Stars and Stripes

Volksmarch column for the November 19 edition

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Next Thursday is the Ramstein Roadrunner's Annual Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot. We are featuring the walk this week so that on Thanksgiving morning you can be out on the trail bright and early....

Let's go / Best bets for the November 19 edition

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Free train to Hamburg Through Dec. 12, Hamburg, Germany, is offering a package called "Bahnhit Hamburg" that includes free round-trip, second-class train travel to the city from ...

Two museums recall battles, life in Netherlands

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT

The little-known tank battle lasted three weeks. By the time the fighting migrated to the south and east, there wasn't much left of the Dutch village of Overloon. Only one house survived intact.

Looking for some group fun? Join the club

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Whether you are new to Europe's ski slopes or a veteran of its toughest runs, one of the best ways to enjoy outdoor sports during the winter season is to join a ski club.

New lifts, special deals at Edelweiss

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT

It may not be in full swing yet, but an early blast of snow already has kick-started the ski season in Garmisch, Germany, an auspicious omen for winter sports enthusiasts eager to hit the slopes.

Far afield in Switzerland: Great skiing rewards effort to reach tiny, remote area

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT

This is the way skiing used to be. Last year, German friends invited my husband and me for a ski week at their cabin in Radons, a Swiss hamlet from which we could ski the slopes of Savognin. There was no bus dropping us off at the door of a comfortable hotel. No help with skis, boots and suitcases. No lifts right out the door. We were in the boonies.

Prognosticator says there will be snow, but less than last year

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT

In the winter, skiers, snowboarders and schoolchildren look to the sky for one thing � snow. So what will Old Man Winter bring this year? It's too early to tell, said climatologist Harald Strauss, who explains that predicting the winter season is hardly a science.

Europe has plenty of locations for off-piste skiing

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT

The European Alps boast some of the most spectacular off-piste skiing in the world. Fortunately for American skiers stationed in Europe, the majority of Europeans have little interest in straying off the groomed runs, leaving plenty of virgin powder for visiting free skiers to enjoy.

Best bets

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Austria: According to the Vienna Web site, in 1298 Albrecht I granted the city the privilege of holding a December market, or "Krippenmarkt." The tradition is going strong toda...

Let's Go

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT

USO Christmas market tours Expand your Christmas market experiences in Germany, France and the Netherlands on one-day tours organized by the United Service Organizations. Dependi...

Quick Trips: With beautiful views, Hohenzollern Castle's mountaintop site is popular with tourists

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Atop a foothill of the Swabian Alb mountain range, about 40 miles south of Stuttgart, Germany, the house of the Hohenzollerns stands over the trees in an image that seems to have leapt from the pages of a fairy tale. Hohenzollern Castle, built in the 11th century, was the home of the Hohenzollern family who ruled Prussia and Brandenburg in the Middle Ages.

The Renaissance of G�rlitz

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Our first encounter with G�rlitz was miserable. In 1978 my wife, Heidi, and I traveled to Poland by car. It meant using the transit route through eastern Germany, the DDR, the Deutsche Demokratische Republik, the former communist country of East Germany. To use the transit route, even West Germans needed a visa and they had to use designated border crossings when entering and leaving the DDR. In our case, the border crossing into Poland was at G�rlitz at the Neisse River, the eastern border of East Germany.

Best bets

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Germany: Throughout 2009, Berlin has been celebrating "20 Years Since the Fall of the Wall," the anniversary of the opening of transit points between East and West Berlin. On N...

Let's go

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Hockenheimring package The Hockenheimring racetrack between Heidelberg and Speyer in the German state of Baden-Wurttemberg is an international destination, each year hosting the ...

Quick Trips: Comforts for creatures

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT

"How did they get up there?" I watched, bewildered, as about a dozen mountain goats bounded around a cliff that went up at least 100 feet, bouncing acrobatically up and down ledges to get where they wanted to be in their home away from home.

Climbing majestic Mount Seorak

Sun, 1 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT

By the time I realized that climbing to the peak of a very high mountain with nothing between me and a freefall of several hundred feet wasn't such a good idea, there was no turning back.

Germany�s leader of the pack: To study wolves, he must become one, researcher says

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

It's clear who the dominant "wolf" is among the pack of hungry pups. The one in charge lies on the ground, holding the slab of calf meat firmly in his teeth while the fair-coated Arctic canines tear off pieces of raw tendon and flesh. Between bites, they crawl playfully over his back all the while adhering to the group hierarchy, which means they don't abscond with the meal, however tasty.

Europe�s creepy places: Even when it�s not Halloween, boneyards and damp, creaky places can chill the bones

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Haunted house attractions and ghost tours can be a lot of fun during the Halloween season. But some things are naturally spooky, without the fake blood or recorded howls.

Let's go

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Winter tours Stuck for winter fun ideas? Here are two possibilities from Meyer Group Travel. � One is to take a Christmas cruise on the Main and Rhine rivers Dec. 21-28 a...

Best bets

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

England: Starting Monday, festive winter wonderland scenes will brighten the way for shoppers on London's Regent and Oxford streets with the ceremonial turning on of Christmas lights.

Monster links: Castles share name with horror classic

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Interested in visiting Frankenstein's castle this Halloween? In western Germany, you have two good options � one with a tenuous link to Mary Shelley's 1818 novel, the other only to its name.