GERMANY’S BLACK FOREST HAS MORE THAN CAKE AND CUCKOO CLOCKS

Europe, Travel

The Black Forest got its name from the Romans, who found the woods so dark and dense that they named it Silva Nigra, a “black forest” that suggested otherworldliness. After serving as Germany’s biggest source of lumber during the Industrial Revolution, the Black Forest’s 2,320 square miles have thinned to a shadow of their former impenetrability. Today, the area is a mix of forested mountains laced with river valleys, vineyards, lush meadows, streams, and towns with ubiquitous flower boxes overflowing with geraniums, says writer Beth Reiber. Measuring just 100 miles long and up to 25 miles wide, the forest is a cathedral for solitude that conveys feelings of contentment and remoteness as shafts of sunlight settle upon fern-lined pathways that spiral down from the summits past vineyards and orchards to medieval villages dating from the mists of time.

Fairbanks in Winter: “But It’s a Dry Cold”

America, Culture, Travel

It’s 35 below zero, and the snow is as crisp and crinkly as cellophane.Welcome to winter in Alaska’s Interior. Bring warm clothes, a sense of adventure and a cheerful disposition. The keys to winter life up here are remarkably simple: Stay active, go outdoors, sleep well, and maintain your sense of humor. “Best part about 30-degrees below is you can drive as fast as you want,” deadpans local radio personality Glen Anderson. “The cops won’t pull you over. Would you want to get out of your car at 30 below? They’ll just wait and nab you in the spring.”

Hiking Hadrian’s Wall, Virtually

Europe, Travel

I’m a purist trekker when it comes to walking long-distance designated trails. I insist they be step-by-step odysseys with no skipping of sections deemed to be of lesser interest. In the summer of 2005, I hiked a portion of the Hadrian’s Wall Path National Trail that rolls across northern England. I followed a wall of tightly fitted gray stones to a high point above Crag Lough where a pair of swans drifted over the still water. It was there that I vowed to return someday and walk the whole thing. Earlier this year, I did just that. Virtually.

European Roots Run Deep in the Fertile Soil of America’s Midwest Heartland

America, Culture, Travel

By Mary Bergin New Glarus, Wisconsin, is a village of 2,247 residents that takes pride in being known as “America’s Little Switzerland.”  Located 30 miles southwest of Madison, the community supports a männerchor (men’s choir), kinderchor (youth choir) and jodlerklub (choir of yodelers). The mournful sound of meters-long alphorns (used long ago by the Swiss…