We are in the middle of one of the truly great times of the year in Bavaria. Alexander Pope wrote in his poem titled “An Essay on Man”, “hope springs eternal in the human breast”, and the same can be said for spring in Bavaria and Germany, the land often shrouded in grey. The reason for… Read More Spargel (Asparagus) Means Spring in Bavaria, and so much more (NF)
The Germans are fond of saying “April, April, der macht was er will.” April, April, he does what he wants. In Germany, April gets a bad rap for its weather. That is saying a lot in a country where cold drizzle falling from skies imbued with more than fifty shades of grey is as ubiquitous… Read More A bit about April (F, NF)
This is not a normal post for this blog, but it seemed appropriate for the day. A true story. Many years ago, when I was first cutting my teeth in the restaurant business as a server, I was scheduled to work a dreaded Valentine’s Day evening. All the ‘newbies’ got these shifts because all of… Read More A Valentine’s Day Ghost
Late in the 19th century, to combat Bismarck’s protectionist “Rye and Iron” tariffs, Great Britain forced all products sold in the UK to be labelled with their country of origin. The words “Made in Germany” were born. It was intended in the late 1800s and early 1900s to dissuade Brits from buying inferior products and… Read More German Mega-projects Play Like Greek Theater (NF/F)
If any family has tried to find an apartment in Munich to rent over the last decade, through traditional channels like ads or real estate agents, they most certainly have run up against one of the major problems facing this city. It is impossible to find an apartment. The suspects are the same. There is… Read More Munich Caught between Two Stools, Modern and Traditional (NF)
When I first arrived in Munich back in 2000, I recall that for all the culture of this great berg, I could not find a decent cheeseburger. Eventually I discovered an American chain-hotel, the Marriot®, which had one that was passable. They did, however carry NFL® football games years before Germans took much interest in… Read More Cheeseburgers in Paradise (NF)
Laptops And Lederhosen 