Michael Abrams

Mike is a photographer in Kaiserslautern, Germany. He has covered stories for Stripes throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Afghanistan. Born in Peoria, Ill., he graduated from DODEA’s now-defunct Frankfurt American High School.

@stripes_photog

abrams.mike@stripes.com

Most of he beer served at the Biergarten in Darmstadt, Germany, is brewed by two local breweries. Only the wheat beer is from Bavaria. Apple wine is also a popular drink here, but also they offer a wide range of non-alcoholic beverages, too.

Shade, suds and scrumptious German dishes on offer at Darmstadt’s diverse beer garden

Tucked away under leafy chestnut trees is the Biergarten, an outdoor watering hole popular with residents and tourists alike.

The Hamburger am Turm restaurant in downtown Frankfurt, Germany, is open daily until 4 a.m. and depending on business until 6 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. It's a great place to grab a bite to eat before or after going out on the town.

The burgers are fine, but there’s something better at Frankfurt’s Hamburger am Turm

A stylized metal statue of a Roman soldier stands in front of the Roemermuseum in Osterburken, Germany. The museum features the remnants of a Roman bath and artifacts from the time when they had a fort guarding the border here.

Osterburken gives fragmentary glimpses of Roman life on the edge of the empire

The sun sets behind the Ratusz, or town hall, on Rzeszow, Polands Rynek, or market square. The town hall was built in the late 16th century.

Rzeszow, temporary home to US troops, is the cultural center of southeastern Poland

The traditional homemade cottage pie with ground Irish beef, onions, celery and carrots, in a gravy and red wine sauce, topped with mashed potatoes, served with toasted bread and butter and a traditional Irish breakfast in the background. Served at Waxy’s Irish Pub in Frankfurt, Germany.

The roast was late, but Waxy’s Irish pub in Frankfurt more than satisfies

Waxy’s is the place for a delectable Sunday brunch you won’t want to stop eating.

The Kunsthalle Mannheim’s new building, the Hector Bau, completed in 2017, is connected to the original art nouveau building built in 1907. The ensemble holds a remarkable collection of art, with space for temporary exhibitions.

Mannheim’s Kunsthalle is ‘open for art’ after $56 million donation

The original Kunsthalle has been joined by a new, modern building, adding more than 38,000 square feet of exhibition space.

One of the exhibits in the Jewish Museum in Frankfurt is the concentration camp jacket of Friedrich Schafranek, He later collected model trains that reminded him of his deportation train.

History of Jewish life in Frankfurt can be seen at two city museums

The history of the Frankfurt Jewish community, from the Middle Ages to the present, can be traced at two places: the Jewish Museum and the Museum Judengasse.

The fleischkaese served at the Wurst-Kuech in Kaiserslautern, Germany, is topped with a fried egg and served with spinach and boiled potatoes. The Pfaelzer Teller, upper right, is a plate of specialties from the Pfalz region.

Wurst-Kuech in Kaiserslautern brings back memories of pubs of bygone days

The Wurst-Kuech, or sausage kitchen in English, reminded me of the pubs of long ago. A lot of wood — tables, chairs, wall paneling — and the sound of something frying in a pan somewhere.

Col. Douglas LeVien, deputy commander of the 21st Theater Sustainment Command, left, and Command Sgt. Maj. Sean Howard salute after placing a wreath at the 21st TSC memorial, Nov. 10, 2021, during the unit’s Veterans Day observance at Panzer Kaserne in Kaiserslautern, Germany.

Army unit highlights work of veterans in response to Capitol riot, Afghan evacuees

The U.S. Army’s 21st Theater Sustainment Command observed Veterans Day in a ceremony Wednesday at its Panzer Kaserne headquarters, specifically recognizing veterans who rendered exemplary service in two major crises this year.

The Forsthaus chops as served at Forsthaus Rheinblick in Wiesbaden, Germany. A large bone-in pork chop, pan-fried and served with roasted potatoes. And it is large.

