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The Prussian Rock Star in my Wardrobe
18 July 2021 Many people have been using their downtime from the pandemic to tackle long-delayed projects like sort through closets. After years of accumulating, the clothes have become packed to the point of being barely extractable. You have to fight to pull out that blouse and when you do manage to free it from […]
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Grave Thoughts Indeed – Part 4 – The Oktoberfest
26 May 2021 (Click here for parts 1, 2 and 3) Munich is known first and foremost for its annual Volksfest that attracts six million visitors from around the world, a number that makes you question its “folksiness” – but whatever. Tracing its roots takes you back to – where else? – the Alter Südfriedhof […]
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Grave Thoughts Indeed – Part 3 – Royal rollicking and frolicking
The Alter Südfriedhof dates to the 14th century, but most of its graves tell the tale of Munich’s movers and shakers from the 1800s, a time when the city’s population doubled. More people meant more buildings, streets and institutions. But this was also an era that saw one of Munich’s most famous scandals involving its […]
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How war shaped the Alter Südfriedhof
Grave Thoughts Indeed – Part 2 Small German towns have monuments to the dead of the two world wars, sometimes combined into one, with all the names of the locals who died. The Alter Südfriedhof has no such monuments or graves. But war left its impact nonetheless, beginning with one that came centuries before. World […]
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Grave Thoughts Indeed
The Alter Südfriedhof in Munich is more of an open air museum reflecting the history of both the city and society.
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Italiano – no problemo for meo
I walked into Italian class and saw a room full of pensioners. But I didn’t expect it to be so hard…
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Spectators turned spectacle
Corona’s surprising effect on an evening at the theater 21 October 2020 My favorite small theater has reopened after months of lockdown and we are attending a two-woman show called Primacomedy. I return here with mixed feelings. Would it be full? How will they deal with the social distancing inside the theater?
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Berlin, lost and sometimes found
Berlin’s history spans three eras and each one has some surprises in store
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Count Tree Music
The Berlin Wall is long gone, but its impact can still be felt everywhere, on the landscape and on people
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Thirty Years after the Wall
Many people did not expect Germany to be reunified. Thirty years later, it is still not quite there.
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The blossom butcher of Bavaria
If you see one balcony with dead flowers surrounded by houses with perfectly groomed plants, you’ll know you’ve found my place
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The ghost hand
What are all of these mittens, socks and scarves doing hanging from bushes, tree branches and fence posts? The answer might surprise you