Category: Europe
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Up and moved to Bucharest, Romania – with four young children
Today meet Jake and Jessie in Bucharest. I am so encouraged by their story, up and moving to Romania because they knew that’s what they needed to do. One of my favorite quotes – “People of all cultures love kids, so they’ve opened a lot of conversations and softened a lot of people to us. …
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the Christmas tree is dead
Our Christmas tree is already dead. Yep. It’s been sitting in the tree stand for three weeks and before that it was transported on a truck from Oregon, hundreds of miles away. A dead tree by Christmas is normal. There is also no snow in forecast. But I live in San Diego, so that’s to…
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San Diego answers with a community Christmas Market
Last Thursday when I posted about German Christmas markets I admit I was feeling a bit sorry for myself that I couldn’t be there this year. Traditional food and drink, artisan wares, community gathering. I was pleasantly surprised three days later by a fest that took place not two blocks from our house and supplied…
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Community gathering – the Christmas market
Right about now every travel site and travel show will be talking about European Christmas markets. Traditional, romantic, cultural, local food, local crafts, spicy brews, medieval settings – all good reasons to visit a European Christmas market, if you can. Christmas markets, like any other highly touristed event, offer the visitor a glimpse of the…
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winsome wine country – Stuttgart, Germany
Mention the term “wine region” and images of Tuscany, Napa and Stellenbosch come to mind – globally renowned regions with the lucrative tourist industry to go with it. While we enjoy a good glass of wine, we are perhaps more attracted to a wine region for the iconic scenery, not the name recognition or notoriety.…
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Scotland – apologizing for things as they are
We had the opportunity to visit Scotland one summer while some relatives were working in Inverness. It was June and the weather was as expected – wet and overcast. Scotland is beautifully green thanks to this constant moisture. We went prepared with jackets and jeans and umbrellas. And the Scots were exceedingly gracious. “We’re so…
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Pumpkin patch German style – no cheesy scarecrows allowed
As pumpkin pie latte season approaches, so does the season for the world’s largest pumpkin patch, to use the term loosely. This festival adopts a theme each year beyond simply “pumpkins.” Last year the gardens of Ludwigsburg Palace in Ludwigsburg, Germany were transformed into a dinosaur park with sculptures of dinosaurs created out of thousands…
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Hidden playgrounds and travel expectations
I recently listened to a radio travel show where they discussed the hidden gardens of Paris. These hidden gardens were quiet, serene places of solitude. Sounds nice. But I think a show on the hidden playgrounds of Paris, or any city for that matter, would be more apropos for me at this point. We visited…
will travel with kids 