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For a more detailed and updated European packing guide, please skip this post and read my popular post What to Wear in Europe this Summer. Can anybody answer this question for me? We leave for Italy in eleven days and are stumped on what to pack. Packing for the beach is easy. I got that down. Throw in some swim trunks, t-shirts, shorts, a few polos, and maybe even a pair of…
Read moreIt was a brisk early spring evening in Munich. So early that the trees were yet bare. Still, Munchens flung to the streets to celebrate this first break in weather. The beer gardens and sidewalk cafes teamed with life and laughter. We commandeered a table for two on the sidewalk in front of Paulaner Im Tal. The waiter noticed us from across the sidewalk and asked if we wanted two beers. We…
Read moreI was super pumped when I learned that a good friend of mine went to London for the 2012 Summer Olympics. One, because I have always wanted to go myself and couldn’t wait to hear his stories. Two, because selfishly I was thinking it would make a great guest blog post. Evan is, after-all, a phenomenal writer. Before he left for Richmond to pursue his Masters in Writing and Rhetoric at Virginia Commonwealth University, we…
Read moreI wanted to like Vienna, Austria. I really did. I even fought to place it on our itinerary. I had heard such great stories about the city. Mates we met in Thailand raved about it. They dubbed it the best city to visit in all of Europe. My Grandma recalled tales from her Grandfather and his childhood in Bratislava. He went to Vienna whenever he had the chance and even lived there…
Read moreThis toast is to you, dear Bavarian, and your strong beer culture. Where beer drinking is not simply a past time, or a binge that college students partake in on weekends, or an act old men perform on riding lawn mowers wearing running shorts and worn-out V-neck t-shirts. No, dear Bavaria, you have proudly integrated beer drinking into your way of life, to the accolades of beer connoisseurs worldwide. Yes, my esteemed Bavaria,…
Read moreMy Mother-in-Law has developed an obsession with Rick Steves’ anything – televisions shows, guidebooks, Web site, tours, etc. I’m not quite sure it is necessarily a healthy obsession, but the online library of his videos over at Hulu did help us plan our recent trip to Germany and Austria. Without Rick Steves, I would have never stumbled into Sporer Salzurg. Sporer has been producing and selling homemade schnapps since 1903. I…
Read moreI hate the Sound of Music. I despise it almost as much as Grease. It’s not that the movie didn’t have a great story – it did. I just hate musical movies. They make no sense. Random song and dance as the Nazis are coming is absurd. I don’t despise classical music, but I am no afficianado. I couldn’t tell you the difference between Mozart, Bach, or Beethoven. They all make great…
Read moreWeinorgal. A sultry wine bar located off a local side street not far from the heartbeat of Vienna. But don’t go thinking this is posh joint with leather chairs and fancy artwork. It’s the kind of place only locals know about. Where the floors are a strew with sawdust and peanuts. A haze of smoke loomed under the curved white brick archways of the low hanging ceilings in what was once the…
Read moreI couldn’t possibly venture to Bamberg, Germany without making a mention of its significant brewing tradition. In fact, a mention wouldn’t do Bamberg justice. This little city’s contribution to the beer world merits an entire post. Secretly, it was the main reason why I wanted to visit – to go on a self-guided Bamberg beer tour. UNESCO World Heritage Site aside, this town of 70,000 boasts 9 breweries brewing 50 unique beers. …
Read moreThe brewery heavy medieval town of Bamberg, Germany draws both history buffs and beer pilgrimas alike as it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site and there are ten breweries in town with 300 plus in the surrounding countryside. My Bamberg travel guide will help you find the best things to see, do, and drink in Bamberg. As traveled as Bamberg is, there is little found about the city in the guide books. What we did find was in Lonely…
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