Partying Hard in Deutschland

Beer pong

Okay, maybe I didn’t quite party hard during my weekend in Germany, but clubbing until 6 am is way too rare for me these days. So the adventure began when Christian, my Couchsurfing host, made it clear we would absolutely have to play beer pong. He had fallen in love with the game a few months prior … Read more

A Harrowing Visit to a Nazi Interrogation Prison in Cologne, Germany

I am no stranger to museums commemorating World War II history, and particularly the Holocaust; I’ve visited everywhere from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. And while Cologne’s NS-Dokumentationszentrum, a former Nazi interrogation prison, is not a Jewish memorial, it possesses a similar spirit and was an even … Read more

Eating, Drinking and Being Merry at Cologne’s Happiest Christmas Market

Christmas Market Cologne

One of the highlights of my Germany trip was a visit to Cologne’s oldest Christmas market, Markt Der Engel. And though we visited five different Christmas markets during our stay in Cologne, I have to say this one was my favorite by far. Everything about the ambiance was simply magical, from the stars twinkling in the … Read more

First Impressions of Germany

German Christmas Market

So on our first morning in Germany, we were delighted to wake up and find everything covered in snow. Christian, our Couchsurfing host, and his friend Kevin trekked like gentlemen in the fresh powder to fetch us some Brötchen. We draped the yummy rolls with nutty slices of black forest ham and squirted mustard on them … Read more

Things that Surprised Me about Germany

Kolsch

As the train moved into Germany, my view out the window quickly began to change; snow appeared on the ground, the rolling fields of France rose into hills and the earth became covered with tall pine and birch forests. And once I got off the train, I noticed the people were taller, and the bread was darker and earthier.

And while a lot about Germany didn’t surprise me, like the crazy-good beer and tall, handsome men in their business suits, a lot did.

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