Vacations Blog

German Eats

Maybe it’s the Southern boy in me or the Irish ancestry, but I’m baffled as to why German cuisine isn’t mentioned more. It’s warm, hearty and cheap – the Soul Food of Europe. We managed to get into the well-known Schusterjunge, an excellent jumping off point in Berliner cuisine should you be a first-timer.

[Clockwise]

Solianka (actually, a Russian soup, but popular here…and fantastic)

Tea

Bratwurst w/ roasties and sauerkraut…all in a sausage gravy – insane.

The (in)famous digestive, Jagermeister.

Apple Strudel with custard – went down in about 3 minutes.

Gluewhein…sure, of out season, but they had some left from December. Read More »

I’m quite the lucky boy.

I mean, sure, I could have probably bought the train ticket and somehow found my way around the neighboring city, guidebook in hand, taking it all in, but as luck would have it, a friend offered to take me there in her car. On the autobahn. Which was all the rage when I was 12.

‘There’s NO SPEED LIMIT! You can go as FAST AS YOU WANT!’ – sad that this was the extent of my European knowledge. Read More »

Visiting a concentration camp is one of the most important things someone can do. Be you black, white, Jewish or Irish, doesn’t matter. Doesn’t matter if your people were the ones afflicting or the afflicted. 8 years ago, I walked down the train tracks and into Auschwitz and it did something. Not immediately, but it did something. What it was, I couldn’t tell you – but it was there. Be it a deeper understanding of how far some have went, or simply piecing together the scenes in Schindler’s List… Read More »

My husband recently traveled to Germany and brought back a strong opinion, a bag of souvenirs, and a long list of no useful information.  This is my attempt to make apple wine out of his sour crab apples.

Stewart had to fly to Frankfurt, through Zurich on a business trip.  A big lover of the good old US of A, he did not look forward to it at all, which left me insanely jealous and shaking my fist at the unfairness of it all.  I begged him to take pictures and notes and essentially make me feel like I was there with him instead of left behind to parent two little boys all by myself.  At first it seemed like his work schedule would leave no room for exploration of his surroundings, but he made great progress and wound up with a free day.

Frankfurt Train Station

From the hotel Mercure in Friedrichsburg which he loved and said had all necessary amenities, he managed to navigate the the signs and local language to get to the central train station and hop on board one of many offered sightseeing tours to get a look around the area.  He chose the Rhine Day Tour.  He was there during the week, so the other travelers he encountered were also people on business trips, but there was one American couple with a child, who seemed out of place during the wine-tasting stop.

The tour took Stewart to the beautiful countryside along the river Rhine and the participants got to ride on a ski lift for a better view.

The river Rhine

The hills are alive...

At the bottom of the mountain they ate lunch at a local restaurant which also offered the wine tasting.  He learned that a local delicacy, ice wine, is made when the grapes are frozen and picked during the middle of the night and all the local spirits are subject to purity laws.  He brought back a bottle for me, and I must say it was fantastic.

Lunch stop

The tour also included a ferry ride where views of medieval castles were on display, and a chance to get out and walk around and shop for gifts in the village of Rűdesheim/Drosselgasse.

On the ferry

A castle on the banks of the river Rhine

View of the village

A local landmark that Stewart does not remember

Niederwald Monument

Overall, my husband’s reaction to flying to Europe, going through the hassle of exchanging money, dealing with a foreign tongue, and clearing customs, was not worth it.  He says “If I want to see rolling hills, I will go to Paso Robles.  If I want to see the water’s edge, I’ll sail to Catalina.  And for tasty beer, I’ll pop open a Sierra Nevada.  In other words, Germany is nice, but California is something special.”

We obviously don’t share the same taste in travel.  I enjoy exotic adventures and sights unseen.  Luckily, there are plenty of those in California too.  At least I got him to bring home some pictures, so I can gaze at them as I dream of the day I will get to travel to Germany…with some girlfriends!

From guest blogger, Andy Boyd of ProTraveller

What comes to mind when you think of summer and the sunshine it (should) bring? For many the first thing that comes into their mind is spending some time down at the beach, enjoying a swim in the sea and generally relaxing. For others, especially families with children off school, beaches have to take a humble second place behind the water park.

The attraction is easy to see. The best water parks in the world are designed to have something for everyone. Bring your friends, take your children or go by yourself; these parks are packed full of things to see and do.

If I had to choose 5 water parks worth visiting, they’d include these:

Chimelong Water Park, Guangzhou, China

Here’s somewhere that looks so much that it may even be worth enduring the smog! Chimelong Water Park’s premier attraction is the aptly named Behemoth Bowl, which is basically more than a massive bowl where can you slide round and eventually drop into a pool below. If that sounds like too much action, grab a donut try chilling out on the world’s longest lazy river!

World Water Park, West Edmonton, Canada

You might have a hard time getting your girlfriend to have a go on the slides at some water parks, but there should be no problem enticing her to this place. World Water Park is actually situated indoor, right next to the West Edmonton Mall. There’s something for everyone here with pools through to 85ft tall slides.

Sunway Lagoon, Selangor, Malaysia

This outdoor park enjoys great weather most of the year and has all the usual slides you’d expect. However, it does have one trick up it’s arm that you may not have been expecting: an outdoor wave pool with surfable waves!

Wet ‘n Wild, Orlando, Florida

Ask anyone where they think the best theme parks in the world are and most of them will say Florida, which is why I’ve include Wet ‘n Wild. This iconic water park is famed around the world for some of the most thrilling slides you can dream of with everything covered from vertical kamikazes to more relaxing slides and pools. If you’re in Florida this is a must!

Tropical Islands, Krausnick, Germany

Yep, you read that right. Germany may be mostly landlocked but thanks to modern architecture they managed to create an indoor park thermostatically controlled at paradisiacal temperatures. Fortunately it’s not all about sitting back and relaxing under the domed roof. As attractive as that may be, we’re sure the choice of slides will be worth the trip alone, even in January!

What is your favorite water park for summer fun?