We were all wondering where I would settle: Sweden, where I’m a citizen, Germany, where I have ‘chosen’ family, Italy, where my daughter lives, or France, land of my maternal grandmother’s ancestors…
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Happy Birthday, Hainewalde!
2026 marks the 700th anniversary of the founding of Hainewalde, the village in Germany’s Oberlausitz region where I regularly spend time. Garostly gardening. I’m there at irregular intervals for variable lengths of time, so I was excited to be there the weekend of the big 700 celebration. While you’ve likely not heard of Hainewalde, you… Continue reading Happy Birthday, Hainewalde!
Wagner in Bayreuth
While I don’t consider myself an opera fan, the generous invitation of a friend to accompany her to the 150th anniversary of the legendary Wagner Festival in Bayreuth was an offer I couldn’t (or at least didn’t) refuse…
14 July – Bastille Day
Quatorze Julliet (or Bastille Day, as Americans have dubbed it) in Pau didn’t turn out to be festive in the way I anticipated…
La Vita è Bella
I love those days of blissful serendipity when you wake up with no particular plan, and then, while still in your pajamas, come up with one modest goal…
Homeless in Berlin at Christmas
A tidy, well-mannered, and elderly homeless man has taken up nocturnal residence in the covered portico of my friend’s building…
Adieu, Adine!
When Mother and I discovered and fell in love with Tolg’s ‘tailor’s cottage’ in 2003, we had no idea that a huge part of our Tolg happiness would be generated by you…
Recommendations
For me, it’s important to understand how my friends evaluate food just as it’s important to understand how to interpret Yelp or other popular restaurant rating systems in order to gather the desired information. I lunched recently in Paris’s Latin Quarter with friends with whom I periodically dine out. They had just returned from Sicily,… Continue reading Recommendations
Life Surprises
After three successfully completed marriages and a host of other unanticipated twists and turns…
Knut & Ute
Knut and Ute are farmers living in Germany’s Zittau Mountains, a gentle, Catskill-like range that stretches across the ‘Three Corner’ region…