Browsing: Germany

When you think of Christmas Markets the first place that comes to mind are the traditional ones located in Europe – specifically in Germany and Austria, where old cobbled streets decorated with stringed lights house wooden chalet stalls that sell everything festive.

Strasbourg, France

Located in the Rhine Valley, Strasbourg is a sprawling metropolitan city. It has a mix of French and German cultures because of its proximity to the German border. Here you will …

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When you’re traveling around Europe, you have a lot of choices in terms of historical sites to see. It seems like, everywhere you look, there is a beautiful ancient cathedral or grand historic parliament. You could overdose on all of the bygone grandeur — almost.

But Berlin is something different. It is a city that oozes history, and I’m not just talking about the divisive era of the German Democratic Republic, although that is of …

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Sure, we’d all love to quit our jobs, run off to some unpronounceable locale and join the Peace Corps. But what if you can’t quit your job or commit to a 27-month stint away from home? Long-term placements aren’t for everyone, but don’t worry: they’re not the only option.

At the ripe old age of 17, I decided I wanted to backpack across Europe — by myself. After my parents recovered from their initial …

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Europe is known for having an extensive and impressive array of Christmas markets, but the seasonal merriment doesn’t have to stop there. In springtime, when flowers, trees and hibernating critters begin to come out of winter hiding, new markets also start to pop up across the continent. Some are devoted mainly to Easter, and all the fuzzy lambs, cheerful bunnies and religious traditions that come with it, while others are more widely in celebration of …

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Germany has hundreds of Christmas markets – Munich alone has twenty four. Contrary to what many visitors believe, the most charming Christmas markets in Germany are not always the well known ones, but the smaller ones that often have a unique theme. These are often the Christmas markets that are most popular with locals as well.

Esslingen Medieval Christmas Market
Visiting Esslingen’s Medieval Christmas Market feels like stepping into a time machine and coming out …

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I KNEW I’d had too much to drink when everyone in the room began to look attractive — all 5,000 of them.

That tall, blond Germanic look can quiver my heart even when it’s perfectly sober. Yet perhaps sinking a bottle and a half of wine single-handedly was bordering on the excessive. But what’s a girl to do when the waiter refuses to prance around delivering one pathetic glass of wine at a time because …

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