By Elyse Glickman

Once upon a time there were two mutually exclusive groups of savvy Europe-bound travelers. One preferred metropolitan destinations such as Munich, Zurich and Vienna for their culture, cuisine and shopping. The other, more athletically inclined group headed for the hills–those really BIG hills that make up the multi-country swath known as the Alps.

Sammy Salm, managing director of Best of The Alps, is leading an effort to unify these seemingly disparate group of travelers by making them realize each unique community is a perfectly balanced center of sport, history, culture and luxury. He also has the enthusiastic support of representatives from the dozen historic communities covering Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. They have been getting word out, and their first line of conquest is via travel writers with diverse interests.

“We are here to show you that these Alpine resorts and cities are world class,” Salm announced at a luncheon staged at the SLS hotel in Beverly Hills. “Though all the regions are picturesque and have some of the best alpine skiing on Earth, they are destinations all year around, with everything ranging from adventure tourism for people at varying fitness levels, to cultural festivals, biking, hiking, golf, spas and wellness, and culinary trails that incorporate artisanal producers of cheese, produce and other excellent products.”

While Best of the Alps came together 22 years ago as a response to an aggressive campaign staged by the Rocky Mountains’ tourism board, they understood that with the right approach, the twelve individual regions could sell themselves separately and collectively to a variety of people beyond the ski set in a manner that was organic and free of artificial hype.

One clear advantage is that each area is anchored with villages boasting histories that date back hundreds or thousands of years, as opposed to destinations built from a marketing plan. Alpine village cultural festivals also have an appealing authenticity, given they were originally planned for locals to enable them to maintain generations of cultural traditions. Although eco-tourism is a new trend throughout the world, the regions have maintained a respect for their natural settings for as long as people have been coming to visit.

A skier could travel through each resort area and have a very different experience on each of the slopes.  The same is true for non-skiers, those traveling with children, foodies and culture seekers. Here are examples of what they can look out for when planning their own perfect Alpine vacation:

• Zermatt, the southernmost destination in Switzerland associated with the Matterhorn, has been free of cars since anyone can remember.  It is also regarded as a mecca for mountain climbers, and more recently, bikers, hikers and all kinds of nature lovers.

• Kitzbühel, Austria, has gained recognition as a foodie destination and gathering place for some of Europe’s top young chefs. The region’s villages Aurach, Jochberg and Reith are proximate to farms where top-quality bacon, lamb, beef, milk products, bread and schnapps are sourced.

• St. Anton am Arlberg, Austria, not only boasts superlative winter sports activities, but also standard-bearing luxury hotels, a Ferris wheel, cable car, spa and wellness facilities.

• After 120 years as a leading international destination, Engadin-St. Moritz continues to surprise visitors. This winter marks the opening of the Giardino Mountain resort, already generating a buzz for its spa and cuisine. In November 2011, Martin Dalsass and his wife Lorena took over and revived Restaurant Talvò by Dalsass (formerly Jöhri’s Talvò) in Champfèr. Dalsass is known for his innovative olive oil based recipes.

• Grindelwald and Jungfraujoch are known for their cultural festivals throughout the year as well as their artisanal craft shops and artists.

• The Kirchner Museum in Davos enhances encounters between people, art and landscape. Architecture combines functionality and aesthetic in showcasing the work of renowned artists.

One advantage everybody can agree on is accessibility, and all destinations can be accessed via auto or train from major airports.  SWISS, Austrian, Lufthansa, Air France, Delta and United are among the carriers that can connect North American visitors to the perfect escape.

For more information on all 12 communities, visit www.bestofthealps.com.

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By Petra Schuermann

Practical thinking, regional cooperation, and targeted advertising: These were the goals agreed upon by the participants invited to the New York language conference hosted by the Goethe-Institut on September 17 with thirty-five top representatives from American education agencies, universities, professional associations and media in attendance to discuss “strategies for a sustainable promotion of German in the USA.”

