Willkommen! Bienvenue! Welcome! Fremder, Etranger, Stranger Gluklich zu sehen. Je suis enchante. Happy to see you. Bleibe. Reste. Stay. Willkommen! Bienvenue! Welcome! Im Cabaret, Au Cabaret, To Cabaret. Cabaret The famed Broadway musical Cabaret starts with this greeting. Based on the Christopher Isherwood novel Goodbye to Berlin, Cabaret confronts the realities of the huge Berlin…
It isn’t often that one can say that an experience was shared with Napoleon, Mozart, and all the royalty of Europe. And yet, when I step into the Farina House in Cologne, that is exactly what I am able to do. As I walk upstairs for my private tour, I am sprayed with a small…
Sitting in the Music Room, I find myself moved to tears, and not for the first time today. A small circle of seats and a projection on the wall are the sole features of the room, but it an emotional sensory experience. Beethoven’s beautiful Moonlight Sonata is playing over a speaker, and the projection shows…
When it comes to the name of my trip, Germany and surrounds, this portion, part three of four, is the surrounds. It is my chance to see a city that has been at the top of my Europe wishlist for a long time, return to my current favorite European city, and take some time to…
While not the capital nor the largest city, Frankfurt is arguably the most important city in Germany. It is the economic hub. (Click here to read about Frankfurt’s relationship to finance.) It has the largest airport. And for tourists, it is often the gateway to one of Europe’s coolest countries. But what exactly is there…
He is to German what Shakespeare is to English: the master, a writer who transcends mere language to become a cultural and national icon, spoken of with reverence. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is considered the master of the German language. And this is where he was born. The house feels out of place on a…
It is, without a doubt, a beautiful afternoon in Los Angeles. Warm - it is in the low 80s at noon on this July day - but with a gentle breeze, it is the sort of day you just want, you just need, to be outside. The sky is a deep blue, and I am…
The skyline of Frankfurt is different from most European cities. It is dominated not by churches, but by modern glass skyscrapers. Many of these are home to the industry that built this city: banking. And banking isn’t just a modern trend here in one of the world’s financial capitals. Part of the skyline In 1372,…
Editor’s note: I have been to Venice twice, but not in well over a decade, so it was lovely to experience a weekend in the city via this look from Mandy Meehan. For more of Mandy’s adventures, click here to visit her index page. When I was a little kid, I learned that Venice was…
I’ve walked these streets a hundred times or more. Probably a lot more. And yet here I am, finding myself learning about new features I had never before noticed. I am here in Old Town Pasadena for a walking tour organized through the Pasadena Museum of History. The tour is focused on “saloons and speakeasies,”…