We are two foreigners (English and American) based in Munich, Germany who make RU-vid travel videos showcasing under-served sites in Alpine Europe and beyond. We show our viewers quirky and unusual day trips, not usually featured by your average vlogger. From castle ruin hikes, quaint local museums, and deep dives into mainstream tourist attractions, come with us as we take you on our adventures Near From Home. __________________________________________________________ Follow us on Instagram! Channel: near.fromhome Ben: strawbennyjam Camille: freshspringham __________________________________________________________ Check out our blog! www.nearfromhome.com ______________________________________________________________
I’ve lived in Bavaria for over 30 years, German at C2 level & gainful employment for the whole period. I have begun the process for German citizenship so that I can leave the country for more than 180 days without losing my residency. The S2 to Erding is terribly unreliable, so public transport is only mittelmäßig.
I had the privilege of growing up in Nuremburg. I loved every minute of it. A cool (but morbid fact) is they used to hang people off of the bridges. Well said at the end, Ben.
Very well done to both of you! Thank you, Ben, for the inclusion of the importance of recognizing not all has been quaint and charming and being respectful of what happened. On the other hand, this is definitely a city which would be on our German itinerary.
I know it’s an old video … but rock creek park is nice and right there. Great falls park. Skate in winter on C&O canal. Greenbelt park. The mall on 4th of July and folklife fest. I think you’d enjoy Seattle more. Smaller. Decent transport and the weather is almost as bad as in Germany. Talking to people who left Seattle, worst adjustment for them was coming to Los Angeles. It was their first week here at work and they looked outside and it was a beautiful day so they went outside and sat in a park for about half an hour and then came back in. They told her coworkers why is everybody inside? You should be outside it’s such a beautiful day. Just get some time out There, And they said everyone looked at them like they were crazy. It’s like this every day. So yeah, in Seattle, they really look forward to being outside . Denver too. I was visiting a friend in Seattle, and one of her housemates worked for the Seattle ballet. So I asked what do people do here for fun on the weekend and the answer surprised me. All you can do so much you can go camping you can go hiking go up into the mountains. And I said yes I can do all of those things at home. I have mountains near me that go up to over 10,000 feet as well. But this concentration on outdoor activity was coming from a woman who worked for the ballet. She didn’t work for REI. She didn’t work for an outdoors concern. Nor does she work for an environmental group let’s say. But this is just what everyone did. One strange thing I noticed in DC, maybe you noticed the same, during lunch hours, lots of people who work on the hill and elsewhere, change their shorts and go running. In the middle of the day. Leaving work coming back, skipping lunch and going running/Pretty much long-distance running. I thought it was odd. Also, it’s never clear to me, even though I have quite a few friends who live in DC, how much the museums are used by locals and how much they are used by tourists. What the breakdown is. In New York it’s a lot of locals. But I think in DC, many of the museums are swamped by tourists. That also will have an effect on people just hanging out. To be fair, some cities have more of a Flaneur mentality. DC, very type A Just to continue for a moment, as a tourist, sometimes I will find things that are amazing and that I can see very few people locally will use. At one point I rented a car and drove around the area right outside New York City. I’ve always wanted to see the Great Falls of the Passaic in Patterson. They are stunning. They’ve been used since the late 18 century for water power so there are some older mills around them but the falls themselves are just so striking. And there’s a little park nearby where you could easily have a picnic and just watch the Falls and have a great time , and yes, I do know that Paterson is a poor city, and there is a fear of crime whether or not there really is crime at a park in an NPS area . But having a picnic in areas near DC is so much fun. Theodore Roosevelt, Island, or the LBJ memorial grove with great views, and right near the water. Or in Great Falls Park in Virginia or in the Parkland around Fort Washington just south of DC on the Maryland side near the Narrows near Mount Vernon. For me, the whole Chesapeake Bay area is a little too humid, as a Californian. But it’s really interesting. Plenty of places just to walk around. If you go to Gunston Hall you can also enjoy the grounds. But Bavaria might just be a good fit for you,
btw, i have a question about the trains. Im in germany austria and switzerland for 5 weeks. I'm doing 3 or 4 long train rides, the rest should be shorter. I was thinking of buying a eurail pass with like 5 or 10 full travel days, and then maybe the 49 euro a month ticket? Sound reasonable?
