Category Archives: Germany

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 →

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 →

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 →

A few weekends ago, we spent the day in nearby Bingen am Rhein, for the 20th annual “Bingen Swingt” jazz festival. We only caught the last two acts of the 3-day festival but it was a fun time. We enjoyed … Continue reading →

One of the things we love about living here is the variety of street musicians we have, especially on weekends. From baritone opera soloists, to string quartets, to Django Reinhardt-style cafe music, we have it all. Here a sample from this … Continue reading →

Ah yes, it’s spring and that can only mean one thing in Germany, especially South/Central Germany, it’s Spargelzeit (Asparagus Time). This is the time of the year, April to June, when white asparagus or Bleichspargel (bleached asparagus) puts Germans into … Continue reading →

This past week, while Tanya was working, Jay visited the beautiful university town of Tübingen, about 35 km south of Stuttgart. The place is absolutely delightful. They say that one of every three residents here is a university student and that’s … Continue reading →

Tanya and Jay have been in the Stuttgart area this week and while she has been on work assignments I have been playing tourist. Two days ago, Jay crossed an item off my bucket list, a visit to the Porsche Museum. This … Continue reading →

It seemed like January would never end but we can now see the light at the end of the tunnel. Germany is lovely any time of year, and we certainly haven’t seen the types of winter storms that North America … Continue reading →

Last week’s snow has melted and we have settled into a typical wet, gray weather pattern, not unlike that of Portland. But here we can reflect on those few beautiful days of snow and sun.           … Continue reading →