The best way to see any European country is really by train. Germany has good trains and is more enjoyable if you "leave the driving" to the efficient, comfortable train system. You can purchase a rail pass to suit your time and needs. Particularly good is the German Rail Pass which provides you with any [...]

Der Romantische Strasse (Romantic Road) There is no direct train service to Rothenburg. However, Europabus caters to rail travelers with two seasonal (April-October) coach routes along the "Romantic Road", linking the old towns of Rothenburg, Feuchtwangen, and Dinkelsbühl with the railway terminals of Würzburg, Augsburg, Heidelberg, and Munich.   A Rothenburg Legend: Der Meistertrunk (The [...]

We pull into the old wooden dock and the distinctive onion-shaped dome of the Abbey church comes into view. Dominating almost the entire island, the Abbey Church is famous for its well-preserved fragments of early Romanesque frescoes. During archaeological excavations in 1996, the painted fragments were discovered in the rubble. After the worried archaeologists removed [...]

For anyone who has stumbled around Munich during Oktoberfest, Bavaria means oompha bands, lederhosen and beer. But Bavaria also offers a magical and serene countryside for those who prefer to take the autobahn less traveled. Just a few hours from Munich, tucked away in southern Bavaria, is the Chiemsee. Surrounded by the Chiemgau Alps, this [...]

For many Americans, the most compelling of Europe’s many attractions is the tangible connection to history that it offers. Living as we do in a nation where nearly half of "the past" has been photographed—and more than a tenth of it televised—we feel a special fascination in meeting, in person, the walls and cobblestones that [...]