Not only is this rambling, rustic pub known as the “highest in Ireland” as it sits on a “mountaintop” outside of Dublin, but it is also in my opinion one of the most atmospheric pubs in all of Ireland. It also has the best seafood chowder that I’ve ever come across. We had lunch here […]
Trim, County Meath, Ireland
Welcome near arrivals Bob and Paula Leitzell and Audrey Thompson (Paula’s sister) for your third trip with European Focus! We spent the first day exploring the Newgrange passage tomb, built around 3200 BC and recognized as one of the finest examples of ancient tomb building in the world. For lunch, we drove through the countryside […]
Travel Ireland with European Focus
For the next week and a half, European Focus Private Tours founder James Derheim will be showing new arrivals Paula, Bob and Audrey the “Hits of Ireland” as he sees it, including Ireland’s highest pub, the Book of Kells at Trinity College, the Rock of Cashel and Tipperary, Cobh and Kinsale, plus Kenmare, the Ring […]
Postcard from the Sudtirol
The ancient village was razed to the ground to make way for a large reservoir. All that remains of the 13th century church is the tower, poking up like a ghostly reminder from the waters.
Inexpensive and safe longterm parking near frankfurt airport
Searching for affordable, cheap remote parking near the Frankfurt Airport is like looking for a needle among needles. There are many to choose from, but not all are good. I thought I had a reservation at the “Main Park” but it turned out that I really didn’t have a reservation at all, and the man […]
The World’s Highest Church Spire
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 […]
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 […]