Media mentions of Germany's famous Bruno the Bear--tragically shot back in 2006--seem to be increasing again, and we're thinking that Germany is starting a new angle on tourism: When beer is no longer enough to bring the tourists in, try bears instead.

The latest news is that a half-brother of Bruno has been sighted in Austria, near the German border. Unlike the late Bruno, this guy's not destroying sheep or strolling into villages to sit on the doorstep of the police station, but authorities are worried that locals and tourists will again freak out at the sight of him.

There's now a government-sponsored exhibition touring Bavaria on the subject of living with brown bears and authorities are hoping that this return of brown bears will become a peaceful coexistence. Or, we suspect, a great tourist-attracting money-spinner.

Related Stories:
· Bruno's Half-Brother Spotted Close to German Border [Spiegel]
· A 750 Mile Taxi Ride for a Beer [Jaunted]
· Bruno the Bear coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Stephen Dyrgas]]]> amandak 2008-10-10T09:30:42-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/10/2/72245/3445

Book geeks, don't be shy: popping over to Frankfurt for the world's biggest annual book fair is nothing to be embarrassed about. Heck, we've done it. And you're not embarrassed to be seen in public with us, right?

If you're brave, here's the lowdown. You need to know that the general public visiting days for the fair are on the weekend of October 18 and 19--we recommend Sunday because last year over 70,000 people showed up on Saturday (and 15,000 less than that the day after).

This year Turkey is the guest of honor so their president's popping over to Germany to kick things off. (Wonder if anyone will ask him about how his country nearly prosecuted Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk for anti-Turkish sentiment!) If you don't join him, you're not the book lover you think you are.

Related Stories:
· Frankfurt Book Fair [Official Site]
· Turkish President to Inaugurate Frankfurt Book Fair [World Bulletin]
· More Than Sausages in Frankfurt [Jaunted]

[Photo: ipa]
]]> amandak 2008-10-02T09:05:37-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/9/18/62228/8237

With the beer kegs ready to pour at Munich's Oktoberfest on Saturday, the big news in Bavaria is that the premier, Guenther Beckstein, says you can drink two liters of beer (well over 4 pints) and still drive back to your hotel or home.

With a local election looming mid-Oktoberfest, the media grabbed Beckstein's comment that you could drink two one-liter glasses of beer in two hours without a problem--but police, doctors and other politicians are politely disagreeing.

The premier has since gone back on his statement--saying it was a "rather unsuccessful contribution"--but it wouldn't have mattered much to budget travelers: Beer has become so much more expensive this year that two liters might be financially out of the question, even if it apparently won't make us too drunk to drive.

Related Stories:
· Two Litres of Beer OK for Drivers [news.com.au]
· Breaking Economic News: Oktoberfest Devastation in Munich [Jaunted]

[Photo: Landfeldt]
]]> amandak 2008-09-18T09:00:32-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/9/17/52734/0756

When you start running out of ways to attract tourists to your town, you have to start turning your thinking upside-down. And perhaps that's why the German town of Usedom--which had hoped to become famous on the strength of its nude beaches, until it ran into trouble on its Polish border--is now trying to grab tourists with its upside-down house.

There's just one problem. Nearly all the visitors who walk into this house, which looks upside-down from both the outside and the inside, say they feel ill. "Dizzy" and "disoriented" are feelings that often come up, and they're not really the kind of feedback you want from paying customers, except maybe on roller coasters.

It's a tricky problem because turning the house up the right way will make for a pretty boring exhibit. Perhaps they need to get the former nudists involved somehow to really beef up the tourist numbers.

Related Stories:
· Upside-Down House is Fully Sick [news.com.au]
· Free Body Culture Germans in Trouble with Poles [Jaunted]
· Germany Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: news.com.au]]]> amandak 2008-09-17T09:00:29-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/9/15/65957/3487

Tragic news out of Germany: When Munich's fabulously beer-laden Oktoberfest kicks off on September 20, the beer will cost 5 percent more than last year.

Due to higher production costs, apparently, the average price of a stein of brew will set you back €8.13 (US$11.50), which is pretty expensive compared to many parts of the world.

But it's Oktoberfest, so you're paying for the atmosphere and those large-biceped women carrying a hundred steins as well. Scrape together your €8.13 and get to Munich quick--remember that once October comes around, Oktoberfest is all but over.

Related Stories:
· Beer Prices Go Up for Oktoberfest [The Age]
· Bring on the Beer, Oktoberfest's Here! [Jaunted]
· It's September, It Must Be Oktoberfest! [Jaunted]

[Photo: .myke]]]> amandak 2008-09-15T09:00:28-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/8/5/73131/32714

Remember our interest in the first nudist flight? Sadly, it got canceled due to "moral concerns"--and now another spot where Germans love to run around naked is under threat.

Now that border controls between Germany and Poland are basically extinct, Polish people on the Baltic Sea coast are able to wander to Germany and vice versa, and that means a clash of the naked and the clothed.

The more prudish Polish want the German fans of "free body culture" to cover up; the Germans think the Polish should stop looking at them so closely. The only proposed solution at the moment is bilingual signs explaining what's going on. As if that isn't already obvious to the, well, naked eye.

Related Stories:
· Grin and Bare It, German Naturists Tell Poles [UK Guardian]
· Naked on a Plane [Jaunted]

[Photo: Lyndi&Jason]]]> amandak 2008-08-05T09:00:04-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/6/5/134547/6009
Forbidden food?

Germany's Spiegel magazine warns that the neo-Nazi scene in the country is thriving. The shocking report says:

Arson attacks and racist assaults by right-wing extremists are part of everyday life in parts of Germany.

Violence against foreign-owned businesses has gotten so bad in certain areas that insurance companies are refusing to cover kebab stands and other ethnic fast food joints.

According to Spiegel, one Nazi group evolved out of a group of soccer hooligans. Other Nazi factions reportedly have been trying to clean up their image with environmental activism and other public campaigns. Germans who stand up to the Nazi thugs claim that they have faced widespread intimidation and harassment.

Could random acts of violence start scaring tourists away? "Living history" is just fine at, say, Colonial Williamsburg, but somehow we doubt walking down Third Reich Memory Lane will work in Germany.

Related Stories:
· Extremist Violence the Norm in Parts of the Country [Spiegel]
· Dangerous Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Alex Kehr]]]> Hunter Walker 2008-06-05T15:30:01-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/