Prague’s Secret Garden

October 18 We made a new discovery today together with a visit to Prague’s wonderful Secret Garden, located below Prague Castle. It truly is a secret, only a small door leading off a busy street with no English signage. One has to be a bit adventurous to find it. We spent a happy hour wandering […]

Through the Tyrol to Berchtesgaden

October 17 from a visit on October 12 The morning after the big snow which blanketed the region around Innsbruck, Austria with more than 10 inches of snow dawned bright and cold with just a little morning fog which had lifted by the time we were ready to begin our journey from Lans to Berchtesgaden. […]

A Snowy Surprise in Tyrol, Austria

October 11 We woke this morning at our lodge in the hamlet of Lans to about ten inches of new snow covering every surface and filling the surrounding pines with a heavy layer of white. It was the perfect morning for a drawn out, lazy breakfast followed by some organizing in the room before we […]

Germans Represent A Huge Slice of the American Population

October 9 It’s time to break out the bratwurst as the United States celebrates German-American Day on Oct. 6. Commemorating the founding of Germantown, Pa. in 1683, the holiday celebrates America’s largest ancestry group, with 49 million people claiming part or full German heritage. As President Barack Obama proclaimed a few years ago on this […]

An Afternoon in the Alsace, France

October 9 We stayed two nights recently in a great little inn located in Gleiszellen, right on the border between the German wine country and the Alsace region of France. What better way to spend the afternoon than with a visit to a couple of colorful and charming villages along the Route du Vin? (French […]

We Love The Back Roads of Europe

October 9 Big Tour Buses don’t take them. Tourists on their own with just a map or GPS system don’t know where they are. But with a combined 40 years of European travel experience, the guides of European Focus Private Tours know where they are. We’re talking about those little back roads of Europe, where […]