Destination: Germany

Articles about Germany – Dresden, Berlin, Munich

Best Berlin Christmas Markets: The Ultimate Guide [Updated 2019]

What are the best Christmas markets in Berlin? Whether you're looking for a traditional German Christmas market or something a bit more offbeat, I offer here my handy Berlin Christmas Market guide based on our experience living in Berlin for seven years and being avid Christmas market fans. It has all the information you need to know, including dates and schedules of Berlin Christmas markets and notes on how to visit my authentic and local favorites — ones that will make your visit to Berlin during the Christmas and holiday season even more special.

Continue ReadingBest Berlin Christmas Markets: The Ultimate Guide [Updated 2019]

Cooking Across Borders in Berlin

Cooking Across Borders, a Deep Travel Project with Context Travel

“Add a little sugar to the saffron,” Farzane said as she worked the combination in her mortar and pestle. “It makes it easier to grind.”

Farzane, a 20-year old refugee from Afghanistan who’d come to Berlin with her family in the last year, was deep in the process of teaching us how to prepare several Afghan dishes she’d grown up cooking in her home town of Herat. In the heart of Berlin’s Schöneberg neighborhood, she guided us through the creation of dishes like zereshk polo (burberry rice pilaf) and khorecht lawang (lamb in a fermented yogurt sauce), among others.

Continue ReadingCooking Across Borders in Berlin

Rhine Valley Travel & Itinerary: On and Off the Beaten Path

Rhine Valley

Through sunny days and fog, famous towns and little known ‘burgs, wine cellars and village vintner festivals, this was our time on the segment of the Rhine River known as the Romantic Rhine in Germany.

Half-timbered homes sit as the foot of cobbled streets. Vineyard paths wind into the hills. And foggy moments as castles disappear and re-emerge on hilltops hint at history.

If you have a fear of missing out on the must-see bits of the region, but long for a taste of the lesser-seen local experience, then this article and guide to the Upper Middle Rhine is for you.

Continue ReadingRhine Valley Travel & Itinerary: On and Off the Beaten Path

Aachen and Cologne, Germany: 24-Hour City Guides

Cologne Cathedral

Upon a recent visit to the German Rhineland cities of Aachen and Cologne and the surrounding area, we realized there’s a lot to experience and unpack — that is, to comprehend the full picture of what we’d seen and how astonishingly complex history can be.

From Roman beginnings, to medieval ascendency to industrial superiority, Germany’s Rhineland seems to have known it all. It has been influenced by French culture, impacted by the Prussians, and even spiced by a dash of Eastern European industrial migrants. It knows a blend of influences, cultural imprints and scores continually settled and resettled through events like World War I and II. Pull out a map and note that by cause and effect, the region borders Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg — in addition to France — and you begin to get a sense of the near randomness of the borders we draw.

How to come to this understanding? Visit the towns of Aachen and Cologne on a city break or weekend getaway. Take a couple of day trips and immerse yourself in the history, eat heartily and take more than a few photos along the along the way.

Continue ReadingAachen and Cologne, Germany: 24-Hour City Guides