Tag: Winter

Germany

Scenes from the Stuttgart Christmas Market

The Christmas markets have been in full swing here in Germany, and I wanted to capture and share the happiness the markets create.  Twinkling lights, cold nights, warm glühwein, friends old and new catching up, laughter, and cheer.  This is what I think of when I think of the Weihnachtsmarkt. The Stuttgart Marktplatz, Schillerplatz, Schlossplatz and more are lined with wooden huts topped with evergreen branches and twinkling lights.  Each hut sells something unique, from hats and warm socks, to wooden nutcrackers, Christmas ornaments, candles, or even kitchenware. It’s fun to browse the stands, shopping for your loved ones Next […]

France, Switzerland

Skiing the Portes du Soleil

|Location: Chatel, France| Skiing the Portes du Soleil is one of my favorite winter vacations living in Stuttgart.  The ski area is quite large with a lot of connecting villages.  You can even ski from France into Switzerland and back within the day which I think is pretty awesome.  The Savoy region is an easy five hour drive from Stuttgart (well… that’s assuming you don’t put the wrong hotel into Google maps and drive an extra 2 hours through snowy Alpine switchbacks fearing your death… then drive two hours backtracking through the snowy switchbacks.  Long story you’ll have to ask […]

France

Exploring the Burgundy Region

|Location: Dijon, Lyon, and Beaune, France| Burgundy needs no introduction, it’s one of the most famous wine regions of the world most famous for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes.  I’ve been wanting to explore the French Burgundy region for a while and we finally committed to exploring the cutest towns of Dijon, Lyon, and Beaune the other week!  I of course want to go back when the weather is warmer and that shouldn’t be a problem as Dijon is only a 4 hour drive from Stuttgart and Lyon, further south, is 6 hours away.  We explored it by car but […]

France

Why I Love Paris in the Winter

There’s no doubt Paris can be enjoyed all year long, but I have to admit I love strolling this city in the winter.  After the Christmas season has come and gone, the city becomes authentic and it feels like we have it to ourselves.  Walk into virtually any restaurant and get a table, skip the crowds and say au revoir to waiting in long lines.  Soldes, the French sales are happening and make Parisian shopping even more exciting.  The opera season is in full swing and there’s a good chance you’ll be able to catch a show at the dazzling […]

Switzerland

Skiing in Verbier, Switzerland

We headed to the Swiss Alps for a long weekend of skiing, friends, après-ski, birthday celebrations, and tons of gorgeous alpine views.  It was packed full of pure winter bliss! Verbier is an alpine ski town that sits at 1500m in the south-west of Switzerland.  The area is close to France and the Chamonix / Mont Blanc region and French is spoken.  It is one village of les 4 Vallées, or the four valleys, with two main lifts taking you to the slopes from town, but connects to other mountains of the four valleys. We spent our time on the […]

Germany, USA

Twenty Eighteen

Happy New Year to you and yours!  I hope you were able to enjoy the holidays and ring in 2018 with full hearts and lots of cheer. Have you ever used a focus word for the new year?  I like the idea better than resolutions, which always seem to fade away after a month.  A focus word sums up what you want for the new year, the next chapter in your life.  What is the big, important idea you want to ring through in 2018?  For me, it was so obvious what mine should be after we flew back to […]

Austria, France, Germany

Christmas Market Cheer

When winter rolls in, everyone in Europe waits in anticipation for the Christmas markets to begin.  Luckily for us, Christmas markets originated in Germany and there are a plethora of markets to get you into the Holiday spirit.  I’ve made a list of my top four Christmas markets in Europe with a ton of information on each! Stuttgarter Weihnachtsmarkt There’s always something to celebrate in Germany, and the Christmas season brings the most magical celebrations with Christmas markets in every German town.  The German Weihnachtsmarkt, or Christmas market, is something everyone needs to experience at least once.  If you’re lucky […]