“Germans don’t have friends the way you do here,” Hannelore tells me as we sip our lemon ginger tea. “Here, you call someone a friend when you hardly speak to…
Breathing Through the Fear
By Day Two in Germany, I’ve already fallen in love with it. It’s beautiful here- chilly, yes, but the sun is nice and the neighbours are friendly. The town is…
Finding Berg Nanstein
Finding Berg Nanstein: an ode to being lost “It’s a girl’s day out!” we squealed in delight And dropped The Boy off ‘fore we drove out of sight. We had…
On shielded pigs and rhino perfume
To pick my friend up from the airport at Frankfurt-am-Main, Nick makes me drive. I’m not sure which is more exciting: seeing my friend for the first time in two…
Five Trends You’ll Find in Southwestern Germany
Every spot in the world has its special features, and the southwestern corner of Germany is no exception. This is not to pigeonhole anywhere into a narrow category of stereotypes….
The First Day in Germany
“In spite of everything, we made it to Germany!” That’s the first thing I thought when I wheeled my luggage cart, cat perched precariously on top, towards the Ausfahrt (exit)…
When you can’t walk…
4 March 2010 I don’t even know where to begin. This week was supposed to be a wonderful ball of stress and excitement culminating in an 8-hour flight to Germany…
Family Funnies
By Erica This is a momentous post, dear readers! The next time I write to you, I’ll be sitting pretty in Germany, describing the celebratory beers I’m drinking and the…
The Ethics of Exploration
Standing on the cruise ship’s deck, staring at the brilliantly blue wall of ice in front of me, it was hard to tell which I wanted more: to see and…
Traveler’s Advocacy
By Erica As some of you may have discovered after reading my bio, I’ve been traveling for most of my life. I’ve been through it all: trips with lost luggage,…
Moving Abroad? Four Things to Consider
By Erica On New Year’s Day, my brain did something along the lines of the following: “YAY! IN FOUR MONTHS WE’LL BE DONE WITH THE MASTER’S DEGREES AND WE’LL BE…
No Mentions of Thomas Wolfe
I’m home for the holidays. It’s funny. In the past five and a half years, I’ve lived in two different cities in two different countries. No matter how well I’ve…
The Wilds of Denali
6.22.2008 It’s the end of June and I’m wearing jeans, a sweater, and a pseudo-down vest, and have a windbreaker strapped to my backpack. My family- my mom, dad, and…
Partaking of Philadelphia
Sometimes I forget, when I think about traveling, that small trips- local trips, even- are just as much adventures as the long, drawn-out voyages to distant locales. As I’ve been…