Amana Colonies, IA

Like most of early America, the founding of the Amana Colonies were based on religious frustration and vision for a religiously homogenous town. It was founded by German immigrants and many of them are still proud of their German heritage, although their variation of spoken German is very different from Read more

Columbus, OH

The Arch City earned its nickname from the iconic arches of High Street illuminating the business bustling on both sides of the street. Columbus is a welcome break from to monotony of driving on American highways and the one fifth mark of crossing the continent from east to west. Driving Read more

Nürnberg, Germany

Apart from having a settlement that goes back a thousand years, Nazi rally grounds, and the Palace of Justice for the Nürnberg Trials it also has one of three DB railway museums, the other ones being in Halle and Koblenz. Despite the beauty of its medieval walls and churches the Read more

Stuttgart, Germany

Oh man! This is the place for car lovers, there are arenas sponsored by Porsche and Mercedes-Benz along with their respective museums housing an enormous car collection. Even the buses in town have the latest electric-hybrid technology to showcase Germany’s engineering prowess. If Munich’s Deutches Museum shows the old, Stuttgart Read more

Angermünde, Germany

This small town between Berlin and Stettin has lost nearly half its population since the 1970’s. For that reason, it is a very quiet town indeed full of retirees and safe, albeit empty streets. It’s location on the Mündesee makes it a beautiful location for retirement. The vast lake and Read more

Versailles, France

Where that famous treaty was signed – The Treaty of Versailles that ended WWI and more or less started WWII. The town is beautiful as is the Palace of Versailles, which Louis XIV resided in after he decided not to live in the Louvre Palace in Paris. I can see Read more

Paris, France

Ah, Paris, the subject of fame when it comes to all things cultural, yet my experience has been so different. “Ooh, it’s so beautiful! This is what I imagine Paris must be like.” ~ Marge Simpson Yes Marge, it is beautiful with art deco architecture, dazzling neon lights, and soft Read more

Indianapolis, IN

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Indianapolis is the famous Indy 500 event. The GPS begs to differ. It took me more than five attempts with voice control to get GM’s in-car GPS to comply with my command to navigate me to Indianapolis, not Minneapolis. Read more

New York, NY

Think Frank Sinatra, think Audrey Hepburn – New York, New York is the city of legends. Heck, I was singing Moon River to myself in the echo chamber of Grand Central Terminal! Yes, NYC is an expensive city to visit but there are ways to get around the expenses for Read more