A nice by-product of travelling is getting inspired ideas. In Italy, I had the brilliant idea to buy a gelato maker (an unsuccessful quest in Finale Ligure). In Barcelona and Florence, I was inspired to learn about art and architecture. And in Germany, the idea that began to percolate was to open a beirgarten (beer garden) at home. Of all the eating and drinking establishments we visited throughout Europe I was most smitten with the beirgarten. In truth, this fascination had started in Austria but it was a full on love affair by Munich. In Munich, I finally got up the courage to order a full litre of beer in…

In Germany, we had advance reservations 4 nights ahead of us. This was not our usual tactic. But summer was coming, and so were the crowds. We thought it would be smart to book ahead. Having travelled for almost 3 months at this point, we were feeling like seasoned backpackers. We even mastered the fax machine to make reservations. We were so proud of our organizational skills. Except we forgot to plan our transportation. Arriving in Füssen at the end of our Romantic Road bus trip, we discovered there was no train or bus available to Kempton where we had booked the youth hostel. We were stuck in Füssen. The…

Castles, castles and more castles. In hindsight, we should have packed a bottle of wine for the 8 hour cruise weaving its way down the Rhine River. The scenery was beautiful, but it was a leisurely pace. We started the cruise in Koblenz. The youth hostel was in a fortress high above the city. There was a great view of the Rhine River where it forks with the Mosel River. Unlike other hilltop youth hostels we stayed at, it was easy on the legs. We arrived by chairlift. The restful cruise ended in Mainz where we stayed for a couple nights. We explored around Mainz and nearby Wiesbaden. I have…

It was a common scene. Sarah and I huddled over our trusty map of Europe on our dorm bed. The Let’s Go Europe within easy reach. A purple highlighted line marked our trip on the map. The line ended in Berlin. We did not yet know where it would continue. That evening in Berlin, I wrote in my journal “we planned out our trek through Germany”. But first, Berlin. The next morning, we locked our heavy backpacks in the train station and made full use of our 24 hour city pass. This was less than three years since the historic dismantling of the Berlin Wall. I had watched those scenes…