Category: Germany

  • A bakery storefront in Oberammergau, Germany

    Photo du Jour: Coffee Crybaby – Oberammergau, Germany

    An image of a grumpy baby adorns the wall of a bakery in Oberammergau, Germany, enticing customers with the establishment’s promise of a tasty cup of joe. The poster reads: “Still tired? Here, you’ll find really good coffee.”

  • Cross country ski tracks cut through the snow in Oberammergau, Germany. Forested mountains are overhead.

    Oberammergau, Germany: Snowy Vignettes from an Alpine Paradise

    Having “escaped” winter by spending five wonderful, but scorching months in Southeast Asia and India last year, I must admit—it’s been a bit of a shock wintering in the German Alps these past months. Fortunately, there are the visual elements that make sidewalk slips, shoveling, and shivering so worthwhile: chalets peeking out from under snow…

  • Apprentice for an Afternoon: Lessons with Germany’s Old World Artisans

    During Oberammergau’s peak tourist seasons, visitors can easily while away an hour watching artisans demonstrate their trades on the ground floor of the beautifully frescoed Pilatushaus building. In past centuries, nomadic traders acquired crafts like these and sold them throughout Europe, making Oberammergau famous for its fine work. Today, travelers can purchase the items directly…

  • Europe, Somewhere in Time: An Interview with Artist & Photographer, Maurice Sapiro

    I recently happened upon the beautiful, timeless work of Maurice Sapiro, an accomplished photographer, painter and sculptor who calls Connecticut home. The images from his Europe gallery, circa 1956, are what captivated me: honey-toned scenes of Venetian gondoliers gracefully powering delicate boats across a lagoon; black and white images of Bavarians in frenzied celebration; silhouetted-figures…

  • A pair of donkeys, standing in a stable in Oberammergau, Germany, look directly at the camera.

    A Nibbling Donkey in Oberammergau, Germany

    The sign declared, Bitte Esel nicht füttern. And since I was in Germany, a land famously known for its rules, I was even more sure to obey. Even though visitors to the Christmas Market in Oberammergau, Germany were asked not to feed the photogenic donkeys (to keep the live Christmas props from developing upset stomachs), rubbing of…

  • Frost adorns a window in the German village of Oberammergau.

    Winter Wonderland Wisdom

    “Nature is full of genius, full of the divinity; so that not a snowflake escapes its fashioning hand.” Henry David Thoreau With craggy mountain peaks and evergreens on the hillsides dressed in a confectioner’s sugar-like snow to command one’s attention, it is easy to miss the smaller details of winter in the alpine village of…