• Shocked in Germany

    I write this knowing exactly how ridiculous and unfounded it is—but for as long as I can remember I’ve had a particular bias against Germany and Germans (said by a girl whose ancestry is hugely German). I have always disliked the language, have thought of Germans as harsh and cold people, and haven’t had any

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  • Foodie Friday: Krappelchen mit Puderzucker

    One of the many wonderful things to do when visiting Christmas Markets in Europe is stuffing your face with every variety of food imaginable. I tried to taste it all–wursts, glühwein, potato pancakes, etc. You name it–I tried it. When I was making my way around a Christmas Market in Dresden, I spotted a booth

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  • Ermahgerd, the Alps!

    I’m not new to mountain ranges; I grew up in the Appalachian area and spent many a summer in the Great Smoky Mountains. So, I thought I had an idea of what I was getting into when I headed to the Alps. Only, when I actually saw the Alps, I realized how different they were than everything

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  • Foodie Friday: Wiener Schnitzel

    This week’s Foodie Friday features.. wiener schnitzel. While this is technically an Austrian (Viennese) dish, I ate it in Germany (I was close to the Austrian border, okay?). This was my first foray into the world of schnitzels, and more poignantly, into the world of veal (more on this later).

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  • Frankfurt am Main

    If you’d asked me before my recent trip to Frankfurt, I would’ve guessed that it was a larger city than Köln, but it is in fact the fifth-largest in Germany (just after Köln). Still, it feels much larger and more city-like to me. To be honest, that’s not necessarily a great thing in my book.

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  • Kölner Dom

    The first real stop on my European roadtrip was to Köln (Cologne). Köln is Germany’s fourth-largest city and is home to the Kölner Dom, or Cologne Cathedral, which was the main purpose of my visit. (There’s much more to Köln than the Dom, but I plan to save that for the World War II tour I’m hoping to

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