In response to the costliest battle in history, the Battle of Verdun, Marshal Joseph Joffre first proposed a line of fortifications be built to defend the open borders of the French frontier bordering Germany.
Category: Travel
FMWR brings tour services back to Stuttgart
The MWR Tour Office is now open to help community members plan the perfect tour during their stay in the Stuttgart military community, whether it is a tour on a holiday or a personalized group tour.
Esslingen turns back time 600 years, awakens in Middle Ages
Esslinger Medieval, Christmas Markets come alive for holidays Story and photos by Kevin S. Abel As the Holiday season is upon us, across Europe the Christmas markets open their stalls and attract millions of visitors with decorated and lighted stands and the smells of the holiday. If you consider yourself a Weihnachtsmarkt professional, the Esslinger Christmas …
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Festive event brings cattle home
What better way to celebrate the end of summer of wondering and foraging in the Allgäu Region of Southern Germany than with festivals including 30,000 of your fellow mountain travelers.
1,000-year wine growing history awaits
Weinmuseum Brömserburg (Brömser-burg Wine Museum), tells the Rüdesheim area’s 1,000-year wine growing history in one of the oldest castles in the Rhine River Valley.
Bled, Slovenia in 360
Bled, a Slovenian resort town in the foothills of the Julian Alps, is set along the glacial Lake Bled. On a cliff overlooking the lake is the 11th-century Bled Castle, which houses a museum, chapel and printing press. Take a 360 look inside the Chapel. View more of Bled or other 360 tours I have …
Ehrenfels Castle ruins stand testament of time along Rhein River
Photo by Kevin S. Abel The Ehrenfels Castle formed together with the Mauseturm and the Klopp Castle a northward barrier since the 13th Century, in order to protect the territory of the archbishop of Mainz. In the Middle Ages it was strategically of greatest importance because of its favorable location above the Binger Loch. It …
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Lava Lizards of the Galapagos Islands
Story and photos by Kevin S. Abel Galapagos Lava Lizards (Microlophus albemariensis) are the most abundant reptile on the Galapagos Islands. Lava Lizards have attitude and like most of the Galapagos animals, they have a relative lack of fear of humans and can be observed quite closely. There are 7 different species of Lava Lizard on …
A Crack in Time
Est. 1001 A.D. (Approximately) Story and photos by Kevin S. Abel A visit to Crack-in-the-Ground near Bend is like traveling back in time to Oregon's volcanic past. BOOM! For more than a millennium, Oregon's Crack-in-the-Ground has served as a majestic memento of its explosive past. Across eons, earthquakes and volcanos have split and splintered the …
