Celebrating Swiss National Day
Summer is always a good time to experience a range of Swiss cultural traditions. Musicians, flag- and stone- throwers, wrestlers and yodelers all have...
Old Timer Cars in Baden-Baden
Several times in my years in Europe, I have seen road rallies featuring old cars, beautifully restored and maintained. I enjoy seeing sturdy piston...
Frankfurt, Germany: a #NoFilter glimpse
Frankfurt, Germany, mostly destroyed in World War II, has been rebuilt with vigor and imagination, and is now a thriving center of commerce and...
In search of Portuguese flavors
When Tom and I traveled in Portugal last year, we gloried in its varied landscapes, magnificent sunsets, and vibrant history. We visited cities bedecked...
Why is coffee in Portugal so good?
Any coffee lover who has traveled in Portugal knows that nothing makes Pastel de nata go down better than a good cup of coffee--uma...
Basel’s Merian Gardens: now a “Garden of Switzerland”
Nothing announces spring like daffodils popping up through scraggly grass in Merian Gardens. And once that happens, there's no stopping the day-dreaming after the...
Basel Fasnacht 2015 in 20 photos
Basel's Fasnacht, as Carnival is known here--is a blur of sight and sound, color and music. It goes on non-stop in the city's Old...
A Basel Fasnacht primer
I love quirky cultural traditions, and Basel's Carnival celebration is right up there when it comes to quirky. In our years in Switzerland, Tom...
Basel Fasnacht: a lexicon
Basel Fasnacht, as Carnival is known here, is conducted primarily in Basel Deutsch, the local German dialect. In fact, many of the terms describing...
Carnival in Switzerland’s remote Lötschental
It's February in Switzerland's Lötschental, a long valley deep in the hinterlands of the Bernese Alps. Mountains are blanketed with white powder, and the...