Unfortunately I think the Eurorail ticket is a bad deal. It's very expensive, only lasts a short time, and you can only sit in reserved Eurorail seats even if the train has other empty seats. I would buy high speed rail tickets for the long distance trips, and the Deutschland ticket for the small Germany trips. But idk, maybe you can make the Eurotrail pass work for you, I ave just heard bad reviews about it!
@@NearFromHome Yeah I've heard both good and bad, but yeah it is very expensive. Ok I guess I'll just buy the high speed tickets and subscription through DB
There are another 3 reasons to pay Murnau a visit. 1. It has its own coffee roastery. 2. If you take the boat from the crazy- golf at the Staffelsee you can get to the really nice beergarden Alpenblick in Uffing. There is also an algae growing in the lake that you can only find here and in Russia. On the boats they Display bits of it in sort of jam jars. It is a really uggly looking thing. 3. (And best of it all) Murnau has not only one but two breweries: Griesbräu at the top end of the old town and Kargbräu at the bottom end. Griesbräu is good, but Kargbräu is even better. They specialise on Weizen and even other Braumeister that I talked to mentioned to me that Karg beer is one of the best Bavaria has to offer. I hope I could sell Murnau to you. Have a lovely time there.
Wow, I never thought that anyone would do a youtube vid about the Volksfest in Weilheim. I used to live in Weilheim for one year. I completely Fell in love with the main square and my partner loves the Kneip-facilities in the Park near the river. But we both thought that the Volksfest is a bit naff. The two langer Volksfests we really like though are the Gäubodenfest (09. - 19. Aug) and the Gillamoos (29.08. - 2.09.). The Gäubodenfest is the Oktoberfest without tourists and a bit more traditional, well worth a visit. Afterwards you can stroll in the old town of Straubing which is more than pleasant. The Gillamoos is in Abensberg, a typical small Bavarian town with a really pretty main square. The brewry is very sprcial. They specialise on Weizen and their dark Weizen is out of this world. Of course you can book brewry-tours. The owner of the brewry is a Fan of the architecture of Hundertwasser and has too much spare change. As everybody needs a hobby, he had himself a Hundertwasser-tower built, which looks like something out of Alice in Wonderland. That's a real great day out and I always take beer-loving relatives to Abensberg, as it's a great laugh.
We like Weilheim too! We kind of ended up going by chance. Some subscribers invited us, and it happened to be the day we were driving by on our way to Oberammergau with friends. We also found the fest a little small, but we liked it, and really wanted to drive home the fact that these festivals are everywhere. I think a lot of foreigners get very fixated on Oktoberfest when there are actually festivals everywhere all the time! We are actually going to Abensberg. lol we have to use our Frühlingsfest vouchers.
Not to sidetrack the conversation, but... we just did Eibsee and took your advice to go anti-clockwise, seeing the best views first and powering past the crowds at the end. AND... a couple of weeks ago, we went to San Romedio on public transport (just to prove it could be done) and based on your visit. Thanks for the show.
Thanks so much! That really means a lot. I didn't know there was a bus to San Romedio. That' cool. It wouldn't probably make Camille so motion sick lol
Another wonderful video! The tough topic was gracefully articulated. Nuremberg is 100% added to the German road trip! Cheers and keep up the awesome work!
Hello again! I visited Nurnberg last August and the Duerer Haus was my primary focus of the trip, but I was somewhat limited in my walking by a slowly healing ankle surgery. The castle had been on my "to do" bucket list but was unable to do that much walking and stairs. I'm sure that Camille knows that Albrecht Duerer was the Leonardo da Vinci of Germany, and his works are wonderful. Some of his original paintings are in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. I stayed at a Paulanerbraeu Gasthaus near the Hauptbahnhof, which was very pleasant but with steep stairs to my room. I'm considering another day trip to Nurnberg in about 2 months on my way to Lutherstadt Wittenberg and then Dresden.
Ok, I hope you know by now that Georgia is not an oriental country and this nasty oriental music you put on the video is completely wrong 🤣I can't listen to this anymore and I turned off the video
Only meaty khinkal has juice. I am ashamed that vegetarian khinkali was brought to you in this form. Vegetarian khinkali, as a rule, is without a handle, it should be served hot, put butter on top and eat with a knife and fork
Thank you so much for doing this video, and thank you all the more for addressing the dark history of Nuremberg that addresses the continual process of othering in an open and honest way. As a Jewish medieval historian (who also grew up in Munich and all that entails) I appreciate this a great deal.
