Author Archives: jayandtanya

Bad Schwalbach: The Empress and the Beer Baron

Posted on October 6, 2015 by jayandtanya

Just 22 kilometers from Wiesbaden is the 19th century German spa town, Bad Schwalbach. Today, no one pays much attention to this community of 10,000 but in the late 1800’s the mineral baths and beauty of the place attracted royalty … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Germany | Leave a comment

Under the Radar Destination: Alzey

Posted on October 1, 2015 by jayandtanya

There has been a lot of discussion in travel blogs lately about how over-crowded popular destinations have become and how this has degraded the travel experience. We talked about this in an earlier posting: https://neverlefthome.com/2015/05/07/crowds-and-travel-now-and-future/ It’s true that the savvy traveler must … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Germany | Leave a comment

Meeting Our New Future Neighbors From the Past

Posted on September 15, 2015 by jayandtanya

Henry Weinhard, Harvey Scott and Jacob Kamm will be our new neighbors in the future. It’s often noted that none of us  will get out of this alive. So, this week Tanya and Jay decided to take the offensive and prepare … Continue reading →

Posted in USA | 2 Comments

Sweet Home Alabama–Lynyrd Skynyrd

Posted on September 12, 2015 by jayandtanya

Duke Ellington once said, “There are two kinds of music. Good music and the other kind.” Louis Armstrong said something similar, “There is two kinds of music, the good kind and the bad kind. I play the good kind.” Venturing … Continue reading →

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Totally Naked Men and Women, Oh My!

Posted on September 3, 2015 by jayandtanya

Now that we have your attention. No trip to Germany is complete without a visit to a Bad, or bath, in one of the many spa towns scattered throughout the country. At the bath, you can shed your clothing and your inhibitions, … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Germany | 5 Comments

München has Oktoberfest, Wiesbaden has Weinwoche!

Posted on August 23, 2015 by jayandtanya

Oktoberfest, the world’s largest beer party, is set to kick off in München in a few weeks. Thousands of drunken tourists will flock to the grounds to consume liters of the foamy stuff delivered six or eight at a time … Continue reading →

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Thinking About Home

Posted on August 20, 2015 by jayandtanya

For the last month or so we’ve been thinking about the concept of “home”. Having now lived outside our home country, the US, for most of the last eight years, the concept of home has become much more indefinite. Ways … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Coming Home (again): Jazz at Port Townsend

Posted on July 29, 2015 by jayandtanya

We’ve written before in this blog about jazz creating a sense of coming home for us and this past weekend Port Townsend, Washington was where it all came together again. It’s not hearing familiar tunes that necessarily brings us home, because … Continue reading →

Posted in USA | 1 Comment

Ampelmann and German Re-Unification

Posted on July 19, 2015 by jayandtanya

The other day, while walking around Wiesbaden, Jay noticed a new display outside the Hessen capitol building: Ampelmann The statue celebrates 25 years of German re-unification which officially takes place on October 3. This larger-than-life image of Ampelmann and the slogan “Grenzen … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Germany | 3 Comments

Chillin’ in Prien am Chiemsee

Posted on July 15, 2015 by jayandtanya

One of the wonderful things about living in Europe is how close towns, regions and countries are to each other. And the German rail system, despite its imperfections, is still a terrific way to get around with ease. Over the … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Germany | 2 Comments