Travels with Tricia

Category: Travelogues

  • Two male hands, holding white "Christkindlmarkt" mugs filled with Gluhwein (mulled wine) at the Oberammergau, Germany Christkindlmarkt.

    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…

  • The colorful, fresco-painted facade of the Pilatushaus

    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…

  • Appreciating the Flora of Fall

    Even in the buff-colored, high desert of Nevada, neighborhood trees and shrubs are sporting their autumn finery.

  • A speedboat cuts through Lake Tahoe, with mountains in the distance, and evergreen trees and rocks in the foreground.

    Azure Skies, Emerald Firs and Sparkling Lake Tahoe: A Second Anniversary Celebration

    In 2010, I was twice married — to the same groom. As if describing two seasonal palaces, my husband and I like to playfully refer to our two marriages as the ‘summer wedding’ and the ‘winter wedding’.  Whereas some spouses have a difficult time remembering one wedding anniversary, we aspire to remember the date we…

  • Celebrating the International Day of the Girl

    October 11th is the first-ever International Day of the Girl Child –  a day dedicated to recognizing girls’ rights and advancing their lives and access to opportunities. In honor of this day, I encourage you to participate in your own way. Educate yourself about girls’ issues. (I highly recommend the powerful book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women…