German is stereotypically the land of beer. The Reinheitsgebot, the beer purity laws from the medieval ages, and Oktoberfest are both German and just spread this idea that beer is king in German. And it is, but I like Belgian beer better. The Reinheitsgebot makes sure beer in Germany is up to a specific standard, […]
Belgium is chocolate. They are extremely related almost intertwined. Every street in the center of Brussels has a chocolate shop. There are historical reasons for it too. During our first day in Brussels, chocolate was a big theme. We started at the Galleries in Brussels and wandered through the Neuhaus store. Our guide then started […]
On our first day in Brussels we got a tour to get to know the city. Luckily we are in Brussels on the weekend of the flower carpet. This only happens every two years for a few days at a time. The central plaza (Grand Place) is filled with flowers enough to make a full […]
I knew New Zealand was known for mountains and hiking. I didn’t realize that there were so many lakes there, but there are.We saw a few flying down to Queenstown that were pale blue and some while driving around that were deep cobalt. Such variety, but that I actually expect from New Zealand. In honor […]
Sometimes it doesn’t feel worth it to travel. Heck, sometimes it doesn’t feel worth it to get out of bed, let alone get on a train and go fight through a horde of snap-happy tourists. In the end, everything has good aspects and bad aspects, although it is almost never an even distribution. Sometimes the […]
One of the main reasons that I wanted to be an expat was to travel. Yes, I like my home and love having a warm comfortable place to be, but one of the main urges was that, “hey I’m so close to things I want to see.” We are trying more to remember this and […]
Even though Freiburg is only a few kilometers from the French border, I don’t go into France very often. Colmar is a pretty Alsatian town directly across the Rhine from Freiburg. Despite being so close, the difference between France and Germany is definitely noticeable. My best friend from home came to visit for a bit so he, Ali and I went to Colmar for the day.
I like German beer. It is orderly and made to strict standards. That in itself is a commentary on the culture. Though I find that after a while I get bored with German style beer and crave the microbreweries and weird flavors from home. Thankfully we travel enough outside of Germany and I get to try other beers. Here are some of my favorites from around the world (really just the ones I have pictures of).