Thanks so much! That really really means a lot. It's hard to speak on difficult topics when you have a fun travel channel, but we thought it would be really irresponsible to not discuss it in a meaningful way. Glad to hear feedback from an expert!
The same thing is happening now to Palestinians and I don’t understand why the Germans out of all people support that. Here in the USA we have the lobbyists paying the politicians and the evangelicals who think that’s going to help them go to heaven. It’s hard to understand how people can be this rotten. I’ve been to the Dachau Concentration Camp and it’s very clear that we are seeing the same thing happening and we are not going anything to end it yet again.
Yes! It is very distressing to see the Germans not apply the lessons of the past to today. Since moving here, I have heard a few Germans use this Fascist rhetoric about Arab and African immigrants. not good
I love the video, especially because it's the town where I work in and nearby live. As you also love trips into nature besides the ones into towns, what about visiting the Fränkische Schweiz, north of Nürnberg and east of Bamberg? Pottenstein and Gößweinstein and the area around could perhaps offer proper destinations for a video. 🙂
If you like city walls and moats (and I know you do ;) ) I can't recommend my hometown augsburg enough. Parts of the city wall and moat are even part of the UNESCO World Heritage.
Everything you said about Prague I completely agree with. I also think the the city is up there with places like Venice, Rome, York, Brugge etc. When I went there last Feb I also didn't go to the castle, but I watched 'the Change of Guards' which was funny enough. Of course I tried "Baumkuchen" and lots of Beeeeeer😮. I think it is even better than most of German beer. And I went to the Kafka-Museum, as I am a Kafka-fan. What did you two graveyard-lovers think of the Jewish graveyard? I was absolutely blown away by it. I have never seen anything like it in my whole life. To sum it up, I totally agree with you: Prague is one of the best cities Europe has to offer.
Thank you! Love being agreed with hahahaha. I didn't know there was a changing of the guard! Tbh, idk how we slept on the Jewish quarter. I'm really kicking myself for not going.
Love this video! It is always nice to see an outside perspective. Some suggestions for next time: - Römermuseum: The city of Vienna has its own Roman Museum where they showcase a lot about that era and how it still influences Vienna. The city has its own team of archaeologists that are part of every large excavation project to ensure nothing gets lost. It’s about a 10-minute walk from where you said you would like to see more about Roman history in Vienna. 😅 - Wien Museum: It reopened in December 2023. The permanent exhibition displays the history and art from the Stone Age up to the present day. The permanent exhibit is free, and from the terrace, you have a beautiful view of the Karls Kirche-perfect for shots. If you contact them in advance, they might even let you film for your channel. - Aida Kaffee: You might have seen some pink coffee shops. They have the same color as the Punschkrapferl (Viennese rum cakes). It is good, affordable, and very Viennese. - Musikverein and/or Konzerthaus: If classical music is of interest, you should see a concert in one of the historic concert halls. - Carnuntum: This is about an hour’s drive from Vienna, but if Roman history is a passion, it might also be of interest. It is a museum/historic recreation of a Roman city. Most kids visit it as part of their school curriculum in Austria. Also loved that you picked the Volksoper (People’s Opera). The State Opera is also nice, but I kind of prefer the one you went to. However, the State Opera (Staatsoper) has screens in front of every seat that let you choose subtitles in your preferred language. Hope this helps a little, and hope to have you back soon!
Oh you know we were eyeing the Caruntum and Römermuseum. Next time! Will also check out Aida, Musikverein, and the Staatsoper. The translations screens in the seats sounds amazing!
"sick days" in a western country are such a horrible thing ... how can afghanistan have better laws for that then the usa ? i sadly got very sick in october, i got covid and i never really recovered, i got 60 days paid off and since i am on "sick days" from the sate for 60% of my wage.
Wow very lucky! I am glad to hear that so many other countries have sensical and compassionate laws around sick leave. The US's policies around the issue are awful.
Traveling solo and not planning to eat-in, so I would love to know more about (healthy) take-out options in Vienna (esp. featuring Mediterranean cuisine).
I couldn't find any Georgian music that I could buy, and I didn't want to steal from Georgian artists, so I found the next closest thing: music that uses Georgian folk instruments, but played in a different style. I wish there was more Georgian music available on the music licensing website I use!
Great video! You made me want to go to Demel and Cafe Central and compare their Sacher Torten 😄 I haven't been to either place in ages anyway, so it's about time!
