Dresden's Frauenkirche Rises from the Ashes

Interior of the Frauenkirche, rededicated in October, 2005 The Frauenkirche is once again part of the magnificent skyline of Germany’s most impressive baroque city. Once known as the “Paris on the Elbe” because of its incredible array of mansions, churches and public buildings, the city was mercilessly bombed by American and English air forces in […]

Day of Discovery in Thuringia

Elizabeth Koenig outside a marvelous farm entrance in her ancestral village of Netra, Hessen, Germany Traveling from September 10 to 20 with my client Elizabeth Koenig from Minneapolis and today we had quite a day, starting with a visit to the Stadtarchiv in Eisenach, where a very helpful archivist helped with a mystery. On to […]

Postcard from the Austrian Alps

The Hastrich Family enjoys their scenic drive from Schwangau, Germany across the Austrian Alps to Berchtesgaden in August. Check out the low clouds. August was the month without a summer in Germany. Except for a few days, it was mostly in the 70s. Cool weather fans, head to Germany in August!

Postcard from Bacharach

One of our favorite spots to bring our guests is the high vantage point over the storybook village of Bacharach on the Rhein River of Germany. Here are two of our recent guests, Bob and Mary Tholkes from the Minneapolis area.

Who Really Invented the Telephone?

Bet you said “Alexander Graham Bell,” but you would be only partly correct. In the small provincial town of Gelnhausen, not far from Frankfurt am Main, Germany there is a statue in the market place dedicated to the “Founder of the Telephone,” and his name is not Bell. It is Johann Philipp Reis, and he […]

Tiny Train Town in Bad Driburg

Model train buffs, especially those into the HO size, would go crazy at the “Modelbahnschau” located in a former train station in the town of Bad Driburg, Germany. Back in 2005, about 20 enthusiasts got together and created a couple of villages, a landscape, two castles, numerous roads, crossings and a switching station all at […]

Mirabell Castle Garden

Today’s postcard is from the beautiful city of Salzburg, Austria and the gardens at the country estate of the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, laid out in 1730. From here, the prince-archibishop could survey his land and his city from what used to be a country estate. Nowadays of course the entire area is surrounded by buildings […]

Shhh! Don't tell anyone about Germany's Smallest Brewery

Claudia (Harsh) Auerbach, Clara Harsh, Becky Thornton, Jenean Derheim and Dave Harsh check out some leftover hops We discovered this hidden gem in the Thuringen Forest late in July. The hamlet of Singen, near Ilmenau (south of Erfurt) is home to the Schmitt Brauerei, the last of its kind in Germany. The little brewery pumps […]