karenanne

So… Your Trip to Germany was cancelled this year. Don’t be too sad! You can still take the whole family and a bunch of your friends on a LIVE (Virtual) Tour of Munich with Your Local Friend! Visit the Christmas Markets, learn a little history, hear some great stories… all without having to pay Airfare!  […]

  Scrolling through the Traditions from Germany website is a bit like wandering through an authentic German Christmas market from the comfort of your own home. The charming wood and glass ornaments, handcrafted Pyramids, chubby Smokers, and even brightly lit Herrnhutter Sterne, bring joy and smiles to people who display them during the holiday season. You […]

Recently, I was asked to screen the German film “Effigy: Poison and the City” directed by Udo Flohr.  I went in blind, no idea at all what the movie was about, other than being told it is a historical drama. Well, I love movies, I love history, and I love Germany. I was all in. […]

One thing I discovered on last year’s Christmas Market tour is that there are MANY more hot drink choices than just Glühwein and Feuerzangenbowle. I saw Kinderpunsch (punch for kids) Eierlikorpunsch (sort of a warm Eggnoggy punsch) and  Weihnachtspunsch or Christmas Punch. This rich hot Punch came loaded with holiday flavors… but until I found […]

When I was growing up, my mother never made the traditional American Thanksgiving meal of big roast Turkey, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, etc.  We would have a German meal instead (which was fine by me, I’ll take a pork roast any day). Still, after being married to an American, I learned to make the […]

Like many German Christmas decorations, the Schwibbogen came from the Erzgebirge. Beginning in the Middle Ages, the Mettenschicht, became the traditional last work shift before Christmas in the Ore Mountains. The foreman ended work early by knocking on the walls (time to “knock off work”). Miners of the Erzgebirge would gather in one room and […]

Right around now I start getting emails and messages looking for great German gift ideas. They go something like this “my husband is German, and misses home”… “my daughter was an exchange student in Heidelberg, and I want to get her something to remind her”… “my wife’s Oma passed away, so the packages aren’t coming […]

It was another one of those moments where I really wondered if my family was German, but it turned out to be yet another case of family from North Rhine Westphalia vs Midwest German-American. While in Wisconsin, I kept seeing a poster for the Schnitzelbank, so I asked “What is a Schnitzelbank?“. I mean I […]