Germany wasn’t on my travel bucket list and was never a destination I’d daydreamed about. We decided to go simply because it was a convenient place to meet friends who were there for work—it was Sam’s trip, so I didn’t do much planning.
But this trip turned out to be leaps and bounds better than I could have imagined.
We spent seven days exploring Berlin, with quick side trips to Potsdam and Leipzig. What I didn’t anticipate was how this journey would become a meditation on my life as a gay man. Without planning it, our week became centered around gay history, gay spaces, and gay identity in ways I never expected. We visited memorials, learned about famous queer figures in German history, and found ourselves in bars that celebrated gay male culture and community.
The timing was serendipitous: I came out 25 years ago by the end of this trip. That anniversary wasn’t something I’d planned around, but Germany gave me an unexpected lens through which to reflect on my journey—the gay moments in my life, the friends and lovers, the history we share. This wasn’t a “gay vacation,” but it was a German vacation that I experienced through a profoundly queer perspective. And that made it really special.
Beyond the unexpected emotional resonance, the practical pleasures were extraordinary. I ate exceptionally well the entire time. I drank incredible German wines—much preferred to the beers. I found currywurst delightful and I think I liked it even more than the döner kebab. The public transit was mostly great. Germans were exceptionally nice.
We spent a lot of our time in the Schöneberg neighborhood of Berlin, and I thought it was really lovely. I didn’t dip into the art scene enough—that might be a reason to return.
This was a lovely Berlin vacation where I saw beautiful things, met nice people, reflected on and celebrated being a gay man in 2025, and enjoyed time with dear friends. And I got to do all of that with my husband of 14 years.
It was a really lovely journey.
Over the next couple of posts, I’ll take you through each day of our trip—the places we discovered, the meals we savored, the history we uncovered, and the moments that made this unexpected trip so memorable.
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