The Reichstag was the seat of the Parliament before the Nazi takeover of Germany in the 1930s. An imposing structure built in the late 1800s, it was the backdrop for Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in 1933, when he was proclaimed chancellor by the ailing President von Hindenberg. A mysterious fire destroyed the building in […]
Author Archives: James Derheim
The Berlin Wall and Topography of Terror
I spent nearly three hours at the “Topography of Terror,” located a few blocks to the west of the famous Checkpoint Charlie at the foundation of what used to be Gestapo Headquarters in the heart of Berlin. This landscape is hallowed ground. Many were tortured or murdered here, all in the name of State Security. […]
Cheap Place to Stay in Berlin
Finding a reasonable place to sleep in the heart of Berlin can be a challenge. Luckily, my friends Georg and Martina are developing vacation apartments in a former spice warehouse and apartment building in Kreuzberg, an exciting and multi-cultural district of Berlin which once butted right up against the former Berlin Wall. I was fortunate […]
Postcard from Lucerne
The beautiful and historic Chapel Bridge was constructed in the 14th century as part of the battlements around the medieval town of Lucerne. It stood for more than 600 years until a carelessly discarded cigarette burned more than 90% of the bridge in 1993. It was rapidly rebuilt. Visit Lucerne on a custom-designed, private tour […]
Gorgeous Switzerland
We stayed the nights of September 11 and 12 in Grindelwald, a place of almost indescribable beauty. Here are some images from the past weekend. Come to Switzerland with European Focus Private Tours!
New Slideshow, Beautiful Tuscany
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Postcard from Berchtesgaden
The pretty church of Maria Gern with the misty Watzmann in the background. Visit Germany this October – we have an opening for a tour of any length in the period of October 12 to 30.
Hall, Austria is overlooked medieval jewel
We stopped for lunch in the pretty little town of Hall, Austria the other day. This much smaller version of Innsbruck has attention from Austrian and German tourists who know about it, but it’s virtually overlooked by Americans who are drawn to the larger and more well-known Innsbruck. What I like about Hall is that […]