Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for germany
Roll Out the Barrels
By Linda Tancs
You needn’t wait for Oktoberfest to enjoy your favorite brew. Kicking off tomorrow through 3 August is the Berlin International Beer Festival along the city’s Karl-Marx-Allee. Showcasing over 200 breweries from more than 80 countries, the event includes traditional culinary fare, musical entertainment, and the newest brands to tickle your taste buds. Admission is free. The festivities this year will highlight 1000 years of Czech beer making, which brings to mind the Czech proverb, “A fine beer may be judged with only one sip, but it’s best to be thoroughly sure.”
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A Renaissance Wedding Awaits You in German Castle
By Linda Tancs
Summer is high season for the wedding industry. And for those seeking a fairy tale experience, nothing beats a castle. So which one will it be? If Skibo (think: Madonna) or Odescalchi (think: Tom Cruise) leaves you with that “been there/done that” feeling, then consider a German castle nestled in the Weserbergland hills of northern Germany. Castle Haemelschenburg is one of the most culturally signficant monuments in the area, a richly preserved Renaissance masterpiece situated between Hameln and Bad Pyrmont. The area has inspired many a lore, including the Pied Piper of Hamlyn and Sleeping Beauty. Are you ready to create your own legend? Maybe the medicinal springs and spas of Bad Pyrmont will inspire you.
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Ludwigsburg Festival in Full Swing
By Linda Tancs
North of Stuttgart lies the former dukedom of Ludwigsburg, Germany. Noted for its 452-roomed palace and heirloom gardens, this Baroque-inspired town plays host to a summer music festival, aptly known as the Ludwigsburg Palace Festival. Open through 27 July, events include an opera gala celebrating the festival’s 250th year, string quartets, musical interpretation of the spoken word and a classical concert with fireworks. With some ticket prices as low at 11 euros (and even lower for children), it won’t even burn a hole in your pocket. The hills are indeed alive with the sound of music.
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The Eagle Flies Again
By Linda Tancs
After two and half years of reconstruction amounting to nearly a million euros, Germany’s repro of its first steam train, Der Adler (the eagle), trod its original route between Nürnberg and Fürth recently. The original Eagle, built in 1835, was Germany’s first locomotive. The run last month of the toy-like green and yellow Choo Choo attracted a wide range of Germany’s elite, including Bavaria’s prime minister and titans of industry. This trip down memory lane was likely a welcome respite from today’s very unromantic U-Bahn.
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Cleanse Your Palate
By Linda Tancs
They say good artists suffer for their art. And if the exhibition taking place at the Whitney biennial art celebration this year is any indication, they suffer for their ecosystem, too. At New York City’s Whitney Museum of American Art now through June 1, there’s an interesting fusion of environmental issues and contemporary art among the 80 or so exhibitors. You’ll find such eco-inspired displays as resin-encased compost droppings, a floral-infused recycled industrial trash heap, and sculptures modeled on bird droppings. Not to be outdone, Germany’s Biennial for Contemporary Art in Berlin offers the work of over 110 international artists until June 15. However, the difference between these biennials is like night and day. Literally. Berlin’s event is divided into two parts–Night and Day. At night, patrons can sample a mix of lectures, concerts, and even an out-of-body experimentation. During the day, the exhibition will have you walking the city at four distinct locations to take in sculpture, artwork and movable objects, some designed to evoke images of Berlin’s tortured past, like the Berlin Wall death strip.
Art with a conscience. That appears to be the promise of these events. Will you promise to go?
Whitney Museum of American Art
945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street
New York City
http://www.whitney.org
phone: 1-800-WHITNEY
Berlin Biennial for Contemporary Art
Multiple locations
http://www.berlinbiennale.de
phone: +004903024345910
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Exploring Climate Change
By Linda Tancs
All this chat about climate change in recent years no doubt got the city elders of Bremerhaven, Germany thinking. Why not create a place for individuals to experience climate change for themselves–to learn about the complex interaction between man and climate in an entertaining way. And so, beginning in March 2009, Bremerhaven will host Climate House, a science-based theme park in the shape of a giant dill pickle. The attraction promises to educate and entertain on the subject of world climate, even offering visitors the opportunity to create their own weather forecasts in addition to “visiting” world climates along the eighth degree line of longitude. This building is but one of many changes coming to the inner city, among them a hotel whose exterior is reminiscent of Dubai’s Hotel Burj al-Arab and a shopping complex dubbed Mediterraneo. As they say in Bremerhaven, “future ahoy!”
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Cheap Flights to Germany
By Linda Tancs
Hamburg, anyone? Air Berlin offers a one-way ticket to Hamburg (via Dusseldorf) from JFK for $338, including all taxes and fees–a rare find these days. Flights within Germany start at 29 euros. Find out more at www.airberlin.com.
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Germany’s Natural Wonder Endangered in the North Sea
By Linda Tancs
In the middle of the North Sea, about 70 km from the mouth of Germany’s Elbe River, lies the tiny municipality of Helgoland. The smallness of the island is dramatized by the largeness of its landmark, a 47-meter high, red sedimentary rock birthed by Mother Nature affectionately called Lange Anna (Tall Anna). If the experts are right, Tall Anna will be getting a lot shorter. Claiming ongoing erosion of the 25,000 ton monolith by storm waters, experts fear that without the undertaking of protective measures likely to cost millions of euros, Nature will reclaim what it once built. And that won’t be good for tourism, considering that only about 400,000 tourists visited this destination last year. Without such a photogenic landmark to draw visitors, that number is likely to plummet further. So Nature, heal thyself.
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A Million Gallons of Beer Await You in Munich
By Linda Tancs
For those who don’t mind a little invasion of their personal space, now’s the time to head to Munich for Oktoberfest, which kicked off on September 22nd and runs through October 7. Just be prepared to sing and sway shoulder to shoulder with your comrades. Prosit!
Check out Germany shirts here: http://www.cafepress.com/wanderfulplaces/2318832
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The Passion Play Returns
By Linda Tancs
It’s (almost) that time again. Reservations will begin in 2008 for the 2010 production of The Passion Play in the Bavarian village of Oberammergau, Germany. The play, depicting the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, was first mentioned in a text from the 1600s citing the villagers’ promise to God to produce the play every 10 years in exchange for being spared from the Black Death. The 2010 performances, from May to October, will mark the 41st production in modern times. If you snooze you’ll lose out until 2020.
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