Blog entries by Cloudyskies
Frohe Weihnachten means Merry Christmas in German. My preoccupation with this newly learned holiday greeting squandered every potential...
Everyone knows how unfortunate a visit to the DMV can be—whether it’s dealing with incompetent personnel, not having the proper paperwork...
Back by popular demand (well, just Rufous, actually), my Germany stories …
I’m the John Bosley in this story, the father figure to the girls. The...
Sounds of a galloping horse? Nope. It’s a woman in heels, on a cobblestone street. That’s when the pressure builds—when paranoia sets in because...
My experiences while living in Germany again, as an American. This time, a wedding…
Considering the work that’s required to fulfill the many...
The Question: While in the confines of a foreign country, what can one do to celebrate America’s Independence?
The Answer: Commemorate in one’s...
I arrived at Berlin’s Tegel airport at eleven in the morning on a Saturday. The American Tourist suitcase by my side, the previous year’s...
It’s chocolate madness and the European Parliament’s favorite chair. From the beauteous Grand Palace—the imposing central square cluttered with...
Seven dollars. It’s what I had in my wallet, which my son Thomas, 6, hurriedly snatched from my dresser drawer. “Papa, Papa, can I go get an ice...
Germany is said to have hundreds of different kinds of cheese. It’s no surprise, then, that the country is the European leader—the Big Cheese—in...
My least favorite friend, who once compared my illness with his inability to quit smoking, said to me via group text that “Stephen Hawking was...
Unfurnished apartments in Germany come equipped with next to nothing. That means no closets, no kitchen sink, no cabinets, no oven, and no...
Ever since Grandpa shoved that first glass of vino under my schnaz, and Grandma scratched together that first scrumptious batch of homemade...
Publishers and media companies throughout the world came galloping into town on their respective horses to become players in the Frankfurt...
Of all the great songs on my album of survival at those innumerable family sleepovers, there’s that especially creative yet shameful one that...
In America, everyone carries his or her own personal water bottle or coffee around. You’ll see people with them on the streets, in cars, on public...
I came across an ad on Facebook for a book about The Station nightclub fire in Rhode Island, USA, in 2003 that killed 100 people and injured many...
Another travelogue …
Impressive. Panache. Enchanting. Beau monde. Artistic. Paris is all of these things. Its attraction is undeniable. It had me...