While we only spent three days in Munich for Oktoberfest, I did enough eating and drinking to go up a size in my dirndl. I had always heard about the delicious and prevalent beer at Oktoberfest, but I never knew that the food was so tasty. I am not sure if the food was so good because of all the beer I was consuming or if the dishes were simply the perfect compliment to the ambrosial ales. Whatever the reason, I was pleasantly surprised by the fantastic Bavarian cuisine.
Read MoreGerman beer. Sausage. My wife in a dirndl. I must be in heaven. Nope, it’s Oktoberfest. The real one. Not a makeshift weekend event with seasonal fall beers. The original festival that started in 1810 and takes place in Munich for 15 days every year. I had dreamed of this for years so as soon as Kat suggested squeezing it into our itinerary, she knew we were locked in.
Read MoreI never would have expected Switzerland to be one of the most diverse countries that I have visited. Plenty of cows? Yes. Efficiency? The best. Mountains? Of course. Chocolate? I hoped. But diversity was not rolling off my tongue…until our recent trip through this stunningly beautiful land. I was surprised to learn that in this small country the size of New Jersey , there are several official languages and three distinct cultures (German, French, and Italian). Discovering this cultural heterogeneity contributed towards making our two and a half weeks spent in Switzerland delightful and uniquely interesting.
Read MorePrior to this trip a visit to Switzerland was right at the top of our travel priority list. In recent years I had become fascinated with the thought of hiking parts of the Swiss Alps and finally seeing firsthand the country’s renowned and pristine fairytale landscape (I even went as far as getting our very own MySwitzerland.com brochures sent to our apartment). We split our time among the mountains, quaint villages and larger cities throughout our 2 1/2 weeks. Each city and small town had a lot of character, but it was up in the highlands where I found the most beautiful Switzerland.
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