Category: Germany

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  A Guide to “Losing Your Heart” in Heidelberg, Germany

  For 10 years, I called enchanting Heidelberg home. Here, I share what to see, do, and eat in this vibrant university town.

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  A Peek at Germany’s Ettal Monastery

  Surrounded by Alpine peaks, Shawn and I uncover the artistic grandeur, Baroque and Rococo architecture, and serene heritage of Bavaria’s historic Ettal Monastery.

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  Slap Happy: Dancing the Schuhplattler in Bavaria

  In Oberammergau, we witness the rhythmic, energetic Schuhplattler folk dance, a historic Bavarian tradition performed in classic Lederhosen and Dirndls.

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  A Bavarian Horse-Blessing Ceremony in Unterammergau, Germany

  As we walked from the town of Oberammergau to the neighboring village of Unterammergau, Germany, numerous horses trotted past us. The animals’ beautifully decorated manes and tails blew in the late autumn breeze. Not to be outdone by the horses’ distinguished appearances, the owners also sported fine Bavarian attire. Men wore grey woolen jackets finished…

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  Tails from a German Horse-Blessing Ceremony

  During the last weekend of October, the village of Unterammergau, Germany honors St. Leonhard, the patron saint of agricultural animals. The event begins with a horse procession through this community of 1,500 people. It culminates in an open-air church service, during which more than one hundred horses are blessed. Unterammergau is the neighboring village of…

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  Mount Kofel Dressed in Snow – Oberammergau, Germany

  “What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.”   John Steinbeck The experience of awakening to the first snowfall of winter is magical, especially when Mother Nature delivers as she did today in Oberammergau, Germany. (There was nothing to shovel, but confectioners’ sugar-like dustings on the surrounding…