Although German is still number three behind Spanish and French, and the number of enrollments for German at schools and universities is at six percent, with the trend even slightly on the rise, reported Helene Zimmer-Loew, executive director of the AATG, but a non-existing, no coherent foreign language policy in the US, the aggressive subsidizing of Chinese language teachers in the US by the Chinese Government, and the recent budget cuts that the largest federal foreign language program had to undergo since April, have not created an ideal situation for hoping to grow the number and size of German language programs in the US.
Finally, globalization has create a certain self-complacent pragmatism among Americans: If English is the world language, then why waste time learning other languages?

The participants at the New York workshop all agreed: The practical added value of German in education and in careers, especially in scientific, technical and industrial fields must be conveyed more clearly and loudly. A coordinated promotional campaign for German would ideally bring together German-language promoters and German-language mediators, German diplomatic representatives, German-American chambers of commerce as well as German companies in the US. The working title for the new slogan: “Just Add German.”

Existing PR measures like the ˝Spot the bus“ campaign in Washington DC and the subway advertising that has been tried successfully in Chicago, would certainly also make sense for other bigger cities.

The conference participants also saw a possibility to seek more solidarity at schools and universities with collaborative partners from the areas of science, and engineering to promote  German as  “Your best Second Major”. Representatives from various German programs in the US stressed the need to expand cooperation between universities, colleges and high schools, particularly at the regional level.

Dr. Eva Marquardt, director of Language Programs North America at Goethe-Institut New York also mentioned that it is no longer enough to market German as just “cool” or “super cool.” “We must promote the practical benefits and added value of German on the job market.

The timing to launch comprehensive PR-campaigns seem to be right since the German Foreign Office in Berlin is currently considering whether in the future to shift its focus back to promoting the German language in the US.

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Sandra Bullock who was born to a German mother and grew up in Germany until she was 13, apparently still cherishes some traditions that her late mother introduced to the family. Christmas Eve dinner without sauerkraut, German potato salad, and German sausages would just not be the same, Bullock explained recently during her appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The only problem is, it’s illegal to smuggle them into the country.

“Since my mother passed away, we break the law, because we have to manage to smuggle German sausages into the country, and apparently bringing meats across the waters is against the law,” she explained.

The actress, promoting her newest film Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close on The Tonight Show, said she asked family members in Germany to send her her favorite sausages. “We just have to break the law a little bit, but eventually someone’s package gets through,” she said.

Well, here’s our tip for Sandy so that she does not have to break the law anymore:

While in California, she should try the sausages available at TipTopMeats in Carlsbad or Continental Gourmet Sausage in Glendale, or when spending time in New York, Schaller & Weber in Manhattan will certainly have the sausages she likes best. And whenever traveling anywhere else in the US, she might want to order some of the sausages available at www.germandeli.com

All sausages are produced according to authentic German recipes and certainly absolutely legal to buy!  

Care to share any of your family holiday traditions with us? SANDRA BULLOCK, currently appearing in the family drama “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”, grew up with German Christmas traditions because of her German mother: “In the school where I went to in Germany you learn how to make candles and then we ended up hanging them on the tree. The whole tree was lit by candles”, she told the HFPA. “There’s more than just the Nürnberger Christkindlmarkt – it’s like you are in Victorian times. It’s angelic… The smells at night – pine and beeswax… and Glühwein! It’s hard not being around that atmosphere because it’s so ingrained in this Holiday Season for me. I bought all my wooden ornaments there. And I’ve ordered Lebkuchen!” – We wish everybody a Happy Holiday Season and, as Sandra Bullock would say: Frohe Weihnachten!

from The Hollywood Foreign Press

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By Katja Lau

The past few years have not been easy for Hollywood star Kirsten Dunst. Private problems, the commotion after the Spiderman movies, and bad reviews sent the now 29-year-old actress into a deep depression. But instead of sinking into it, Kirsten Dunst sought help. She spent five weeks in a special clinic in Utah and then took a long break from Hollywood. Now Kirsten is back: With a successful movie and a brand-new German passport!   …

