Europe September 2025

We were going to an audio conference in Germany in the beginning of September and John was speaking in Frankfurt at the end of the month, so we spent the weeks in between in Europe, largely catching up with friends. It was a long trip, so I apologize in advance for the long blog post.

Pre conference we stopped in Würzburg, a charming, historic town in a wine-growing region. The wine cafes on the bridge were a lovely welcome and start to the trip.

Four years ago we went to BAM!, an audio conference in Berlin and had a great time. This time they were meeting in a castle in eastern Germany and we were eager to catch up with the people and hear their various sound systems. (I had shot portraits of most of the people in Berlin, so didn't do that again)

The meeting was in Neukirchen, a small, rural town that I found picturesque.

In the nearby town of Zwickau we visited the August Horch Museum which was phenomenal. He was the founder of Audi, and the cars were beautiful. Better still, the displays encapsulated the eras of the cars and what was going on historically. It was an unexpected gem.

Rather than staying in Germany we drove south, stopping in Regensburg and driving over the Italian Alps.

When we arrived in Trento, it felt great to be back in Italy!

For seven years in the early 2000s we went to Rimini every May. John would speak at the Italian Trading Forum, a conference run by our friends Mauro and Paola, and afterwards we would take a vacation in Italy, selecting s different region each time. I joked that we were the only family without Italian roots to visit every spring, but I fell in love with Italy and would still be happy to return annually. Paola had built a new home in Rimini and we were excited to see them, and to cook together.

It was fun to walk on the Rimini beach again.

And the historical section of town and the Grand Hotel were always favorites of mine.

Our next stop was to visit Per in Saint Cyprian. It had been years since we had been there and who doesn't love beaches in the south of France!

It was lovely to spend time with Per and Francois.

We took an outing to Salvador Dali's House Museum, which as expected, was surreal and a lot of fun.

It was a beautiful seaside setting.

Per was also going to the IFTA conference in Frankfurt, so the three of us drove north, stopping in Dijon. We had a fabulous dinner at Un des Sens, we bought an assortment of mustards, and I tried to get take some photographs of the beautiful architecture.

Our final stop was Frankfurt Germany. Zoë met us for the conference and while she and John were immersed in technical analysis I explored the city.

I took a couple of walking tours and learned a lot about the city, and how Germans are viewing their history today. It was fun to practice my German and an amazing trip.