Schützenfest – Germany’s Traditional Marksmen Festival

Schützenfest – Germany’s Traditional Marksmen Festival

Schützenfest is a traditional German festival where villages march like empires and drink like there’s no tomorrow. Expect parades with a king, cuirassiers on massive horses, muskets with roses in the barrels, and a wooden bird everyone’s trying to shoot down to become the “king.” Add brass bands, sausages, beer, and a heroic dose of pomp — and you’ve got the biggest party of the year.

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North Sea Solitude: A Winter Walk Across Norderney

North Sea Solitude: A Winter Walk Across Norderney

Our company suddenly changed its vacation policy: unused days from the previous year now had to be taken by the end of January. So I had no choice but to take time off. Naturally, I went to the sea. The North Sea, to be precise. Luckily, it’s only a three-hour drive from where I live. The North Sea in January — it already sounds like a ballad of adventure and wandering.
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