And then the X in the name made sense
Find out about the people behind Wildwuxs, the unique soaps and olive oil they produce, and how they came to plant their company in the Wendland region. Read more (auf deutsch)
Working through History over Beer
This article, based on my chance encounter with retired Bavarian police superintendent Otto Oeder and subsequent invitation to the Stammtisch, appeared in the Mindener Tageblatt’s January 13/14, 2024 weekend edition. Captions to photos are in English so you can follow along even if you don’t read German! Leuchtende Berghänge: sattgelbes Eschenlaub, das Hellgelb frühherbstlicher Buchenblätter,… Read more Working through History over Beer
Dr. Alina Küper: Das Wendland ist ein Lebensgefühl
See – I can write in German! Über das praktische Lernen im Berliner Startup, persönliche Energiequellen und die eigene Tierarztpraxis im Wendland. Mehr lesenFoto © Mareike Morszeck
Ost Identity
How come some thirty-somethings who never experienced the GDR think of themselves as East Germans? And does one have to have experienced the GDR in order to write about it? Read my essay in SAPIENS magazine
Cold Lake Anthology Release
Book launch July 9, 2023! The Burlington Writers Workshop announces the release of this year’s anthology. You can join us one of two ways: in person at Hotel Vermont or, for the geographically and time-zone-challenged (like me), online. Either way, you can get your free ticket – and order your own copy – here. Find… Read more Cold Lake Anthology Release
See for yourself!
You’ve been reading along—or maybe you just came across this little island in the vast virtual ocean—and now you want to see these places for yourself? Now you can! Find out more. AFTER THE WALL: DISCOVER GERMANY’S HIDDEN HEARTLANDThis special tour [dates TBA] will take you to the Green Belt—the nature preserve that has been… Read more See for yourself!
History is Real People
There is something to be said for being older than, say, fifty: Chances are you remember the fall of the Berlin Wall, which in my case came with a surprise revelation about history. I was in my living room in upstate New York that November 9, 1989, when a friend practically ordered me to turn… Read more History is Real People
Day of German Unity: Angela Merkel’s East German Past
For most of her sixteen years as German chancellor, Angela Merkel said little about her East German past. After the surprise of her meteoric political career in the newly reunited country – a woman! An Easterner! – things quieted down for a while. By the time she became chancellor in 2005, the major challenges of integrating… Read more Day of German Unity: Angela Merkel’s East German Past
Fellow Passengers in the Bardo
Last year I wrote about the time “between the years” – that time span between Christmas and New Year’s that can feel like a gap in time, a reprieve from other, more tightly scheduled times of the year. A kind of time that invites reflection and contemplation. Lately I’ve been thinking about another kind of… Read more Fellow Passengers in the Bardo