The Greek Debt Crisis – What really happened?

We’ve been hearing so much on the news recently about the Greek and European debt crises, the decline of the Euro, and of protests across Europe, especially on the streets of Athens.  The European Union and its common currency appeared for a while to be a great success, a major Continue Reading

The Dom of Bautzen

In the city of Bautzen in the Saxony region of Germany stands St. Peter’s Cathedral.  It was built between 1456 and 1463, and had major restorations in 1634 after much of the town was destroyed by fire. What I find most intriguing about this church is that it is shared Continue Reading

Bavarian Beer Halls and Beer Gardens

Bavaria is all the stereotypical images of Germany rolled into one. Lederhosen, oom-pah-pah-bands, sausage eating, and especially beer-drinking. They say when in Rome… The Czech Republic drinks the most beer per capita in the world (159 litres per year) with Germany a respectable third (110 litres per year) after Ireland. Continue Reading

Impressions of Germany

Germany has a lot of similarities to Austria.  After about a week in Germany, here are some of the things we’ve noticed. Germany is a financial powerhouse of Europe, despite spending a fortune to re-integrate East Germany since 1989.  There are still considerable economic differences between the former East and West. Germany Continue Reading