The First Motorized Flight was Not By the Wright Brothers

October 27 No, it was not. This may come as a shock to those whose knowledge of history is restricted to what they learned in High School, but the first person to successfully fly a heavier than air craft was Gustav Weisskopf, a German-American from the hamlet of Leutershausen near Ansbach, Bavaria, Germany. Weisskopf, who […]

Through the Tyrol to Berchtesgaden

October 17 from a visit on October 12 The morning after the big snow which blanketed the region around Innsbruck, Austria with more than 10 inches of snow dawned bright and cold with just a little morning fog which had lifted by the time we were ready to begin our journey from Lans to Berchtesgaden. […]

Germans Represent A Huge Slice of the American Population

October 9 It’s time to break out the bratwurst as the United States celebrates German-American Day on Oct. 6. Commemorating the founding of Germantown, Pa. in 1683, the holiday celebrates America’s largest ancestry group, with 49 million people claiming part or full German heritage. As President Barack Obama proclaimed a few years ago on this […]

An Afternoon in the Alsace, France

October 9 We stayed two nights recently in a great little inn located in Gleiszellen, right on the border between the German wine country and the Alsace region of France. What better way to spend the afternoon than with a visit to a couple of colorful and charming villages along the Route du Vin? (French […]

Welcome New Arrivals

October 4 Jim and Denise started planning their 30th-anniversary celebration trip to Europe back in February. Jim found us by doing a search on Google and now, eight months later, they are in Germany enjoying the sights, smells, sounds and tastes of Germany on Day 1 of their 19-day trip through the southern half of […]