COVID-19 Travel Diaries: A road trip through Germany

Today our trip through Germany begins — we'll be traveling from the Baltic Sea to the Alps! Camping holidays are extremely popular this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Therefore, it was not easy to book a camper van, but we finally managed to get one in Leipzig. Today we'll take the train from Berlin to the pick-up station. The camper van will be our mobile holiday home for two weeks.

Our first stop is the Baltic Sea island of Rügen. We arrived late at 10.15 pm. Initially we went to the wrong camp site but didn't realize our mistake until the next morning as we'd parked our camper in front of the closed gates and slept there! Now, we've found the right camp site and can explore the island. We are delighted that our adventure has begun and look forward to sharing it with you.

The early bird catches the... BOAT! Today we got up early for a boat tour of Rügen's coastline. It took us to the famous chalk cliffs and the northern edge of the island to Cape Arkona. The cliffs reach up as far as 160 meters (525 ft.) into the sky. Unfortunately it started to rain and our planned wind surfing lesson was canceled. Something to be prepared for as part of a German holiday: rain!

Today was our last day on Rügen island and it again started with a lot of rain. But that didn't dampen our exploration of the island. After a quick coffee and some breakfast, we headed to the treetop walk in Prora that led us to a gigantic tower, where the view was phenomenal — even in the rain. In the afternoon we got back into our camper van to head to Berlin — our next stop on our road trip.

After fixing the water pump that was giving us some grief during the night, we drove into the city. At Treptower Park we met up with Check-in presenter Nicole for a paddle along the Spree. Now we're tired and our arms are hurting but it was great!

As it was Sunday we decided to head over to the Mauerpark, where the largest flea market of Berlin takes place. Back in the days, the Berlin wall crossed through the park. Nowadays, it’s a place where people come together to sing, dance, eat and buy things. There were a lot of people visiting the market and the surrounding park – some social distanced and even wore a mask, others didn’t.

We have already experienced so much! That's why we have taken a day off today - with breakfast in a café. But we are already thinking about our next destination: Saxony Switzerland. This extreme rocky landscape near Dresden is unique. So after the metropolitan air, we're off to the countryside again. We're very curious about what we'll find.

Our camp site lies right next to the river Elbe, meaning we enjoy a gorgeous view every time we step out of our van. Hills rise up on both sides of the river, and to our left the Königstein castle towers over the entire valley. During our hours-long hike through the countryside we got a bit lost, but it didn’t matter: Everywhere we went the nature was spectacular!

This morning we headed over to the Pillars of Hercules, an array of large sandstone rocks which belong to the Saxon Switzerland National Park. Our challenge for today? Climb the rocks - despite both suffering from fear of heights. But thankfully, our guide Bernd was encouraging. We ended up climbing up two rocks. Getting to the top and seeing the view over the sandstones was truly breathtaking!

Unfortunately, the weather was bad again but we did a nice tour around Bamberg. Its historical town center is a UNESCO World Heritage site: the title is well-earned! Half-timbered houses and imposing buildings make the Franconian city unforgettable. We went to Bamberg Cathedral, to the Town Hall (pictured) and strolled through the historical alleys.

We arrived in Munich late last night. A bad smell welcomed us upon arrival and there were barely any lights to guide us through the caravan jungle. The sanitary facilities were dirty and dotted with slugs and insects. The next morning we tried to find another campsite but weren’t lucky: all booked out. We are now in a hotel. After the bad start our sightseeing tour in Munich can finally begin!

We wandered to the English Garden where we stared in awe at the surfers riding the famous Eisbach wave. We also listened to the chiming of the New Town Hall bells at Marienplatz square and watched the small figures in the facade twirling around. Something that really struck us was that most tourists were German. It's strange to see an absence of foreigners in one of Germany's most visited cities.

Today we went windsurfing at Lake Starnberg. By the end of the day, we weren't just able to stand safely on our boards but we were whizzing around, making curves and occasionally picking up some speed. It was great fun! In the evening, we head further south. Only 20 minutes into our drive we started seeing the Alps rising up on the horizon. We stopped a few times to admire the view. Fantastic!

Today we visited one of Germany's most popular tourist attractions - Neuschwanstein Castle. We hiked up the hill for about half an hour and then stood in line to get to the Marien Bridge where the view is just spectacular. On the bridge, larger groups are not allowed, because it is too narrow for social distancing. Moreover, all visitors have to wear face masks. Nevertheless, it was all worth it!

Today our road trip through Germany unfortunately came to an end. The day was quite exhausting, because we had a long drive back from the Allgäu to Leipzig, where we returned our camper and took a train to Berlin. Now we are quite tired and will probably sleep the rest of the day. It was a great trip with many impressions!