Looking back, we must have been blessed by the weather gods or something while in Europe. We had beautiful blue skies in London, that alone should be case and point right there, warm summer nights in Paris, and perfectly breezy days along the Mediterranean coasts. Sure, a lot of our days were a bit overcast, but […]
Munich was one of the cities that most surprised me in Europe– in a good way. From the moment we arrived, entering the city by bus, I was taken aback by the city’s size. As we made our way from quiet residential neighborhoods to the Old Town, the architectural styles quickly started to change. It […]
Part of the reason I wanted to go to Europe so badly, and take my mother, was to explore our German heritage. Growing up in white, middle class suburbia, most of my friends felt no connection to their ancestral heritage, myself included. We were American. No one ever talked about their family backgrounds unless prompted by homework assignments. […]
After a long day floating down the Rhine followed by dragging our luggage around Bingen we finally arrived at Hotel Zum Bären in Rüdesheim. Tucked up and away from the main touristy drag, we were ready for a restful night somewhere quiet. Stepping inside the door we were greeted with glasses of wine. Clearly, this hotel knew exactly what […]
After living in Asia for nearly three years, I had gotten used to the fact that I would never fit in. No matter how I dressed or how many cute accessories I piled onto my cellphone, I would always be a gaijin (外人), a gweilo (鬼佬), a foreigner. Even as my travels moved me westward, I still couldn’t pass […]