Photos from Our Trip to Germany

At the turn of the year, while organizing photos that had piled up in my computer folders, I came across some nostalgic ones. These were photos from about four years ago when my husband and I went on our honeymoon to Germany. Although we had been married for a while by then, both of us had been rather laid-back, saying things like “There’s really no country we absolutely have to visit…” and kept missing the right timing to go.

2年間決まらなかった新婚旅行の行き先が、2秒でドイツに決まった理由。

More than two years after our wedding, we finally decided to go to Germany.

Renting a Porsche at the Airport, but…

So, what did we go to Germany for? As you might have guessed… it was to “rent a Porsche, drive it on the Autobahn, and visit as many German car museums as possible,” haha.(Here’s a rough idea of the locations of each museum.)

At that time, my husband hadn’t yet bought a Porsche, so he was really looking forward to driving one in its home country and had already reserved a Boxster in advance.

On the other hand, I was barely interested in Porsches or cars at all back then, and my only thoughts were “I want to eat authentic Frankfurt sausages” and “I want to visit Neuschwanstein Castle,” as I boarded the plane.

When we arrived at Frankfurt Airport and went to the rental car counter, the staff dropped a bombshell:

“The Boxster is all rented out and unavailable, but we do have a 911. What do you want to do?”

I almost blurted out, “Hey, that’s way too casual—what was the point of the reservation then? (-_-)” but my husband next to me was

“Seriously?! No way! Driving a 911 as my partner in Germany—what a happy surprise!”

and was absolutely thrilled. After completing the paperwork, the much-anticipated 911 Carrera 4S appeared before us.

My husband was beyond excited—(I think he even said, “And it’s a 4S!” or something like that).

He immediately got into the driver’s seat, started the engine, and was just buzzing with excitement. Meanwhile, I was looking at him with a cool, detached gaze, wondering “What’s got him so excited…?“(Sorry, haha). Unfortunately, I barely remember the ride quality, engine sound, or driving feel of that 911. The most memorable thing from the trip was how incredibly delicious the authentic Frankfurt sausages were.

(We pretty much ate Frankfurt sausages for lunch every day.)

After leaving the airport in the 911 Carrera 4S, we toured Frankfurt and stayed overnight,

and the next morning, we drove on the Autobahn toward Stuttgart.

Stuttgart is the holy ground for Porsche fans, home to the Porsche headquarters and Porsche Museum. This is the famous exterior of the Porsche headquarters.

In front of the museum, there were Porsches available for test drives.

Inside, the museum was bright, clean, and simple with a white theme.

If I could go back now, I’d “take my time to carefully admire each legendary car, take plenty of photos with a DSLR, and fully enjoy every moment.” But back then, having no interest in Porsche, I was just “quickly passing by the legendary cars, resting on benches, and waiting for my husband.” Looking back, there were so many iconic cars like the Carrera GT,

the 911 GT1,

and many other legendary cars on display,

and it was truly a missed opportunity.(I was only thinking about how many chocolates to buy as souvenirs and what to have for dinner.) Later, after I became a Porsche fan, I asked my husband, “Why didn’t you tell me to really look at the legendary cars when we visited the Porsche Museum in Germany?!” and he replied,

“I told you many times, but you just showed no interest and walked right past them.”

Ah, you silly guy (-_-).

Mercedes-Benz Museum

Next, we visited the Mercedes-Benz Museum, just a stone’s throw from the Porsche Museum.

While the Porsche Museum felt like “cars are the stars, showcasing legendary vehicles,” the Mercedes-Benz Museum had an entertainment element with varied ways of displaying cars, making it enjoyable even for a car novice like me.

After that, we visited the famous German tourist spot, Neuschwanstein Castle. I had imagined seeing the majestic castle views often seen on postcards and TV…

*Image source: Neuschwanstein Castle: The Romantic Lord’s Sad Story

But this was the view we actually got that day.

Couldn’t see a thing… (*_*)

Looking back, my “fog lady” streak had already started around then(actually, it probably began even earlier), but at the time we didn’t realize it and just thought, “What a shame after coming all this way…” and left the castle.

Audi Museum

After sightseeing and driving along the Romantic Road, we next headed to the Audi Museum in Ingolstadt.

Compared to Porsche and Mercedes-Benz, the Audi Museum was simpler, smaller in scale and exhibition space, and had fewer tourists.

Still, classic and legendary cars were neatly lined up,

and from the second floor overlooking the atrium, we could watch the delivery of new cars on the first floor, which was quite fun.

The sight of a man driving a brand-new Audi, waving happily to everyone around him made us feel very happy too.

The Audi Museum also offers factory tours, which my husband was eager to join, but since the tour time required a long wait, I said “No thanks,” and we didn’t go. Looking back, I really feel sorry about that.

BMW Museum

Next, we headed to the BMW Museum in Munich. The cityscape of Munich was full of historic buildings and very beautiful. Personally, I liked it even more than Frankfurt.

Also, it was refreshing to see taxis that were Mercedes-Benz,

and there were people surfing in the river,

making it a very interesting city (laughs). Still, all the photos show gloomy, cloudy skies. I really wish something could be done about my rain and fog luck (-_-).

From the hotel where we stayed, we somehow didn’t use the Porsche to get to the BMW Museum but took the train and walked. We even cut through a large park and walked quite a bit, but I can’t remember why we did that despite being a car-loving couple.

The BMW Museum was by far the largest compared to Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi, resembling an expo pavilion.

Besides cars, there were various cleverly designed exhibits, and the café space was well-equipped, making it easy to spend half a day there.

There was even a space where you could sit on the motorcycle used in Mission: Impossible and take photos, so even non-car enthusiasts could enjoy it quite a bit.

I Want to Go Again

Looking back at these photos, I thought, “If I could, I’d love to go again.” If I had another chance to visit these museums in Germany now, I’d “carefully and thoroughly admire each car, take perfect photos with a DSLR, definitely join the factory tours, and write the most detailed report articles anyone could match,” haha.

My husband often says, “We should have taken more photos,” “I want to go to Germany again,” so although it’s sure to be a lively trip with our daughters, I do hope we get the chance to go back to Germany someday.