January 1, 2016

The Year That Was - 2015

In travel, I didn't visit any new states, but I did check off a couple of European countries. I restricted my domestic travel to only cool cities: Austin, San Francisco, and Seattle.

Here's my year in cities:

German cities: Munich, Dachau, Regensburg, Nürnburg, Weimar, Erfurt, Zwickau, Schneeberg, Schwarzenberg, Dresden, Bautzen, Görlitz, Leipzig, Potsdam, Berlin, Wittenberg, Gotha, Köln, Frankfurt
Salzburg, Austria
Prague, Czech Republic
Austin, Texas (January/February, March, May, October, December)
Kerrville, Texas
San Francisco, California
Seattle, Washington

In European travel, I broadened my vocabulary of German food words. At the end of the day after we reached our step count goals, we made a Mischung, which is a mix of fruit juice (Multivitaminsaft) and sparkling water. There were so many bottles to take to recycling. And of course, there were wonderful Bäckerei to be found in every city and train station.

Kaspressknödel mit Blattsalat

The Kaspressknödel mit Blattsalat at the restaurant Zum Zirkelwirt in Austria was unassuming and unforgettable.

Dobos Schnitte

Also in Salzburg, the Dobos Schnitte at Konditeroi Schatz had dozens of perfect layers.

Erfurt

Erfurt did not disappoint. The Gasthaus Feuerkugel served perfect Thuringen dumplings from Oma Käthes recipe—the regional Thüringer Klöße are basically a historical landmark. Bernd the bread has his own statue on the street.

Erfurt

In Leipzig, we ate at Auerbachs Keller. I still want to crack the code for making the Mephistotorte.

Leipzig

Berlin offered Currywurst and Dönerkebab.

Berlin

Prague presented some of the most beautiful sights of the trip.

St. Vitus Cathedral stained glass


The Oberlausitzische Bibliothek der Wissenschaften in Görlitz was a happy stop for my little librarian heart.

Görlitz Oberlausitzische Bibliothek der Wissenschaften

Previous years: 20072008200920102011, 2012, 2013, and 2014.

What's on your 2015 list?