Ornate 19th-century neo-Gothic Neues Rathaus is Munich’s centerpiece. There’s a lot to take in: gargoyles and statues adorn the exterior and there’s no shortage of embellishments and architectural details. The glockenspiel springs into action every day at 11 a.m., noon and 5 p.m., displaying the Ritterturnier, a knights’ tournament to celebrate the royal marriage of […]
Munich
A German friend once told me that Bavaria is the Texas of Germany, which I don’t think is meant to be a compliment. True, the region is religiously and socially conservative and its residents speak with a unique accent, but as a tourist I’m always pleased to find Germany’s most enjoyable clichés here: Lederhosen, cavernous […]
St. Stephan Kirche, Mainz
High on Mainz’s tallest hill sits Saint Stephan Kirche, a 13th-century Gothic church that is today best known for its blue stained-glass Chagall windows, added by the famous artist in the 20h century. The current structure was built on top of the original basilica from 990. The church’s interior is striking, with bright blue windows, […]
St. Peterskirche, Mainz
Walking into St Peterskirche is like entering an Italian church – you get a full blast of rococo! Not one inch is unadorned. The most striking components are the white-gold wooden pulpit and extravagant altars, including the 16th-century rood altar and the 20th-century celebration altar with human fishes within a bronze net. The original church […]
Mainzer Fastnacht, or Mainz Carnival
When my husband and I decided to visit Mainz, we didn’t realize it hosts one of the three largest German Carnival celebrations (the others are in Cologne and Düsseldorf). The hotels had plenty of availability and we were looking forward to seeing the Gutenberg Museum and trying the local wines and beers. It wasn’t until […]
Mainzer Dom
As in all traditional European cities, Mainz’s cathedral dominates the main square. In this case, St. Martin’s Cathedral, a (mostly) Romanesque sandstone structure with six towers, rises into Mainz’s skyline. Construction began in the 10th century and, in a stroke of unspeakably bad luck, the original structure burned down one day before its consecration in […]
Kirche St. Christoph, Mainz
We rounded a corner in Mainz’s Old City and came upon the striking sight of St. Christoph, a 14th-century Gothic church, that was among the casualties of the 1945 bombings that destroyed 80% of Mainz. This church was particularly notable since it was Gutenberg’s baptismal church. Now, it serves as a WWII memorial and a […]
Mainz
We were curious to check out Mainz, a quiet university city about two hours from Luxembourg. Mainz is very close to Frankfurt, where I’ve spent a lot of time and always enjoyed myself (not that liking one city ensures satisfaction with a neighbor, but it’s not a bad assumption), and I had heard favorable things […]
Calw
Calw, the main town in the Black Forest’s Nagold Valley, is a collection of streets filled with colorful half-timbered houses, most of which were built in the 17th and 18th centuries after a fire destroyed the town. Calw’s most famous resident was author Herman Hesse. Though Hesse was born and raised here, he spent most […]
Höllental, or Hell Valley Gorge
The Höllental is an imposing nine kilometer-long valley so steep and enclosed tightly by rocky slopes that some parts don’t see daylight until late-morning. It lies between Himmelreich and Hinterzarten, stretching east of Freiburg en route to lakeside town Titisee. Though this passage isn’t considered hellish by modern standards, it was basically impassable until a […]