Munich is home to the Englischer Garten, one of the largest urban parks in the world — bigger even than Central Park in New York.
Germany is one of the countries we’ve returned to most often over the years, partly because it’s so close to us and easy to reach from northern Italy. In Trentino, German is compulsory at school, so we grew up with at least a feel for the language from an early age.
One of my earliest deep connections with the country came through a cultural exchange in Weinsberg, during my third year of secondary school. A German girl came to stay with me for a week, and then I went to stay with her for a week.
It’s the kind of experience that changes the way you travel entirely, because you’re no longer a tourist — you become part of a local family’s everyday life. You go to their school, you absorb their habits and rhythms, and you learn to see a country from the inside out.
Weinsberg lies near Heilbronn, in a gentle hilly landscape of vineyards and small villages. During the exchange we also visited several towns in the area. Heidelberg was one of the most captivating: a historic university city with a castle that lords over the old town from above, and an atmosphere that feels alive yet deeply rooted in its past.
Beyond Baden-Württemberg, the city we’ve come back to most often is Munich. Over the years it became a recurring stopover in our travels, partly because it was often the departure point for cheap flights to the United States.
Munich has a rare knack for balancing tradition with modernity. Its historic centre — Marienplatz, the neo-Gothic Rathaus — keeps Bavarian identity firmly alive, while the city as a whole feels green, orderly and genuinely liveable. The Englischer Garten alone is worth the visit, and the cultural life runs deep.
I once came back to Munich with my mum to ring in New Year’s Eve 2019. The city at that time of year is something else: cold, luminous and completely alive in its squares.
In 2023 I went to visit a friend who was working in the Lake Constance area — a remarkable corner of Europe that sits right on the border between Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
The scenery shifts constantly: medieval market towns, crystal-clear water, soft hills and mountains rising in the background. Among the most memorable spots are Lindau, an island town connected to the mainland by bridges; Friedrichshafen, tied to the history of the Zeppelin airships; and Meersburg, with its castle perched directly above the lake.
Southern German cooking is deeply rooted in tradition and local produce. It’s simple food, but hearty and satisfying — think Spätzle (soft hand-made egg noodles), Maultaschen (pasta parcels filled with meat or vegetables, a bit like large ravioli), and the ever-present Schnitzel.
Bread plays a central role here, usually dark rye loaves eaten daily with butter, local cheese or cured meats. And for dessert, nothing is more iconic than Black Forest cake, which was actually born in this region — layers of chocolate sponge, cherries and cream.