Germany is famous for their legendary Christmas markets. Starting around the last of November, the entire country starts to kick off the holiday season with markets (both large and small) that sell a wide variety of seasonal winter food, beverages, toys, dA©cor, and much more. Many of these markets also offer entertainment that can include everything from nativity scenes to traditional German Christmas music.A But the real draw of these family fun festivals is the authenticity of the merchandise. You won′t find the same mass-produced holiday items; here you will find quality handmade items like candles, wooden toys, figurines,...

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The last full day that I was in Germany was a nice and relaxing one with my suitemate. I had done the tourist tour around the city of Munster, seen how it had been reconstructed after World War Two, and walked around a few of the city markets. I even had seen one of the few astronomical clocks that are left in the world! We woke up around 10am to bike the fifteen minute ride to a little restaurant that served amazing brunch on Sundays. After experiencing the Germany nightlife I definitely was looking forward to some great food and a...

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Almost every major city in the world seems to have a favorite department store, a large upscale retail complex that appeals to both locals and tourists alike. For New York City its Barney′s, for Paris it′s the Lafeyette Galleries, and in Berlin it′s the Kaufhaus des Westens (also known as KaDeWe by locals). The name actually means Department Store of the West. It's been a significant part of Germany′s culture. It was founded in 1907 by a man named Adolf Jandorf. KaDeWe started out small, but over the decades it expanded thanks to various store owners who helped take this...

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The morning began with the typical German breakfast rolls with spreads. While my friend called them bagels without holes, I just said that they were rolls because they looked like big versions of something that I would receive at a typical restaurant. I cannot tell you how long my friend and I debated because she thought it was offensive that I referred to her "bagels without holes" as rolls. In any case, they were light, fluffy, and delicious. After that, we rode our bikes to the Prinzipalmarkt. The Prinzipalmarkt is similar to our Newbury Street in the types of shops that...

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I think that I can be safe in assuming that people often associate Holland as a place where they ride their bicycles, a lot, but can you guess how many bikes there are in Munster, Germany? If you said 100,000, you are wrong. If you said over 500,000 then "ding ding ding!" you are correct! Considering that the population of Munster is about 250,000 people... that is a lot of bikes. During my two week break from work this summer I was able to visit a few places in Europe, and Munster was one of them. Munster was actually the first...

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