Category Archives: Europe

56th Miesau Horse Races (Pferderennen)

This weekend, Joe and I took a drive out to Miesau to see the 56th running of the horse races there. We weren’t entirely sure where the event would be held, but it proved easy to find. It’s just off … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Festivals, Recreation, Sports, Tourist destinations | 1 Comment

Museumsdorf Bayerischer Wald, pt. III: Faith of Our Fathers

Bavaria has been overwhelmingly Roman Catholic for centuries. Even today, Bavaria contains the highest percentage of Catholics of any state in Germany, as the following map from the German Bishops’ Conference (Deutsche Bischofskonferenz) shows. This faith helped define the identities … Continue reading →

Posted in Churches and religion, Europe, Folk traditions, German art, German history, German house decoration, Public art, Tourist destinations, Village life | 1 Comment

Museumsdorf Bayerischer Wald, pt II: Life before Plastic

The word plastic means, more or less, “pliable” or “moldable.” Plastics are so pervasive in our lives that it’s hard to remember how recent they are. The first modern plastic was only invented in the 1850’s, and it wasn’t until … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Folk traditions, German history, German house decoration, Recreation, Tourist destinations, Village life | 2 Comments

Beating the Heat in Germany

It’s sunny and 85 degrees outside (30 degrees C), and even the ducks are listless and miserable. My Texan friends might laugh, but stop to think about this first: Germany has almost no air conditioning! Everywhere you go right now, … Continue reading →

Posted in Daily life, Europe, Seasons, Weather | 1 Comment

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 … Continue reading →

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Still Green and Pleasant

In 2011, when Joe and I were in Germany on a temporary assignment, I was posting on this blog three times a week. Then we received wonderful news: we were being sent back to Germany to live. I left to … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Gardening | 2 Comments

In German, schwarz means black, and der Wald is the forest. Der Schwarzwald, the Black Forest, is now a popular tourist destination in southern Germany. But it has been known by this name since at least the days of the … Continue reading →

Posted on by Clare Dunkle | Comments Off on der Schwarzwald

The New St. Vith

I’ve always loved the high rounded hills and wide valleys near Spangdahlem Air Base. They’re colorful even in the middle of winter. This is the Eifel, a land of strong winds, big sky, and beautiful scenery. Thousands of years ago, … Continue reading →

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The Pillar of Angels

The most beautiful sight in the Strasbourg Cathedral is a tall, slender pillar surrounded by graceful statues. It seems impossible that such a delicate structure could hold up a cathedral roof, but this pillar, called the Pillar of Angels or … Continue reading →

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Inside Strasbourg Cathedral

Cathedrals look like rooms. But they act like cities. Take the Strasbourg Cathedral, for instance. I walk inside the door, and I say to myself, “This is nothing but a very large room. It has the same thing cathedrals always … Continue reading →

Posted in Churches and religion, Europe, Tourist destinations | 4 Comments