Although not one of the best-known tourist destinations in Germany, Passau attracts throngs of international visitors each year, many of them on cruise ships making their way down the Danube River, but also many stopping off on their way to Austria, Hungary or Croatia.

Beer and bratwurst — they’re something the Germans are known for the world over.

Visiting Slovenia had been a dream of ours for some time. So after the worst of the coronavirus in Italy had passed and Slovenia reopened its border to visitors from its neighbor, we made the trip.

Lying on a wooden bench in a park with a panoramic view of the Rhine valley, I closed my eyes and dozed off.

The Black Forest town of Bad Wildbad is well known as a wellness getaway, and it’s where I experienced firsthand the German tradition of getting naked with strangers.

The Eberbach Monastery gives visitors a glimpse at nine centuries of winemaking and the life of the monks that made it.

Sometimes, the best-laid plans go pear-shaped.

There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned “rug flop,” where carpet vendors literally roll out the red carpet for service members stationed in Bahrain.

Like a scene from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” gems line the cave walls in Steinkaulenberg mine in Idar-Oberstein, where visitors can get an up-close look at the only open gem mine in Europe.

San Marino is full of superlatives.

The myth of a siren, the creature who lures sailors with her song to crash their ships upon rocky shores, is at least as old as Homer’s Odyssey.

The last significant trip my family and I took before the coronavirus was a Christmastime weekend jaunt to Bristol, England, with five of our closest friends

Playtime for the average middle-class kid once meant preparation for work as an adult.

Where do you go when there’s nowhere to go? People living in northern Italy, normally spoiled for great destinations, have been dealing with that question for two months.

In the absence of many other leisure activities, one reliable pastime in this period of quarantine is to look wistfully at old photos of when you actually left your home and did stuff.

While many of the attractions near Wiesbaden remain closed due to the coronavirus, it remains a great jumping-off point for spring hiking.

With movie theaters, outdoor cafes, parks, shops and swimming pools closed in Germany during the coronavirus pandemic, the great outdoors beckons.

europe quick trips

Cheese markets, fields of tulips, windmills and wooden shoes are what the Netherlands is known for, but right now, you probably can’t go there to enjoy them in person.

Europe Quick Trips

The medieval city walls couldn’t keep the Black Death out of Frankfurt in the 14th century, nor could they stop the next plague about 250 years later. If they still stood, they wouldn’t protect the city’s inhabitants from today’s coronavirus, either.

europe quick trips

If you’re looking to get out of the house and into nature, and if that hasn’t been forbidden by the authorities where you live as part of the fight against the coronavirus, the Robert Weil Winery near Wiesbaden could be the place for you.

In times of coronavirus self-isolation when government officials are advising against nonessential travel and military leaders have restricted what service members can do off-base, a trip to London may seem out of the question.

The title of the latest exhibition emblazoned across the glass cube art museum building caught my eye: “Vertigo.” It must be about Hitchcock, I figured.

europe quick trips

The house hosts events and exhibitions throughout the year to highlight a sustainable lifestyle and the work of local artisans and vintners.

With Venice, the Alps and a multitude of beach towns all roughly the same distance from Aviano, the most challenging thing about living in northern Italy is sometimes picking where to go when you have some spare time.

europe quick trips

The town of Bitche’s main claim to fame is its 800-year-old Citadel, a massive hilltop fortress that dominates the town once regarded as one of Europe’s most powerful military strongholds.

You may know Pilsen in the Czech Republic as the birthplace of light, golden pils beer and the home of the Pilsner Urquell brewery, but there are other things to do in this town than just drink a good brew.

The next time you’re in Kaiserslautern, look down at the sidewalks. Embedded in them are scores of small brass plaques that memorialize the millions of victims of the Nazi regime.

What’s the difference between a zoo and a wildpark?

europe quick trips

Just a 20-minute drive from Clay Kaserne in Germany, in the heart of Mainz’s old town sits the Gutenberg Museum, dedicated to Johannes Gutenberg and the movable type printing press that he invented around 1440.

EUROPE qUICK TRIPS

Like something out of “Game of Thrones,” the faces carved in the trees at Steckeschlaafer gorge bring the forest to life — although I didn’t see any of them crying blood.