Activities | Two Small Potatoes

Downhill skiing at Skizentrum Sankt Andreasberg, Germany

Skizentrum Sankt Andreasberg, Skiing for Beginners

January 14, 2017

Lower Saxony may be pretty, but I gotta say - the mountains are mere mole hills. Moving to central Germany from Switzerland is like having your parents replace your Halloween candy with broccoli - it's harder ...

New Year’s Aboard the Eastern Comfort Hostel Boat

December 31, 2016

Festivals, Germany, Hostels

Boats are cool and hostels are cool, so a hostel boat must be the coolest, right? After a memorable three-night stay on board the Eastern Comfort Hostel Boat in Berlin, we're definitely convinced. The timing ...

SANDEMANs “Free” Berlin Guided Walking Tour: Yea or Nay?

December 31, 2016

Germany, Guided Tours, Monuments

Until our most recent trip to Berlin, we'd never gone on a guided walking tour of a city - paid or free. When we've gone on other kinds of guided tours, we're always the slowest in the bunch, hanging back to take photos or read some obscure sign nobody in the...

Two of the Best Christmas Markets in Berlin

December 30, 2016

Festivals, Germany

Who doesn't love German Christmas markets? Towards the end of November, they start popping up in towns across the country. It seems no village is too small to host their own festive extravaganza. In any give...

Chugging Glögg at the Goslar Christmas Market

December 16, 2016

Festivals, Germany

Bigger isn't always better, especially when it comes to Europe's Christmas markets. The smaller villages in Germany offer fewer crowds and a more intimate festival experience. This couldn't be more true than in...

Historic buildings of Rammelsberg Mine in Goslas

Touring the Historic Rammelsberg Mine

December 16, 2016

Caves & Mines, Germany, Guided Tours

Legend tells that in the year 968, a knight was out hunting deer in the forests of Rammelsberg, a peak in the Harz Mountains. Stopping for a rest, he tied his horse to a tree. Restless, the horse pawed at the ground, unearthing a rich vein of silver. Thus b...

Highlights of the 2016 Goettingen Christmas Market

December 15, 2016

Festivals, Germany

Somehow the holiday season snuck up on us this year. It's probably partly because Thanksgiving - our festive American predecessor to Christmas - comes and goes without fanfare in Germany. Plus we don't shop m...

Zombie at Halloween Burg Frankenstein, Germany

Halloween Burg Frankenstein, A Truly Monsterous German Festival

October 23, 2016

Castles & Palaces, Festivals, Germany

Everyone's heard of Frankenstein, right? Even those who haven't read Mary Shelley's book are familiar with the basic storyline of Victor Frankenstein - an eccentric scientist who creates a lumbering, malformed...

Ludwigsburg, Home of the World’s Largest Pumpkin Festival

October 16, 2016

Festivals, Germany

In the US, our infatuation with pumpkins at Halloween borders on the religious. Long gone are the days when carving pumpkins was just for kids! For us, October typically involves a carriage ride to the nearest farmer's pumpkin patch, picking the perfect pump...

Burg Eltz, Germany’s Most Enchanting Fairy Tale Castle

October 15, 2016

Castles & Palaces, Germany, Guided Tours

Ok, we get it. Some of you loyal readers are perhaps getting a bit tired of seeing our posts about one German castle after another. But we ask you to bear with us for one more castle - just one more! Perhaps y...

Have Orus, Will Travel: Kayaking the Elbe River

August 14, 2016

Germany, Kayaking, National Parks

Oru kayaks were made to travel, so why not throw them on a train? Experience Saxon Switzerland's Bastei Rock from a unique perspective floating down the Elbe River.

Fireworks And A Close Encounter With The German Polizei

June 26, 2016

Festivals, Germany, Kayaking

Kiel week is the largest sailing festival in the world. Spanning for two weeks every June in Germany, the event wraps with a superb fireworks show. After a week of intense sailing competitions and friendly rivalries, hundreds of yachts, tall ships, catamaran...