How beautiful are these tulips that my husband gave me for Valentine’s Day? However, you might notice that those aren’t cut flowers. They’re tulips with bulbs still intact and sitting in water! These tulips are hydroponic. After my marveling over the air-grown, substrate-less epiphyte orchids at Longwood Gardens, it’s probably not too surprising that I’m […]
Bringing Beautiful Hydroponic Tulips to Bloom Read More »
It’s about this time of the year — halfway through winter and halfway to spring — when people start dreaming of warm locations and vacations on bright sandy beaches. But only just recently my fellow Pennsylvanian, Punxsutawney Phil, predicted a further six weeks of winter. However, I have found a loophole! A visit to Longwood
Orchid Extravaganza at Longwood Gardens Read More »
For a long time, I was reluctant to try Philadelphia’s City Tavern. I passed by it countless times as a teenager and during my college years. It was merely a landmark on my route to South Street or when I’d go to rock shows at the nearby Khyber Pass club (RIP). I thought of City
Lunch at Philadelphia’s City Tavern Read More »
A couple of years ago, my husband came home raving about Vietnamese coffee. He’d had a cup while out to lunch with coworkers. He spoke so highly of it that I surprised him with a Vietnamese coffee filter and some coffee. But I noticed that every time I mentioned Vietnamese coffee to someone, they had
How to Make Vietnamese Coffee Read More »
Every time that I visit the Mitsuwa Marketplace in Edgewater, New Jersey, I have goals. I want to have a nice Japanese lunch (and it’s difficult to pick between the tendon bowl and the ramen). I want to do some grocery shopping. Finally, I want to select a few different types of Japanese candy to
Japanese Candy from Matcha, Chocolate, & Gum Read More »
Central Philadelphia is great for traveling on foot. And, no, it is not just because public transit coverage is spotty. (Not the whole reason, anyhow.) In addition to being relatively flat, you can literally walk through time. From the Art Museum to the Liberty Bell. Across cobblestones and concrete sidewalks. Through streets where the likes
Philadelphia Walking Tour & Giveaway Read More »
Using music to learn the German language can be a great tool but it is not always easy. Sometimes it can difficult enough to make out the lyrics of songs in your own language. Recognizing the lyrics of a German song? It can be a whole other challenge. But with legendary German electronic music band
German Music: Legendary Electopop Band Kraftwerk Read More »
It is simply amazing the lengths that some people will go to to escape. To escape persecution, fascism, war — the list of reasons, sadly, seems to have no end. It is difficult to comprehend what one human will do to another. Author Greg Mitchell focuses on a very specific period of history that is
Book Review: Greg Mitchell “The Tunnels” Read More »
This year I made a concerted effort to read more. I wanted to read more. Period. If a book was in English or in German, it did not matter quite so much to me. And I found I put down several German language books that I was getting frustrated with. The struggle with a foreign
Books, Books, Books: What I Read in 2016 Read More »
Each month I try to highlight a Must See. Usually this means a city, location or museum that I have on my own travel bucket-list. This month I want to do things a little different. Visiting a true European Christmas Market is undeniably on my Must See list. But there’s so many! To select just
5 Must See European Christmas Markets Read More »
Last month the Philadelphia Museum of Art hosted a lecture by Salvatore Settis where he detailed the findings of his most recent book, If Venice Dies. In the book, the art historian argues that the current policies surrounding Venice are killing this important historic city and that action is needed. Many of today’s most dreamed
Salvatore Settis’ Book “If Venice Dies” Read More »
If Sebastian Koch looks familiar, it would not be all too surprising. In recent years the Karlsruhe-born, Stuttgart-raised actor has been popping up in Hollywood. He portrayed pioneering sexual reassignment surgeon Dr. Kurt Warnekros in 2015’s The Danish Girl, Stasi-employed lawyer Wolfgang Vogel in Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies and as the boss of Carrie
German Films: Actor Sebastian Koch Read More »
