Kudos to the Schmales Haus in Ulm, Germany

We stayed at the Schmales Haus (Small House) in the Fischerviertel (Fishermen’s Quarter) of Ulm, Germany the other night. It was the second time at this tiny B&B in Ulm’s most picturesque, enjoyable quarter. Host Michael Heide gave up his job selling insurance more than a decade ago to take care of his young children. […]

Thank you Rokicki Family!

Three-time travelers Bob and Marlene Rokicki are home now after their 16-day trip around Germany. It was a huge adventure and included a surprise daytrip to Prague. Son Bruce and his wife Melissa came along for this special 50th anniversary trip. Here’s a shot from the last night’s festivities in Landshut, where Jim (on the […]

Ramsau near Berchtesgaden

A popular postcard sold throughout the Berchtesgaden region shows the little church of Ramsau. We stopped on the way out of this area after a three-night stay to recreate the photo. Guest Bob Rokicki is in the foreground.

The old sausage kitchen in Regensburg

We had the best little sausages in Germany at the old sausage kitchen on the bank of the Donau River in Regensburg recently. On a perfect day, we sat down outside and had fresh-brewed beer along with the sausages and kraut. We learned that the kraut at the old kitchen is made using cabbage from […]

Weisswurst in Dresden

We stopped in Dresden recently to take in the sights, including the rebuilt Frauenkirche. While there, we came across the Augustiner Brewery restaurant in the shadow of that magnificent church. It was just before noon, and so the right time for a “Weisswurst,” which is a Bavarian sausage made of veal and boiled, served with […]

Erfurt is Germany's Hidden Jewel

Americans don’t visit Erfurt but they should. The city is more than 1250 years old and is jammed with fantastic buildings remaining from the period of building from the late 1400s to the early 1600s, at the height of the German Renaissance. One of those buildings, the 16the century “Breiten Herd” was severely damaged by […]

Visiting Germany's Smallest Brewery

We had a fresh one on September 7 at the Schmitt Brewery in tiny Singen, Thuringia the other day. We visited the village as a daytrip from nearby Erfurt. The Schmitt Brewery was established in 1875 and has been churning out great suds ever since. It makes about 70,000 liters of beer per season. That […]

Goslar Deserves its World Heritage Classification

Goslar in the Harz Mountains is a world-class small city with a wealth of well-preserved half-timbered and stone buildings dating back to the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. Once the seat of the emperor, the “Kaiserpfalz” still stands today as strong as it did when it was built in 1050. Emperors from Friedrich Barbarossa to […]