By Karen Bradbury
Published: October 16, 2012
Halloween gains ground in Germany every year. Whatever your pleasure, be it a stroll through an autumnal landscape or having the wits scared out of you in a creaky castle, you’ll find seasonally appropriate fun. Here is a roundup of Halloween outings:
• Hassloch: Holiday Park dons the fitting Halloween look in October. The park promises spooky fun appropriate for all ages. On Oct. 27 and 31 and Nov. 3, the park stays open until 9 p.m. Park entry costs 26 euros for those taller than 4-feet, 3-inches; 6 euros for those between 2-feet, 9-inches and 4-feet, 2-inches; and is free for those shorter than 2-feet, 8-inches. Find details at www.plopsa.be/holiday-park/en/event/happy-halloween.
By Karen Bradbury
Published: October 12, 2012
In Germany, the Christmas season is synonymous with Christmas markets.
One way to experience several in a short amount of time is to book a river cruise along the Rhine or Danube.
By Karen Bradbury
Published: September 13, 2012
Those who enjoy taking photos of new destinations and crave a creative way to share and develop their skills might want to consider entering one of several photo marathons taking place annually throughout Europe and worldwide.
Photo marathons are competitions in which photographers of all skill levels are asked to capture images reflecting given topics within a limited time frame.
The topics, typically broad, have included “City Life” to “Out of Place” to “In Balance,” and are only revealed on the day of the competition. Another interesting twist is that all images must be captured in the exact sequence they are presented to entrants. When the contest ends, the photographs -- digital nowadays -- are downloaded by the organizers, who choose a winner for each topic and an overall winner. Following the event, a photo exhibition of the images captured over the course of the day is usually organized.
Participants must register in advance and pay an entry fee. Since the number of participants is often limited, the more popular events can sell out within days of the opening of registration. Each city’s event has its own rules and organization.
Here is a sampling of photo marathons in Europe, and their dates, where available, or the months in which events have traditionally taken place.
By Karen Bradbury
Published: July 19, 2012
There's one day left to jump on your bike and head out to participate in one of Germany’s wonderful auto-free days: Oct. 3: Obrigheim Autofreies Eistal, in the Leiningerland, highway will be closed to traffic between Ebertsheim and Grünstadt northwest of the German Wine Road, 25 km.
If you’ve never taken part in one of the auto-free days, you’re in for a treat. You may find the start or end points of the route choked with the cars of people driving to the event. Trains can also get chockablock with bikes and riders. A possible means to avoid this is to begin at a midpoint along the stretch of highway closed to motorized traffic.
By Karen Bradbury
Published: July 9, 2012
Ever get vexed by the lure of a cheap flight, only to find that the hidden charges bring the actual total ticket price way beyond what you thought you’d be paying? In Europe, we’ll soon be saying goodbye to one of those annoying surcharges that turn up just as you’re about to book a ticket online.
According to publications that track the air industry, the extra cost of paying for airline tickets by debit card is poised to become a thing of the past. Consumer lobbying, strengthened by enforcement action taken by the United Kingdom’s Office of Fair Trading, has resulted in 12 airlines agreeing to include the cost of debit card transactions in the stated price of tickets.
By Karen Bradbury
Published: June 7, 2012
If you live near Frankfurt, Mannheim or Karlsruhe, Germany, but hanker for the shores of the Med, they’ve become more accessible than ever, thanks to a new train route.
As of March, a high-speed train has been servicing a route between Frankfurt and Marseille. Running once a day in each direction, it makes the travel time between these two points just under 8 hours. The train makes intermediary stops in Mannheim, Karlsruhe and Baden-Baden, as well as Strasbourg, Mulhouse, Lyon, Avignon and Aix-en-Provence, France. Hop aboard in Frankfurt at 2 p.m. on the dot and pull into Marseille-St-Charles at 9:46 p.m. You’ll be traveling in a TGV, or Train à Grande Vitesse, model known as the “Euroduplex,” a snazzy double-decker that can reach speeds of up to 320 kilometers, or just a hair under 200 miles per hour.
By Karen Bradbury
Published: May 31, 2012
Do you really need another reason to visit the ever-beautiful Prague? If so, there's plenty going on there over the next few weekends:
You still have a couple more days to enjoy The Czech Beer Festival now taking place at the Exhibition Centre Prague Holesovice. Through June 2, work your way through 70 brands of Czech beer in a tent large enough to accommodate 10,000 revelers. Top chefs from the city’s best restaurants will see to it that you don’t leave hungry.
By Karen Bradbury
Published: May 15, 2012
Have you ever watched kids at play and thought how wonderful it would be if playgrounds were made for adults, too? In Austria’s Tyrolian Alps, they’ve come up with something very close to that. Area 47 is a slice of semi-harnessed wilderness where adventure-lovers can take part in an almost unlimited number of adrenalin-charged activities, from a high ropes course to white-water rafting to caving. The park is just now entering its third season.
Area 47 is divided into four major zones: outdoor, water, climbing and events. In the outdoor zone, in addition to the high ropes course, you’ll find a high swing dangling from a bridge and a nearly quarter-mile long zip line. You can also enjoy rafting and canyoning through the Ötztal Mountains. The water zone offers a lake for swimming, five water slides, a diving platform, and a water ramp that you can ride down on an inner tube, skis or a snowboard. The climbing zone offers a massive climbing wall with 28 routes and a boulder cave. In the events zone, come Saturday evening, you’ll find a DJ or perhaps a team of adrenalin junkies demonstrating whatever hair-raising sport they master.
By Karen Bradbury
Published: May 10, 2012
Happy Mother’s Day, Moms! If you’re in Germany, you’re in luck, because May 13 is Muttertag there as well. Lots of restaurants will be featuring special menus. Other venues, from wineries to pleasure ships plying the rivers, roll out a special welcome. Looking for a trip somewhere this weekend? Here are a few ideas:
In Zweibrücken, a Street Theater Spectacle will take over the streets of the Rose City on Saturday and Sunday. Enjoy street theater, markets and music in the area around Herzogplatz. Each year has a theme; this year’s is “God and the World.” Hours are 3-10 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. on Sunday.
By Karen Bradbury
Published: April 12, 2012
A black-veiled woman cradling her son overcome by tear gas in a riot in the Middle East. The carcass of a cow, abandoned in the aftermath of the nuclear disaster in Japan. A young woman in a bridal gown attempting suicide by jumping out a window. Year after year, the stunningly captured images of almost unimaginable events pack an emotional wallop.
It’s no light-hearted venture, visiting the World Press Photo exhibition of award-winning images from the previous year.
