Ulm Minster (German: Ulmer Münster, literally: minster) is a Lutheran church located in Ulm, Germany. Although sometimes referred to as Ulm Cathedral because of its great size, the church is not a cathedral as it has never been the seat of a bishop. (Cathedral = chair = bishop’s seat) Ulm Minster is a famous example […]
Author Archives: jim
Weissenburg im Bayern, Germany
A charming fortified town definitely not on the usual tourist agenda was our stopover for a leg stretch today between Munich and Dinkelsbuehl. This is a town that I had photographed for a family historian nearly a decade ago. Weissenburg im Bayern features grand sections of wall built in the 1300s and 1400s and a […]
The Quietness of the Erzgebirge
We loved our three nights in the heart of Berlin’s Kreuzberg district. But afterwards, we loved the rural beauty of the Erzgebirge, where we stopped for a night at a favorite Landhotel near Seiffen. On the way, we took in the rolling greenery of the “Ore Mountains,” where silver mines enriched the Saxon rulers for […]
Oldest Bratwurst Kitchen in Germany
We stopped in the medieval bratwurst kitchen near the massive town walls of Nurnberg for lunch the other day, another highlight among many as Greg and I make a lazy romp through Germany. The brats at the “Zum Guldenen Stern” have been roasted over a wood fire for their hungry guests since 1419. This places […]
Berlin’s Flea Market After the Apocolypse
If every city got blown up and all of the malls and department stores were reduced to rubble, then a shopping experience would look like what we experienced the other day. “This is after the radioactive dust has cleared and people start to collect again,” is what was running through my mind as I wandered […]
Tipping in Germany
Tipping 20, 15 even as low as 10% of the bill in Germany is not required. What a relief for those who are tired of trying to figure out if a wait person earned it. Many who travel to Germany don’t know this. In Germany, unlike in America, waiters and waitresses don’t depend on tips […]
Follow August Adventures in Europe with European Focus Private Tours
August will be filled with travel and fun in Germany, Austria, Italy and Ireland. On August 4: Greg van der Werf arrives in Rothenburg ob der Tauber from California. Greg will be spending just over two weeks “goofing off” with European Focus Private Tours owner James Derheim in Berlin, Dresden, the Erzgebirge, Munich, Berchtesgaden, Schwangau […]
The Cruise industry versus small city charm
We will never, ever take a cruise. Don’t even tell us about your last one, because we hate, hate, hate what the cruise industry has done to once quaint towns and villages within reach of the nearest deep water port. Take Dubrovnik, Croatia for example. Now I have to be clear, we have never stepped […]