April 22 The Berliners have a great sense of humor. You’d have to, to live in a city which has been pummeled to smithereens by war (more than 60% of the city center was left in ruins after 1945) divided and torn apart by the Cold War and then reunited and for the next nearly […]
Author Archives: jim
Welcome back fourth time
April 21 Dick and Darlene Muth arrived on April 20th for their fourth trip with European Focus since their first one to Italy in the spring of 2010. This time, we’re spending time in some of the great cities of Europe including Berlin, Prague and Vienna. Follow their adventure here as well as on our […]
Street Artist on the Kurfurstendamm, Berlin
April 19 The Kurfurstendamm is still “the” place to shop in Berlin. It lost a bit of its luster when the eastern part of the city opened up but the once and still prime shopping street in Germany’s capital city is still all about the big brand names and shop til you drop. I spent […]
Castle for Sale in Tuscany
April 18 While on my way to Rome recently to pick up clients, I stopped in northern Tuscany to visit good friends Giulio and Elisabetta Salemme. We stayed the night in a simple but lovely Agriturismo within sight of a massive gray pile of rock which I learned was the Castello dell’Aquila. Giulio offered a […]
Ferienwohnung in Berlin
Eine super Wohlfühl- Ferienwohnung im pulsierenden Herzen der Hauptstadt. Kreuzberg ist der ultimative Schmelztiegel für alles Kreative, immer up to date und immer voll im Leben. Unzählige Restaurants, Bars und Kneipen lassen nie Langeweile aufkommen. Wir bieten Ihnen ein Stück Privatshäre, für ein paar Tage, mit Familie,Freunden oder auf Geschäftsreise.4 Personen können hier relaxen und […]
Berlin, Germany and an Inexpensive place to sleep in central Berlin
April 18 In the heart of Berlin in the vibrant neighborhood of Kreuzberg my friends Georg and Martina Siegmann have opened “The Five Lofts” apartments in a former store house that Georg bought in 1986. Moving from Rothenburg ob der Tauber where they owned and operated the successful “Passage 12” gift store, the Siegmanns have […]
Three special lanes in Pienza, Tuscany
April 13 While strolling around the beautiful hilltop town of Pienza in the Val d’Orcia, Tuscany recently we were told by a couple of locals that the three streets leading to a pretty overview have some special significance in the way they are lined up, and the way they are named. Approaching from the south, […]
Getting into Venice by Gypsy Cab
April 13 We have a routine we follow when we bring our clients to Venice. Since driving right up to the front door of the hotel is obviously out of the question, those who arrive by car to this watery city have only a few choices to get to their hotel. They can walk (pity […]