What’s that wacky German food? Spargel

white asparagus = spargel

It’s here! Spargelzeit is here! What, you mean you don’t celebrate asparagus time where you live?

The Germans are crazy about white asparagus, a special breed that grows underground and is only harvested for a couple months each spring. Restaurants have special menus featuring white asparagus done every which way, and all the fruit and veggie stands display big piles of it, as if it’s the only thing worth eating this time of year. Preparing this Teutonic vegetable is relatively easy, but there are a few things you should know before doing it for the first time.

Read moreWhat’s that wacky German food? Spargel

A stroll through Halle

Markt in Halle an der Saale

Halle an der Saale might be one of the largest German cities you’ve never heard of. In the little-visited eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, Halle was my home for three years during the 1990s. I was thrilled when I managed to talk my friend Kim into stopping by on our way back to Munich from Leipzig a few weeks ago.

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Travel blogging thoughts from TBU

Manchester square

As with TBEX in Copenhagen, the highlight of Travel Bloggers Unite (TBU) for me was getting to hang out with a bunch of fun, travel-minded people. Manchester was a wonderful setting, too.

The TBU panels and presentations were interesting, and they gave me new things to think about regarding where I want to take this blog in the future. Below are my comments on some of the travel blogging topics that were discussed.

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Manchester notes

Manchester street

Last week was all about visiting cities which are delightfully grittier than Munich. Not that it’s hard for a place to show more grit than our home city (which could be mistaken for the setting of many fairy tales), but last week’s destinations were particularly satisfying in their lack of polish. Cheers to the Travel Bloggers Unite conference for giving us an excuse to visit Manchester for the first time.

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Something I love about Germany:

The national obsession with asparagus. This week a newspaper in Munich was promoting a feature on “the first asparagus (where it comes from, how it grows, how much it costs).” Never mind that German asparagus season is still a month away – anticipation is part of the pleasure.