CW: american privilege
Also doing a bit of Amsterdam and Paris. Not an ideal time with COVID, I know, but... its probably never gonna be a better time, either.
Experiences? Things to try? Avoid?
Hoping to get a feel for every day life in Germany. Don't care too much tourist stuff. First time over the pond, so looking to soak in as much "non-american" stuff as possible.
Near Berlin, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanssouci is the summer palace of King Frederick the Great of Prussia, and while touristy, there seven palaces on the same grounds and it's definitely non-American and one of the best palaces I've been.
In Berlin, the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiergarten_(park) is cool for a picnic and you can try a Berliner-Weisse beer somewhere.
Don't forget to buy a ticket if you ride the trains (the awesome trains!) You can hop on and off without hassle but they will sometimes check randomly for tickets and it's a bit of a fine if you get caught. I saw them check tickets twice and my friend got caught but not fined somehow.