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I'll get back to my trip photos in a bit, but the

I'll get back to my trip photos in a bit, but the continual slog of events and commentary about events in the US and around the world has been overwhelming. It's been easy to be disheartened and cynical. I have been learning so much from Anti-racism reading. This was a powerful statement among many.

Let's avoid letting cynicism guide us. Even subtle expressions of it, like the underlying belief that racism and misogyny and other oppressions are too natural to us to be lessened. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. We can learn and unlearn. We don't have to uphold the status quo. We who have more power or privilege can sacrifice our illusions of fairness to help make a fairer world. We must.

"The colorblindness ideal is premised on the notion that we, as a society, can never be trusted to see race and treat each other fairly or with genuine compassion. A commitment to color consciousness, by contrast, places faith in our capacity as humans to show care and concern for others even as we are fully cognizant of race and possible racial differences." - Michelle Alexander's "The New Jim Crow"

On our way to the Black Forest, we stopped off at

On our way to the Black Forest, we stopped off at one of the most famous castles in the world: Neuschwanstein.

We didn't tour the inside, but walking around the area was absolutely worth it. The best views of the castle exterior and the countryside around come from a nearby bridge. It is small and usually gets very crowded. We've heard in the past that waiting in line for an hour was typical in order to get on that bridge. Though we had to wear masks (1), we only waited 25 minutes to get on the bridge and the views were as advertized: gorgeous (2-5)!

We decided to walk around the nearby Alpsee (5, 8-10), a lake with views of the other castle near it, the older Hohenschwangau (6). Rain clouds rolled in later, giving us the spectacular sight of clouds around the castles and only dampening our adventure a little bit. Having seen the castle, and the cows with the finest view (7), we then drove westward to get to Feldberg, a small town in the Hochschwarzwald - the High Black Forest.

Germany Road Trip 2020: Bayern Day 2 It was a day

Germany Road Trip 2020: Bayern Day 2

It was a day of unreal Alpine gorgeousness. We hiked around the Eibsee, admiring the mountains, and taking a break to swim (1). The beach was made of sharp stones, so lounging was, uh, limited, but the water was clear and cool. A family of ducklings was very into it (2). Until they learn to fly, the ducks won't get to admire the Eibsee's gorgeous colors (3), or that of the vivid green lakes around it (4), but we sure did!

Once we'd gotten our fill, we hit up Partnachklamm, a gorge in the mountains (5-10). The contrast of stone walls around us, trees above, and glacier-blue river below made for a spectacular hike.

Germany Road Trip 2020: Bayern Day 1 We spent our

Germany Road Trip 2020: Bayern Day 1

We spent our first day in Bavaria wandering around Schloss Linderhof and the extensive gardens (photos 1-3, 5-6). We saw a lot of snails (4), and a young fox (5), buckets of natural gorgeousness along with baroque art and architecture. We spent the evening wandering the town in which we stayed, Oberammergau. It is charming (7-10)! It's big enough to have lots of good restaurants, small enough to be easy to walk. Oh, and our hotel, Ammergauer Hof, had a great Turkish restaurant with legitimately spicy food! It's not easy to find in Germany, so it tasted delicious. The owners were so friendly and welcoming. It was reassuring to talk to them and see the care with which they set up their hotel and managed the Corona adaptations. Sunny weather and beautiful mountains everywhere, it was a great introduction to one of the most storied parts of Germany!

Germany Road Trip 2020: Bamberg ----- Last Fall, w

Germany Road Trip 2020: Bamberg
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Last Fall, we talked about our last long trip before moving back. I wanted to see the as-yet unexplored areas within Germany, especially Bavaria and the Black Forest. When the pandemic hit, we learned that was the only trip we could really take. Well, okay then! Traveling domestically was made a little trickier with required masks and hotels and restaurants having new procedures/opening hours. But overall, we had a great time. Some things were even easier without crowds of international tourists competing for space. 🤷🏻‍♀️
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Stop 1 was the small city of Bamberg at the north end of Bavaria. It was one night, partly to break up the drive to the south, and partly to see a place people had been raving about.
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It's at the junction of two rivers, so the bridges form a key element of the town's design and social scene. The Old Town Hall (1) is built on one and has a bunch of different architectural styles going on. People use the river for kayaking (2). They also just hang out on the bridge in (mostly) socially distanced clumps enjoying beer with friends (4). The Rausch Bier style is a local specialty and I even started to like it a bit after trying more. On walks along the river, we saw tons of cute houses (5,6). We also enjoyed touring the Romanesque era cathedral (8). On the high ground in town, we saw a fountain that raised a question: "Had anyone in the sculpture workshop ever SEEN a fish?!" (9)

Got back from vacation and didn't want the vacatio

Got back from vacation and didn't want the vacation to end. A story about the best ice cream in Berlin from @berlinfoodstories was just the ticket. When I saw Chipi Chipi Bombón was (a) Argentine owned and (b) had flavors like mate and dulce de Leche, I was intrigued. The mate was tasty (like chilly mate cocido) but the dulce de leche was insanely delicious! I will definitely be back. 🤤

Albrechtsburg Palace was last weekend's surprise w

Albrechtsburg Palace was last weekend's surprise win. It's considered the first true "palace" in Germany since it served no military purpose and thus is not a "castle." It was constructed in the late 1400s/early 1500s. The incredible ceilings throughout it were a trademark of the builders - complicated gothic vaults that reflect the light beautifully.
Once the bulk of the palace was built, the nobleman who owned it put together a team to reverse engineering porcelain using European materials/manpower. At the time, the silver mines in the area were exhausted, so they weren't going to make him enough money for his lifestyle. Chinese porcelain, however, was "white gold," imported from the East at great cost and desired all over Europe. After some false starts, the artizens succeeded in duplicating the product and a local industry was born.
Over the next 250 years, more and more of the palace was retrofitted as a factory and it functioned less and less as a showy residence. In the 19th century, the factory outgrew the space. The local government took over the property, restoring it for historical purposes (and added fanciful, sometimes anachronistic, murals because Romanticism 🤷🏻‍♀️). Much of the beauty is preserved, though, especially in the incredible staircases that looked way better than my cell phone photography conveys here.
My one regret is that we arrived in the last couple of hours it was open. I wish we'd had more time than explore it. There was lots to see the many rooms, to hear in the exhibits and audio guide, and to read in the museum cases and signage. We also enjoyed light indoor speedskating made possible by the smooth floors and the clogs provided to preserve them by fitting over our shoes. 😆

When we got done at 6 that evening, we were hungry, so we finished off at a Biergarten in a nearby hotel with amazing city views. It was a remarkable way to get to know lovely Meißen. 🥰

On the way home from Görlitz, we stopped off at t

On the way home from Görlitz, we stopped off at the Bastei - a stone bridge and the ruins of the bastion it used to have atop it. Beautiful views of the Elbe and the forest abound. 😍

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