Author Barbara Barrett is my guest today. I’m living vicariously through her and her recent trip to Germany!
By Barbara Barrett
I’ve always thought of Berlin as a very serious place, probably because of the Wall.
However, their stoplight system displays a sense of humor other cities lack; 
instead of the round green or red light, Berlin uses the Ampelmann, a walking green man for Go and a red man with his hands out for Stop.
It is one of the features of East Germany that has survived the reunification. In fact, it has become so popular, especially with tourists, that there are stores throughout the city that sell everything from tee shirts to pendants and coffee mugs featuring the little guys. I bought a green pendant and my husband got a tee.
I’ve always pictured Germany as a land of mountains, particularly the Alps. Although this mountain range can be found there along with the hills that overlook the Rhine River, most of the area through which we traveled was rolling prairie, very similar to my home state of Iowa. And like Iowa, Germany was experiencing fall. All the color I’d left behind in Iowa to return to my winter home in Florida was there for me to enjoy in Germany.
What would a trip to Germany be without sampling the chocolate? I have been on a diet the past year, so chocolate, real chocolate, that is, and I haven’t been in close touch. But when I heard there was a chocolate shop just down the street from our hotel in Berlin, I made the trek there in the midst of pouring rain just so I could purchase the typical tourist memento.
I came home with three different kinds: a chocolate brittle, very thin milk chocolate wafers and truffles. We finished the brittle in a day, so I hid the rest, hoping to draw out the pleasure of these delicious concoctions as long as possible. Just so I don’t forget the location of my remaining stash! German chocolate isn’t like the American candy bars I’m used to. There’s less sugar and it’s much smoother. The meals where chocolate was served were incredible, especially the chocolate-dipped croissants at breakfast. And Black Forest cake was phenomenal.
What did I learn from this experience? Be more open to new experiences. And chocolate can make anything better.
About Barbara Barrett:
Barbara Barrett started reading mysteries when she was pregnant with her first child to keep her mind off things like her changing body and food cravings. When she’d devoured as many Agatha Christies as she could find, she branched out to English village cozies and Ellery Queen.
Later, to avoid a midlife crisis, she began writing fiction at night when she wasn’t at her day job in human resources for Iowa State Government. After releasing eleven full-length romance novels and one novella, she returned to the cozy mystery genre, using one of her retirement pastimes, the game of mah jongg, as her inspiration. Not only has it been a great social outlet, it has also helped keep her mind active when not writing.
Beware the East Wind, the fourth book in her “Mah Jongg Mystery” series, features four friends who play mah jongg together and share otherwise in each other’s lives. None of the four is based on an actual person. Each is an amalgamation of several mah jongg friends with a lot of Barbara’s imagination thrown in for good measure. The four will continue to appear in future books in the series.
Anticipating the day when she would write her first mystery, she has been a member of the Mystery/Romantic Suspense chapter of Romance Writers of America (Kiss of Death) for over a decade. She credits them with helping her hone her craft. She is also a member of Sisters in Crime and Sinc-Iowa.
Barbara is married to the man she met her senior year of college. They have two grown children and eight grandchildren.
Now retired, she is a resident of Florida, although she spends her summers in Iowa, her home state. She earned her B.A. degree in History from the University of Iowa and her Master’s Degree in History from Drake University.
When not in front of her laptop creating her next story, she plays mah jongg , knits and enjoys lunches with friends. www.barbarabarrettbooks.com
Donnell,
Thanks so much for allowing me to rave on about my recent trip to Germany. My husband and I have been fortunate enough in our retirement to be able to visit other parts of the world as well as the United States. I love sharing the experience and my pictures with your readers.
My pleasure, Barbara. I love looking at these pictures while I’m working on deadline. It’s an escape for a little while 🙂 I’ve never played Mah jongg and I thought I’d played every game known to man. BTW, I see it spelled several different ways. Are there different versions?
LOL! I read CRAKS IN A MARRIAGE (and thoroughly enjoyed it) because I play mahj! Now I’m encouraged to get the next three into my hands.
Hey, Donnell. Smart idea to have guests stop by. I used to do that, but haven’t in years.
Barbara, love your pictures and your descriptions of the chocolate made my mouth water.
Thanks, Marsha! Let me know when you have a release or a topic you feel readers will love. I know, Barbara’s description of chocolate is too tempting!