Two Weeks Through Germany on Film

There’s something about shooting film in a country this old. Every cobblestone street, every crumbling castle wall, every cathedral interior — it all feels like it was meant to be captured on analog. I spent two weeks traveling through Germany this April, and the contrast between winter and spring across the country made for some of the most diverse rolls I’ve ever shot.

Bavaria: Snow in April

The trip started in Munich, but the real surprise came when we drove south to Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It was mid-April and the Alps were buried in snow. Heavy, quiet, everything-muffled kind of snow. The lake near town was half-frozen, the forests were thick white corridors, and the parking lot cashier booth looked like it belonged in a Christmas movie.

We hiked through trails where the only sound was snow falling off pine branches. The kind of cold that makes you grateful for every warm café. I burned through a roll and a half here alone — the light was soft and endless, bouncing off the snow in every direction.

Munich itself was warmer. The Siegestor stood golden against a blue sky, the English Garden’s old trees were still bare but dramatic, and the Olympic Park at dusk — with the tower reflected in the water — was one of those lucky timing moments you can’t plan for. BMW Welt’s architecture was almost too futuristic for film, but I think the grain adds something.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber: The Medieval Postcard

Rothenburg is almost too perfect. The half-timbered houses, the Plönlein fork, the cobblestone streets — it feels staged, but it’s just genuinely preserved. We arrived in the late afternoon and had the streets nearly to ourselves by sunset. The light turned pink and the clock tower glowed. I shot the same corner three different ways and I’m not sorry about it.

Dresden & Leipzig

Dresden hit different. The Zwinger Palace courtyard, the Frauenkirche dome appearing between baroque buildings, the yellow tram rattling past — it has a weight to it. You can feel the history of destruction and rebuilding in every stone. The Fürstenzug procession wall alone is worth the stop.

Leipzig was a quick pass — just long enough for a Thüringer bratwurst at the Hauptbahnhof and a few frames of that incredible iron-and-glass roof.

Berlin: A Week Wasn’t Enough

Berlin got the most film. The Reichstag dome alone took half a roll — I couldn’t stop shooting the light through that glass spiral. The golden hour reflections on the mirror cone were unreal.

The Holocaust Memorial is a place that changes depending on when you visit. In the afternoon sun, the concrete stelae cast long geometric shadows. Walking through it with a camera felt like documenting something that resists being documented. The Berlin Wall inscription — “Du hast gelernt was Freiheit heisst und das vergiss nie mehr” — stays with you.

Museum Island was a full day. The Neues Museum staircase with light cutting through the windows, the rotunda in the Altes Museum, a couple sitting together in front of a painting — these interiors were made for slow film and patience.

Then the everyday Berlin: S-Bahn trains reflected in glass buildings, graffiti walls behind playgrounds, the World Clock at Alexanderplatz catching the last light. A city that never runs out of frames.

Potsdam & Sanssouci

A day trip to Sanssouci Palace felt like stepping into a painting. The colonnade in the park with long afternoon shadows, the baroque dome up close with its sculpted figures — Frederick the Great had taste, I’ll give him that.

The Rhine Valley

The Rhine was all about elevation. Climbing up through vineyards above Bacharach, looking down at church spires and the river bending around castle ruins. The views through old stone windows of medieval towers framing the valley below. This stretch of Germany doesn’t photograph like anywhere else — it’s layers upon layers of green, stone, and water.

Heidelberg: The Perfect Ending

Heidelberg was our last stop, and the weather finally turned fully spring. Cherry blossoms lined the paths along the river, the Old Bridge glowed in the sun, and the castle ruins on the hill above looked like they’d been there since the beginning of time (close enough — 13th century).

The view from the Philosophenweg across the river — the whole town laid out with the castle, the bridge, the church spires — is one of those scenes that makes you understand why people have been painting this place for centuries. I’m glad I had one last frame for it.

Frankfurt: A Brief Coda

Frankfurt was really just a transit stop, but the cathedral interior caught me off guard. That warm red sandstone light with the organ pipes — I stood there until someone asked if I was okay. And the cherry blossoms in the park were peak bloom. Sometimes the best shots come from the places you didn’t plan for.

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Two weeks, several rolls of film, and a country that gave me snow, spring, medieval towns, brutalist memorials, baroque palaces, and river valleys. Germany on film is something I’d recommend to anyone with a camera and some patience.