I’m the first to admit it: I’m a wimp about winter driving. I don’t have an SUV, I’ve never put on chains, and I get nervous on ice. But I do love train journeys — the relaxation, the scenery. The solution to visiting Leavenworth in winter is easy: Take the train.Sure, you have to plan. You have fewer options about winter sports. And you might face Amtrak’s legendary delays at some point. But the bonuses are a carefree trip through the pass, staying in the cute German-style downtown Read more [...]

I wonder if the young Joseph Ratzinger, during the testing years of his teenage education in Bavaria, ever had the chance to read any Shakespeare. The Nazis used to go big on Shakespeare, although a certain amount of rewriting went on to reinforce the Bard’s commitment to Hitler’s way of thinking. King Lear seems to have been popular. One count has suggested there were four productions in Germany in the year before Hitler became Chancellor, but more than 130 in the two years afterwards. The Read more [...]