Traveling In Germany without Motorcycles (I know boo!) in 2025
Traveling In Germany without Motorcycles (I know boo!) in 2025
It was expensive to rent two motorcycles for the amount of time we were in Germany and also too expensive to ship our bikes over there to just have them shipped back after the trip.
The purpose of that trip in particular was a possibility of moving or relocating to Germany for a change of scenery.
In this trip we utilized all types of public transportation and since I originally planned to Uber/taxi everywhere, I did not buy the Deutschland ticket which was a mistake since we were there for quite some time. There’s a lot of talk about how complex it is to buy and cancel the subscription since you are bound to a 1 month contract when you purchase and you can only unsubscribe during a certain period (something like 14 days before the next month starts-that might not be very accurate but it’s along those lines). Either way, it would have saved us more money since you can use this pass for all the public transport there, such as trains and buses, but not the high speed rails. The pass was only 58 euros, meanwhile per one way journey for adults averaged ~ 3-7 euros depending on the distance of your one way trip. It quickly adds up.
Even for a 2 week trip, if you don’t plan on renting a car or a motorcycle, it might be worth it to get that pass.
How to buy the pass:
Go to https://int.bahn.de/en/offers/regional/deutschland-ticket
You can also download the DB app on your phone (that is the best way).
If you’re using public transport and you purchased paper tickets on the ticket machines. Don’t forget to activate them using the ticket stamp machine which looks like a post located right next to it (most of the time).
You don’t need to worry about this if you are buying tickets on your phone using the DB app, because those tickets are automatically stamped/activated.
The problem we ran into was the lack of taxis readily available to places we went to, since we didn’t always stay in the city centers (this is why it would’ve been nice to have motorcycles).
Getting by in Germany without speaking the language is doable, since a lot of Germans understand English. However, it is still nice to speak to them in their native language since you are in Germany after all and not in the United States, right?
In smaller towns, you’re going to have a harder time if you don’t speak German. But with technology, you can translate everything on your phone so you’ll be just fine.
I speak German, but the first time I visited Germany I didn’t. In my personal experience, it is more enjoyable to be able to communicate with local people in their language instead of having an electronic translator between you. The experience you get is also vastly different and this applies in other countries too, even in the United States. At the very least, learn the basics.
Germany has plenty to offer other than what you stereotypically know about it.
It actually feels like the United States, for me anyways.
For Automotive and Aviation lovers, this country is a fun place to be.
Cars
Stuttgart - is truly a car town, go visit and you’ll see. It is my favorite city as a car lover.
Mercedes-AMG GmbH I was sent an invite for the AMG factory tour because at that time I owned a C63 AMG. I think this can be done only per invite, or maybe you can reach out to them if you are an AMG owner. OMG the experience is top notch! 100% recommended. We were on a private tour and we saw the whole process of manufacturing and detailed craftwork. They also have a wall of mechanics that build the engines. So memorable.
Nurburgring race track
You can rent your race car here: https://www.rent4ring.de/en/
I had a great experience I rented the Artega GT.
Motorcyles
BMW Welt Munich - free entrance, cars and motorcycles
BMW Museum - Munich - car and moto
BMW Group Werk Berlin - BMW Motorradwerk
https://www.visit-bmwgroup.com/en/experience/plant-berlin-tour/ - to book your tour. They have an English tour but it’s not always guaranteed and you may end up in a German tour last minute if that is the only option available.
Airplanes
Deutsches Museum Flugwerft Schleissheim in Munich. There’s a biergarten walking distance away. 😀
Military History Museum - airport Berlin-Gatow Berlin (iirc it was free. They have a whole lot of war planes here, most of them just displayed outside. This is actually my favorite)
Deutsches Museum Munich has the least amount of airplanes because it is not specifically an airplane museum. You can honestly skip this one if you don't have time.
I love cars, motorcycles, airplanes, beer and German food. I couldn’t care less about castles so this blog will not have any castle recommendations.
Berlin is a possible option for relocation
One of my favorite cities for food is Berlin, because of the culinary diversity. The city is full of life and it sort of reminds me of San Francisco in a way, because of the diverse population. Also they have this big park Tiergarten in the middle of the City that reminds me of Golden Gate Park. The city is walkable, but you can also use their bus, train, or uber to get around. If you have large pets and motorcycles, it would be impossible to find a rental there. Realistically, we would move outside the city.
As a tourist it would be best to stay in the Mitte area (german for middle, center or midpoint) walking distance to the train station (if you plan on using the train a lot). Mitte is full of shops and restaurants and it’s very walkable.
Unfortunately, Germany’s main international hub is not in Berlin, but currently only in Munich and Frankfurt, so you will have a stopover when getting to Berlin.
Munich
If you fly into Munich and decide to stay a while here before venturing to other cities. I like the Maxvorstadt area as it seems really safe and nice and has a lot of food options as well.
Cash or card?
In general, a lot of places take credit cards or apple/android pay, but there are these rare occasions that you will be glad you have cash. Small pop up shops, some restaurants far from the city center, some outdoor biergartens, sometimes only take cash. In other cases, the technology is down and cash is the only form of payment that can be accepted during that time.
It will be handy to only carry a few hundred in cash but also in small denominations, and just withdraw extra cash from the ATM as you go along. There are plenty of banks now that offer reimbursements for ATM withdrawals domestically and internationally.
At the end of your trip, if you only have very few left, then you can just use that to tip the last restaurant you visit.
Tipping
Is a thing in Germany now. In well travelled cities, big or small towns, especially with electronic pay, you will see pre-loaded tip amounts on the screen like in the US. Back then, you just round up the bill if you want to tip or give 10%. It was not mandatory to tip before. You will still see this traditional culture in places where there are almost no tourists. You will also see that in those places, you’d fare better speaking the local language.
Germany has so much to offer and is worth visiting often, trust me, I have been there so many times, and I still haven’t seen everything. Hopefully this information helps you in your travel to Germany and feel free to ask questions in the comment section.
See you on the next one!
-Pam
