TRAVEL WRITERS SPREAD ACROSS GERMANY

Travel writers are a curious breed ….. independent adventurers each trying to up the other for the obscure story hook and eye-catching photo angle. When they converge on a destination, as we did for the recent international gathering of Society of American Travel Writers, organizers of the event must have felt like they were herding cats!

But the generous hospitality of Lufthansa, which enabled flexible travel schedules, German Tourism, which extended programs throughout the country, and our hosts in the Saxony region, a good time was pursued by all. I’ve never seen so many clicking cameras, bloggers, tweeters, scribblers, and Dictaphones running amok under one roof – metaphorically speaking.

Dresden and Leipzig were the primary destinations and really strutted the best of their stuff. Although virtually decimated after the Second World War, both cities have risen from the ashes to remember their glorious heydays. Dresden in particular is filled with architectural splendor and has a fabulous countryside to explore. Leipzig is music central as in the footsteps of Johann Sebastian Bach, Mendelssohn, Schumann and Richard Wagner. Add Mozart into the mix and Saxony becomes an unrivalled destination for its historical and cultural landscape.

And the hospitality of the German people is undisputed.

Since many of us spread our wings to other parts of Germany and Europe, you can expect a slew of stories to hit the media waves. Until then, read my tweets for travels beyond, to Prague, Budapest and Garmisch-Partenkirchen.