Read full story in German World Magazine (Issue Winter 2011/2012).
German World Magazine is available by subscription only. In order to subscribe, click here: http://www.germanworldonline.com/index.php/subscribe/

To order a single copy for $ 4.95 incl. shipping, please contact us at office@german-world.com

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By Ingo Ackerschott

When the automobile industry celebrates itself one can hope for presentations of new models and innovations in the areas of technology and fuel consumption. And so visitors to the Los Angeles Auto Show 2011 were not disappointed, for the show set a trailblazing course as the first big North American auto show in this year’s exhibition season with over 50 car debuts and approximately 1000 models. Of course, German car makers Volkwagen, Audi, Porsche, BMW and Mercedes were all present. Volkswagen’s Passat TDI was even among the five finalists nominated for the award traditionally given at the LA Auto Show for the most environmentally friendly car of the year (Green Car of the Year). Honda, however, took the award home, the Japanese winning the race with the “Civic Natural Gas.” Nevertheless it was a success for VW – and auto show visitors were allowed to take the Passat TDI out for a test drive.

Environmental friendliness in all car categories was a central theme. “Visitors to the LA Auto Show have become increasingly interested in the next generation of consumption-efficient cars,” remarked Andy Fuzesi, General Manager of the Los Angeles Auto Show. “This year reveals that different car technologies can fulfill these demands.” On display were around 20 cars with fuel consumption under 1.5 gallons, including the new Chevrolet Spark with its world premiere. In this category Volkwagen presented four cars: With the Jetta TDI, the Jetta SportWagen TDI, the Passat TDI and the Golf TDI the Wolfsburg car makers consistently ran with “Clean Diesel.” Audi, BMW and Mercedes displayed cars with the low-emission diesel technology that has made good headway in the US market. The sales volume of several of these models has been on the rise.

Hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars as well as electric cars also belong to a growth sector. The LA Auto Show presented the internationally most successful hybrid car, the Toyota Prius, in a plug-in hybrid version. In the electric driving mode the Prius has a cruising range of 15 miles with a targeted mileage of 475 miles. According to Toyota, its fuel consumption is 125 mpg. BMW presented two new concepts. The fully electric i3 concept is scheduled for production in 2013, and the realization of the i8 study is planned for 2014. The i8 involves a sports car with a plug-in hybrid drive that draws its energy from the electric i3-engine over the front axis in combination with a three-cylinder internal combustion engine with 164 kW (220 PS) on the rear axle. In tandem this combination achieves the performance of a real sports car with a fuel consumption of around 62 mpg.

Apropos sports cars: Porsche is also pushing forward with alternative drives. The Stuttgart car maker presented two hybrid cars, the Cayenne S and the Panamera S. In a typical Porsche design, the Panamera S, for instance, can attain a maximum speed of 170 mph. Sport car driving and alternative engines are not mutually exclusive.

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A photo exhibition chronicling the brief yet intense bloom of the Weisse Rose (White Rose) resistance movement against the Nazi regime is currently on tour across the US – courtesy of the Weisse-Rose-Stiftung in  Munich.

The Weisse Rose (White Rose) was formed in 1942 by a group of students and supported by philosophy professor Kurt Huber at the University of Munich in a bold bid to stand up to Germany’s brutal Nazi regime. The siblings Sophie and Hans Scholl, Alex Schmorell, Willi Graf, Christoph Probst, Traute Lafrenz, Katharina Schueddekopf, and George Juergen Wittenstein were among the core members of the group. By distributing flyers that denounced the crimes against humanity being committed by the Nazi dictatorship they were putting their lives on the line. They were eventually apprehended, tried for treason by the so-called Volksgerichtshof, or People’s Court, resulting in the execution of seven members in 1943. Many other members received severe punishments, including imprisonment. Only one member of this courageous group is still alive today: Professor George Juergen Wittenstein, who resides in Santa Barbara, California.

