away, we needed to take the S8 line, which goes directly to the airport. The night before, we walked to Munich Central Station to estimate how long it would take to get to the S8 line. We determined that the 6:08 am train would get us to the airport slightly before the three-hour timeline. My wife had a question about another line to the airport, so we stopped by the information desk, which told us the S8 line was not available on Saturday because it was under construction. There weren’t any signs providing this information, so we were thankful to secure the update. Had we not inquired, the only other option would have been an Uber, which would have cost 100 Euros.

Lessons & Learnings from our Europe 2025 Trip