The “Castles on the Rhine” are so well known, but until I visited the Middle Rhine, I didn’t understand the abundance of the castles that line the bluffs. The first time I cruised along the Rhine, I expected to see a castle or two. Instead, every few minutes, around the bend, another town and another…
The Topography of Terror is a Documentation Center in Berlin that opened in 2010 to inform all who visit about the Nazi reign of terror. It’s an outdoor and indoor exhibit built along exposed walls of what once the site of the headquarters of the Secret State Police, the SS, and the Reich Security Main…
The Berlin Holocaust Memorial is odd in many ways, one being its official name: Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. From the start, the memorial generated controversy even over this name. Who murdered the Jews? Is this about the Holocaust of WWII or some earlier pogrom? It’s really not clear. Then there is the…
The Tiergarten in central Berlin is an oasis of greenery and ponds in the middle of modern buildings of glass and chrome. I’d looked on Google maps before we arrived in Berlin and knew our hotel was directly across the street. But I didn’t realize that right across the street also are the Brandenburg Gate,…
The impressive Berlin Cathedral, with its magnificent dome, is a landmark in central Berlin. Also known as the Berliner Dom, the church sits among the stately museums on Museum Island, with the Spree River flowing nearby. The Berlin Cathedral is the largest Protestant church in the area and is well worth a visit. Hi there!…
The Berlin Wall is familiar to us and yet much more complicated than I understood before visiting the Berlin Wall Memorial. The line of the Wall, built in 1961, zigs and zags all over the city, rather than being anything like a straight line. The Wall was about 96 miles long. It surrounded West Berlin…
Touring the Reichstag in Berlin gives you a fascinating pairing of the old and the modern, with layers of history, much like the city itself. Hi there! This post may contain affiliate links. That means I earn a bit of money if you purchase products through me. This involves no extra cost to you and…
If you are touring Europe and not sure whether to include Nuremberg, Germany, here are five reasons to visit this historic and charming city. Hi there! This post may contain affiliate links. That means I earn a bit of money if you purchase products through me. This involves no extra cost to you and it…
Castles sit above the middle Rhine in Germany every few miles. The most imposing castle ruin you can tour is Rheinfels Castle, which towers over the tiny town of St. Goar. The castle, built in 1275, housed Counts and stood for centuries as an impregnable fortress. Finally, in 1796, French troops breached the walls and…