In the US, the traveling exhibition has already been a huge success.  More than 6,000 visitors viewed the exhibit, for example, at the University Library of Columbus, Indiana, and in Ohio, Mayor Mark Mallory declared September 6, the day of the official opening of the exhibit in Cincinnati, “White Rose Day.” The exhibit will tour the US in from 2011 to 2013.

Exhibition Dates in 2012:

January 2 – February 24:
Iowa: German American Heritage Center in Davenport  gahc.org

March 19 to 3:
Pennsylvania: Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, Bloomsburg www.bloomu.edu

April 16 bis 27:
Pennsylvania:  Downington High School West Campus

September 17 to October  5:
Massachusetts: Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley  www.mtholyoke.edu

October 29 to November 23:
California: California State University Long Beach  www.csulb.edu

More information at:
www.weisse-rose-stiftung.de

More background information by Weisse Rose member Professor Juergen (George) Wittenstein:
http://www.historyplace.com/pointsofview/white-rose1.htm

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The series combines the brilliant talents of The Strauss Symphonies of Canada and America with stellar European maestros, tenors, sopranos and dancers to perform and celebrate the glorious, uplifting music of Vienna’s “Waltz King”, Johann Strauss Jr., and his contemporaries. Salute to Vienna  is delightfully reminiscent of Vienna’s famous and beloved NEUJAHRSKONZERT, performed by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra for over 70 years and televised annually to 1.3 billion people around the globe.
SALUTE TO VIENNA is the only genuine re-creation of the original Viennese production and is officially recognized by the Mayor of Vienna as an authentic Viennese New Year’s celebration. What Nutcracker means to Christmas, Salute to Vienna means to the New Year!

Salute to Vienna can be enjoyed at the following US venues:

Chicago, Illinois

Orchestra Hall, Symphony Center
Monday, Jan 2, 2012 – 02:30PM

Clearwater, Florida

Ruth Eckerd Hall
Saturday, Dec 31, 2011 = 08:00PM

Coral Springs, Florida

Coral Springs Center for the Arts
Saturday, Dec 31, 2011 – 08:00PM

Ft. Myers, Florida

Barbara B Mann Performing Arts Hall
Monday, Jan 2, 2012 – 08:00PM

Miami, Florida

Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami Dade County, Knight Concert Hall
Friday, Dec 30, 2011 = 08:00PM

New Brunswick, New Jersey

State Theatre
Saturday, Dec 31, 2011 – 06:00PM

New York City, New York

Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center
Sunday, Jan 1, 2012 – 02:30PM

Sarasota, Florida

Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
Sunday, Jan 1, 2012 – 08:00PM

Washington, D.C. (Strathmore)

The Music Center at Strathmore
Monday, Jan 2, 2012 – 03:00PM

West Palm Beach, Florida

Kravis Center for the Performing Arts
Sunday, Jan 1, 2012 – 08:00PM

Visit www.salutetovienna.com or call 1-800-545-7807 to order your tickets now. Group rates available.

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 Grand Marshals Samantha Brown, Travel Channel,  Deutsche Welle’s Erik Bettermann, and a large delegation of the “Technisches Hilfswerk” (THW) joined the largest German-American parade in the US on September 17 . More than 25 groups from Germany, hundreds of US groups, and with 25 floats, this year’s Steuben Parade was one of the best parades ever. Thanks to the tireless efforts of its dynamic chairman Lars Halter and his  team, the parade was even broadcast live on PBS for the first time in its history, thus reaching the largest audience ever to show the colorful celebration of German-American heritage for which the Steuben Parade in New York is known.

This year’s  parade was lead by four Grand Marshals including Samantha Brown, the popular host of Travel Channel´s “Passport to Europe,” as well as Ilse Aigner, German Secretary of Food, Agriculture, and Consumer Protection, Erik Bettermann, Director of Deutsche Welle, and the newly appointed German Ambassador to the United States, Dr. Peter Ammon.

