Since living in Germany I’ve learned more than a handful of new German words. I arrived knowing “gesundheit” and “kindergarten” but something else I’ve added to my lexicon: marzipan. Marzipan isn’t completely a foreign thing to Americans, but it’s not something I was very familiar with until I visited Lübeck, Germany back in December. The …
Europe
Sachsenhausen concentration camp memorial Just outside Berlin is the Sachsenhausen concentration camp memorial. Under Nazi Germany, the concentration camp was used first as a work camp for political prisoners until eventually it was expanded and enlarged to also include facilities for mass murder. After WWII, Sachsenhausen was briefly used by the Soviets to house Nazi …
Þingvellir (Thingvellir) National Park in Iceland When I visited Iceland in September 2009 (read how my trip to Iceland changed my life here) I did one of the popular day trips to all the tourist sites within a short bus ride away from downtown Reykjavik. I was reminded of the Golden Circle tour when I …
Just across from the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe is another Holocaust Memorial in Berlin—a monument to the homosexual Holocaust victims during WWII.
Sometimes souvenirs don’t have to be local My friend Allison bought this Swatch watch when we visited Prague together a few years ago. It’s an old photo favorite of mine—bright colors and a beautiful smile in the background. One of the reasons I haven’t really enjoyed Prague on each visit has been all the touristic …
Sorry if the photo is a bit blurry but my hands were cold. This is a shot of one of the many stands at the Christmas market (or Weihnachtsmarkt in German) in Schmalkalden, Germany. I was visiting this central German town on part of a chocolate & candy tour through Germany. Schmalkalden is in a …
Berlin has its fair share of quirky museums and other things, but the Sugar Museum must be near the top. Seriously. A museum all about sugar. Sugar!
Whether it’s the crappy weather or just my sorry mood, inspiration has been lacking in my life since the new year. So to fight it off, I spent this past weekend trying to improve my mood. First with the first plane ticket purchase I’ve made in MONTHS (hellllooo Norway in March!) and second with a …
I’ve pretty much spent the past week hanging out in a theater seat. It was the Berlinale / Berlin International Film Festival here for the past 10 days, and thanks to some friends who sorted out my tickets, I managed to see four different films. Here’s my recap: Dictado / “Childish Games” There was a …
hey hey – some architecture for you: The German Reichstag building houses the German parliament (Bundestag), equivalent of the U.S. Congress. The building is open to the public and it’s fairly simple to arrange a visit to the dome (designed by Norman Foster). You just have to register online in advance with your personal information …