Tag: travel

  • 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.

  • Photo du Jour: The Golden Lane – Sparks, Nevada

    “The golden age is before us, not behind us.” William Shakespeare A sidewalk snakes its way through a field near a residential area in Sparks, Nevada.

  • 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…

  • A Balinese macaque (monkey) sits on a column looking out at the ocean at the Uluwatu Temple.

    Photo du Jour: Into the Wild Blue Yonder – Ulu Watu Temple, Bali

    Perched on a column near Bali’s sacred 11th-century Ulu Watu Temple, a wild Balinese Macaque gazes out over the Indian Ocean. This critter’s serene stance could be misleading, however, given the mischievous nature of many of these monkeys on Uluwatu’s scenic grounds.

  • Decorations depicting men and women in traditional German costumes, at Oktoberfest celebrations in Munich, Germany.

    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.…