Category: Germany

Of Angels & Alphornists – Out & About in Oberammergau, Germany

We had merely set out on a routine errand to find a hair stylist and pharmacy in Oberammergau, Germany. Instead, we found ourselves pleasantly distracted by something quite out of the ordinary, at least for us: the soothing, foghorn-like sound of Alphorns, playfully known as ‘Ricola horns’.
Celebrating Saint Nicholas Day & Germany’s Christmas Market Season

On the eve of December 6th, when I was a child, I placed my shiniest shoes in front of my bedroom door, anticipating the arrival of St. Nicholas. The next morning, I eagerly popped out of bed, delighted to find my footwear stuffed with oranges, Christmas cookies, chocolates, and tiny trinkets. St. Nick didn’t visit…
Oberammergau, Germany: Woodcarvings, Bavarian Attire, and the Passion Play

For the next few months, we’ll be hanging our warmest hats in Oberammergau, a town located in Germany’s Alps. Oberammergau is most celebrated for its Holzschnitzer (woodcarvers), colorful frescoes (Lüftlmalerei), and Passion Play. This theatrical production is held every ten years. Some residents in Oberammergau still occasionally wear feather-adorned, green wool hats; custom-tailored Lederhosen; or Dirndls…
Pumpkins, Proceratosaurus, and a Palace: Perusing the World’s Largest Pumpkin Festival

The Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival (Kürbisausstellung Ludwigsburg) feels like a quirky fairy tale. The setting is an 18th-century Baroque palace, and each year, the festival has a different theme. Over the years, organizers have paid homage to undersea critters, dinosaurs, and even Switzerland (where I imagine there might have been timepieces fashioned out of pumpkins). The…
A Toast to Munich’s Oktoberfest

“Ein Prosit, ein Prosit, Der Gemütlichkeit. Ein Prosit, ein Prosit, Der Gemütlichkeit.” A traditional German beer drinking song wishing good health and cheer to companions. I was first exposed to Germany’s Oktoberfest culture when I was eight years old. During a whirlwind trip to Munich, my parents’ German friends whisked us away to what seemed like every famous city landmark.…
Love in the Air at the Heidelberg Castle

The Heidelberg Castle grounds are one of my favorite spots to stroll. When I was just a young babe in a Kinderwagen, my mother posed for a now-iconic family photograph at the castle’s main overlook spot (Scheffelterrasse), with me in tow. Twenty years after that shot was snapped, I moved from the United States —…