Good food, giant pork chops at popular Wiesbaden restaurant

Forsthaus Rheinblick in Wiesbaden serves a huge pork chop that would make Fred Flintstone happy.

Fulda is the burial place of St. Boniface, the eighth-century missionary and bishop credited with bringing Christianity to Germany.

Full of history and Baroque-era splendor, Fulda was also home to US military

Founded in the 8th century as a post for the spread of Christianity, Fulda is a captivating example of Baroque-style architecture and design

Burg Hayn in Dreieichenheim, Germany, was built in the late 13th century. In pre-coronavirus days, the castle and its grounds were used for medieval markets, concerts and theater, among other things.

Get medieval in Dreieichenhain, Germany

Step back to the middle ages with a visit to Dreieichenhain.

The schafskaesepfaennchen, or little sheeps cheese pan, at Piazza in Griesheim, Germany. It's a slab of feta cheese baked in a tomato sauce with peppers. At rear is the small piccola salad with lettuce, rocket, tomatoes and cucumber.

Big terrace, big food selection is the draw at Piazza in Griesheim

It was a taste of freedom. And it wasn’t the “American Style” burgers and wings on the menu.

Col. David Epperson, the 52nd Fighter Wing's outgoing commander, left, and Col. Leslie Hauck, the incoming commander, listened to opening remarks from Maj. Gen. Randall Reed, 3rd Air Force commander, during the wing's change of command ceremony July 15, 2021, on Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. The evening before the ceremony, the colonels were together in neighboring villages, filling sandbags to help stem flooding after days of heavy rainfall.

Spangdahlem fighter wing changes command as heavy flooding strikes surrounding area

Col. David Epperson spent the night before he relinquished command of the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem Air Base filling sandbags to help stem widespread flooding after days of heavy rainfall.

A Yellow Meilove rose was one of the early bloomers at Rosarium at Park Rosenhoehe in Darmstadt, Germany. When in bloom, the roses are the highlight of the park once founded by a grand duchess in the early 19th century.

Stories of roses and royals await at the Rosenhoehe

It’s a little early for the roses at Rosenhoehe in Darmstadt, but the park has more to see

Sgt. William Hamilton of the U.S. Army Europe Band plays a perfect rendition of taps at the conclusion of the Memorial Day Ceremony at Lorraine American Cemetery in St. Avold, France, Sunday, May 26, 2019.

France: Lorraine cemetery largest WWII American gravesite in Europe

In the rolling hills of eastern France lie the remains of 10,489 Americans who gave their lives for their country.

V Corps uncases colors for perhaps last time

The colors of V Corps were unfurled for probably the last time in Germany Thursday evening after corps commander Lt. Gen. James Terry and his staff returned to Wiesbaden from Afghanistan aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft.

As Col. Jeffrey Clark, right, commander of the Europe Regional Medical Command watches, Col. Telita Crosland, commander of Heidelberg Medical Department Activity, and Sgt. Maj. Michael Mullen roll up the HMEDDAC colors at a deactivation command ceremony in Heidelberg Friday. After nearly 70 years as a unit and 67 years at Nachrichten Kaserne, HMEDDAC history came to an end as U.S. Army Europe continues its transformation. On a hot, sunny morning, Clark and Crosland gave speeches, the USAREUR Brass Quintet provided the music and historian Christian Fhrer traced the linage of the unit and its history in Heidelberg.

Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes

Heidelberg Medical Department Activity cases colors

The Heidelberg Medical Department Activity cased its colors at a deactivation ceremony Friday.

Attorneys on both sides discount reporter’s testimony in airport shooting trial

Both prosecutors and defense attorneys discounted testimony Thursday by a journalist who said he had gathered evidence showing that the man charged with killing two U.S. airmen at Frankfurt Airport last March had been in Bosnia-Herzegovina the previous summer and was likely associated with radical Islamists.

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