For a real taste of German cuisine, coupled with an authentic flair of a German Wirtshaus (pub), you should try the guesthouse Zum Schwanen in Oberursel.

Not only was it a romantic night to be out – because of the first real heavy snowfall – but Zum Schwanen is also located in an idyllic area, close to the town’s church and surrounded by other half-timbered houses.

Oberursel with St. Ursula Church (Wall on the left belongs to Zum Schwanen)

Just stepping into the place reminded me of my American/French brother-in-law’s comment two Christmases ago, when we took him there for my birthday: Gosh, this smells like Germany! We explored this point further as I find statements as such rather intriguing. Did the Sauerkraut marinade creep into the table patinas’ veins? Was the smell of beer hanging in the air? Was it the warm German bodies exhaling German food and drink through their pores? What does it mean to smell German, I wonder. Maybe I should not ask…

For the ones who remember Germany from the 60s and 70s: Please keep in mind shower habits have much improved since then. Entering a department store during a German summer no longer requires dwarfed nostrils.

Zum Schwanen

Looking out through the big lattice-windows onto the neighboring snow-covered roofs, while sitting in the warmth of a nice place and looking forward to dinner, put this eating-out experience rather close to the category of: unforgettable.

Leg of goose, potato dumplings, with red cabbage

Besides enjoying an excellent dinner, we also had very attentive service.

Last night, the restaurant earned five ***** from me.

Everywhere is nowhere. When a person spends all his time in foreign travel, he ends by having many acquaintances, but no friends.

- Seneca -

Letters from a Stoic

In a recent poll by Lonely Planet, destination Germany came up quite a few times as one of the top 10 places to visit. In the end though, it did not make it into the official top ten list. There are too many other interesting sites to see and experience!

In the past couple of days, I have caught myself daydreaming about  New York. The first and only time to visit New York was last year November and since then I have been hooked.

My photo up on Times Square

Thanks for the photo to wishafriend

Right now I would love to stroll up 5th Avenue with the icy wind blowing at me. I would buy another scarf from a sidewalk vendor and when things got too cold, I would sneak into one of the many cafés. Quietly I would enter every church I pass on my way and step out again to breathe in the lively sound of New York City. Christmas time in New York is something very special.

Having visited 39 States of the United States, I had always declared San Francisco to be my favorite city, until the day I got to New York.

And this is where I would love to be right now. If you had the choice, where would you rather be right now?

A traveler to distant places should make no enemies.

- Nigerian Proverb -

As stated in the December 2009 issue of the German ADAC, there are some good news for air passengers in regards to delayed flights and reimbursement. Based on a ruling by the European court of justice, delayed air passengers can claim up to € 600 in compensation.

A small victory for consumer protection: From now on, passengers, whose flights have been delayed by more than three hours, are entitled to monetary compensation. This is thanks to the ADAC which had lodged a claim with the European court of justice.

Air passengers with a flight route of:

up to 1500 km are entitled to € 250 in compensation

up to 3500 km are entitled to € 400 in compensation

beyond 3500 km – outside the European Union – the amount is € 600

This new ruling replaces the old one which only granted compensation for cancelled flights. In the past, if your flight took off after endless hours of waiting, there was no compensation.

This will definitely help reduce one’s fretting while waiting for delayed flights.