One of the world’s most infamous sports stadiums sits just to the west of downtown Berlin. The Berlin Olympiastadion (Olympic Stadium) was erected at the request of Adolf Hitler ahead of the 1936 Summer Olympics as a demonstration of the power of the newly elected Nazi party. It was designed to resemble the Roman Coliseum …
Only one kilometer west of St. Vitus Cathedral and the heart of the Prague Castle complex sits St. Norbert’s Brewery, better known in Prague as the Strahovský klášter (Strahov Monastery), a Premonstratensian abbey that has been in Prague since the 12th Century. Since the 17th Century, beer has been brewed on the premises in a …
In the world of beer, Austria is almost always overlooked in favor of its more famous neighbor, Germany. But to ignore Austrian Beer is to ignore a wealth of fine beer choices and varieties. Take a look at Austrian Beer Austrian beers are less distinct by region than in other countries as the most popular …
German beer has taken on a mythical quality both within that country and across the world. Many non-German beers claim to be brewed based on the specifications of the Reinheitsgebot ( or purity law), a beer regulatory standard in place since the fifteenth century. Many people have taken to very specific types of German …
For over forty years, Czechoslovakia was all but inaccessible for westerners. As Soviet influence enveloped neighboring countries, local delicacies and tastes were, to a degree, lost or forgotten by those outside their borders. Thankfully, over the past twenty years, as Eastern Europe has opened back up and welcomed visitors from around the world, we …
Discussions of Irish beer usually begin and end with one word: Guinness. There is no doubt that Arthur Guiness’ great creation is the most famous beer in the world, let alone in Ireland. But there is much more to the beer scene on the Emerald Isle than just the meal-in-a-glass that draws all the headlines. …
Everyone knows the most iconic images in Scotland: golf, the Loch Ness monster, haggis, tartans and Scotch whiskey. Nearly all representations of Scots in American media revolve around these themes. But in day-to-day life, none of these (with the possible exception of scotch) are as important in Scotland as beer and ale. Take a peek …
Edinburgh’s Royal Mile is well known for having great views, shops and restaurants, not to mention historic sites like Robert Knox’s House, Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood House. But far beneath the City Chambers building on the High Street is a world long-since abandoned. Across the street from St. Giles’ Cathedral is a small entrance to The …
Bamberg Germany: A Franconian Gem with Cobblestone Streets and Half-timbered Houses Forty miles north of Nürnberg in the German state of Bavaria is the historic city of Bamberg. Divided in half by the Regnitz River, Bamberg is a rare German city in that it escaped Allied bombing during World War II. While other cities have …
With over a thousand years of recorded history, Nürnberg ( Nuremberg) has a varied past. From a trade center in the medieval Holy Roman Empire and cultural hub in the German Renaissance to host city of Nazi party rallies in the 1930s and the ensuing War Trials in the 1940s, Nürnberg has many stories to …