"Land of Castles and Palaces..." Germany by Kaikoura

..."if castles and palaces is what you want to see, you must come to my country" a friend told me a couple of years ago...actually more than three years ago now.

So I went to Germany to see Neuchswanstein Castle...and came home with a lot more memories to keep to myself and share to others!

I was fortunate to have a friend who lives in Potsdam, I got to see Berlin including the Reichstag but without the long queue I would probably had to go through if I did it on my own.

I was blown away by the German hospitality that I received. To finally come to a place that you only read about in history books...that to me was mind blowing. I cannot explain it but somehow Leipzig got stuck in my head and I am sure the interest was mainly stirred by the very few Psychology papers I took while in uni.

But you get there and learn about so many other things in the past. I was blessed one day when my friend's dad took a day off to show me Potsdam. We spent hours walking around Babelsberg Park... to have that space all to ourselves was an amazing experience...we saw one jogger the whole time we were there. I was informed during summer, the park is jam packed.

Then in the late afternoon when things are supposed to start to quieten down...the city comes to life! No better place to see and experience the spirit of Christmas but Germany...and yes, the markets are synonymous to Glu Wein (sorry don't have a German capable keypad)... I am not into Christmas celebration myself but it was a great experience!