Monthly Archives: June 2014
The word, “Bavarian,” appears to date back to the AD 400s, to the days of the decaying Roman empire, when it was used to describe the people who lived east of the Swabians but west of historic Bohemia (now the …
Museumsdorf Bayerischer Wald: History in the Open Air
This wonderful open-air museum lies in the village of Tittling, twenty minutes north of Passau, in southeastern Germany. The large, grassy park contains a hundred and fifty buildings that, according to the website, date from 1580 to 1850–a nice bit …
If you’ve read the children’s classic, Heidi (and if you haven’t, then you should immediately do so), then you’ve already learned about die Alm. It’s such a unique term that it isn’t usually translated. Die Alm is any high mountain …
The Spirit of Bavaria
If you travel to Bavaria or Austria, you’re likely to notice that every other town name ends in “-au“: Ramsau, Schönau am Königssee, Lindau, Oberammergau, Grainau, and the list could go on and on. That’s because, in this stony, mountainous …
The Most Beautiful Place on Earth
In my fifty years, I’ve been to twenty-one countries, and I’ve done my best to see the best they had to offer. Two weeks ago, I saw the best of the best: the Königssee and Obersee in Berchtesgaden National Park. …
If you travel to the Königssee, you’re likely to see Forelle on the menu everywhere you go, perhaps as part of another word, such as Forellenfilet. Die Forelle means “trout.” This cold-water fish is stocked in the clear Alpine water …