Castles, Coffee and Cake in Bergisches Land, Germany

While visiting my friend in Solingen, Germany, we ventured out to explore the Bergisches Land. After climbing Germany's highest rail bridge the day before, we took things at a slower pace, visiting Burg Castle — Anne of Cleves' childhood home — and enjoying Bergische Kaffeetafel, a regional coffee and cake tradition.

Climbing Müngsten Bridge — Germany's Highest Railway Bridge

Climbing Sydney Harbour Bridge was one of my all-time favourite travel experiences. But you don't need to go all the way to Australia for an exhilarating bridge climb. Müngsten Bridge, Germany's highest railway bridge, delivers a similar mix of adrenaline and industrial heritage in Solingen — an easy day trip from Düsseldorf or Cologne.

A Long Weekend in Berlin: Bex's Guide

While exploring last-minute city breaks just before the recent UK bank holiday, I found a great deal on a two-night trip to Berlin. Return flights with BA and two nights at a boutique hotel in Alexanderplatz cost £325; the same flights alone were £100 more on the BA website. I'm not usually spontaneous when it comes to travel, but I hit the purchase button on Friday morning, and just over 24 hours later, I was on my way to Berlin.

Berlin Specialty Coffee Guide: Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg

For more Berlin specialty coffee recommendations, check out my coffee guide to Kreuzberg and Neukölln.

A Specialty Coffee Tour of Kreuzberg and Neukölln, Berlin

For more Berlin specialty coffee recommendations, check out my coffee guide to Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg.

I last visited Berlin on a school history trip in 1998 and I've long been wanting to return. As my company has offices there, I've held out, hoping a work trip would materialise. Of course, when that finally happened, I had to fly out the day after returning from Amsterdam and only had one free day in the city. 

The Caffeine Chronicles: The Coffee Gang, Cologne

I am a serial travel over-planner: I hate the thought of missing out on something great in a new city due to lack of research. Sometimes, though, life has other ideas and on Thursday lunchtime, I found out that I would need to catch a plane to Cologne four hours later to take the place of a colleague at a workshop the following day. Luckily, I keep a bag packed with most of my travel essentials, so I made it home and up to Stansted with a few precious minutes to spare before my flight.