For many years, the Parade Committee has given the honorary title to German Americans from all walks of life to honor their achievements or contributions to German-American friendship. In recent years, Grand Marshals of the Steuben Parade have included former US Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, the legendary Dr. Ruth Westheimer, actor Eric Braeden, entertainers Siegfried & Roy, and many others.

Parade Chairman Halter appreciated the various backgrounds of this year´s Grand Marshals. “Samantha Brown is not only of German ancestry,” he said, “but she is building bridges between the US and Germany in her travel programs that have inspired numerous Americans to travel to Germany, Austria and Switzerland.”

Among the many groups marching in this year´s parade is a large delegation from the “Technisches Hilfswerk” (THW), the all-volunteer disaster relief organization under auspices of the Department of the Interior. It commemorates two recent events that brought the German organization to the US to help with the clean-up: the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina.

Enjoy the picture gallery  below of the Steuben Gala Ball on September 16 (pictures by Petra Schuermann) and the 54th Annual German-American Steuben Parade on September 17 on New York’s Fifth Avenue. (All pictures by Robert Radske, courtesy Steuben Parade Committee).

—————————————————————————————

The Steuben Parade is named after General Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, a Prussian officer who joined General George Washington´s troops in Valley Forge in the winter of 1777. It was his training of the troops that enabled the young American forces to beat the British in the Revolutionary War.  www.GermanParadeNYC.org

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On the occasion of the 125^th anniversary of the invention of the first motorcar by Carl Benz, the German American Heritage Museum (GAHM) in Washington D.C. organized the exhibit “The Star and the Laurel “The Birth of the Automobile” which was opened on April 8, 2011 with a festive reception.

The multimedia exhibition that also honors the other pioneers of the early beginnings of the automotive industry, from Gottlieb Daimler to Wilhelm Maybach and Henry Ford, was made possible by the Daimler Benz AG , Stuttgart.

Executive director of the GAHM and curator of the exhibit Ruediger Lentz (photo above, l.) and executive director Jake Jones, “External Affairs – Americas” at Daimler were happy to welcome more than 200 guests at the opening reception on April 8, 2011. (See photos below) 

The exhibition will be opened until May 29, 2011.  Please visit www.ugac.org for opening hours and more information. 

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Air Berlin’s hub is Duesseldorf, located in Germany’s Western part of the country, with excellent connections to Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart and many European destinations.

Joachim Hunold, CEO Air Berlin, commented on the agreement that is linked to Air Berlin’s plans to join oneworld, the global airline alliance: “We are very pleased that the bilateral agreement will be in place for the start of the winter schedule 2010/11. With our friends at American Airlines we will link our hubs on both sides of the Atlantic to achieve a major increase in our services by operating codeshare flights. Initially we will offer 38 routes, including nine transatlantic routes, as part of this codeshare.”

Tom Horton, President of American Airlines, added: “We are pleased to announce our partnership with Air Berlin, the second largest German airline, which has also become one of the most respected airlines in Europe over the past two decades. This relationship will add significant value for our customers by substantially growing our global network. The agreement provides our customers with extensive access to Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, as well as many other business and leisure destinations. Furthermore, Air Berlin’s U.S. services truly complement our three strategic core markets – New York, Miami, and Los Angeles.”

From its New York hub at John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK), American Airlines offers flights to 56 destinations. The Miami hub of American Airlines is at the heart of an exceptional density of flight connections to 30 destinations in Mexico, Central and South America. In addition, American Airlines offers a network to 23 islands in the Caribbean and six destinations in the Bahamas, which exceeds the services provided by any other airline. From its Los Angeles hub there are 31 connections including four destinations in Hawaii.

Membership of oneworld will provide airberlin passengers with access to a unique, global network. With airberlin joining the alliance, the number of oneworld gateways will rise to 75, while the number of destinations will increase to almost 900 in 150 countries. The combined fleet includes 2,500 aircraft and offers around 9,500 flights per day, carrying 340 million passengers per annum.

More information on  www.airberlin.com and on www.aa.com

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