Jaunted

Germany / Germany Travel / Green Travel / Zoos / Nature Travel / → All Tags

How To See Germany's New Pair Of Baby Polar Bears

Every few years the Nuremberg Zoo gets adorable polar bear cubs, and so every few years we do a post about adorable polar bear cubs at the Nuremberg Zoo. Last time it was Flocke, who was hand-reared because her mom Vera kept dropping her on the floor. This time Vera has given birth to a pair of polar bear twins, Aleut and Gregory, and she's been flawlessly raising them.

The twins just made their public debut and - predictably - they're insanely cute. The Nuremberg Zoo was already one of the largest zoos in Europe - over 2,000 animals from 300 species spread over 170 acres - so there were already plenty of reasons to visit. Now they also have a pair of polar bear cubs.

more ›

Google Maps / Google / Europe Travel / Europe / Germany Travel / Germany / Technology / Travel News / → All Tags

Google Street View Comes to Germany, but Much Will Be Blurry

You can use Google Maps Street View to find the world's most picturesque street. Or to virtually wander around the San Diego Zoo. Or to plan a bike ride through Boulder. What you can't do is use it to view any part of Germany, since privacy watchdogs have been holding up Mountain Views's expansion into the country. There are currently 23 countries with Street View-enabled cities, and exactly none of them are German. All of that is going to change in the coming months, now that the search giant has met the German government's demands for privacy protections. Twenty German cities are slated for addition by the end of the year.

Under the deal, Google will blur out faces and license plates automatically. Homes will of course be included by default, but Google has agreed to blur them out too if owners submit a simple request. Even a fax will work. Reports say that 10,000 Germans have already submitted their requests, which is a huge number of people who don't want pictures of their front yard on the internet.

more ›

Germany / Germany Travel / Retirement Travel / Travel News / → All Tags

You've Heard of the Staycation, But What About the 'Greycation?'

You've no doubt heard of the "staycation," but "greycation" might be a new term to familiarize yourself with, especially if you belong to the silver-haired faction of jetsetters. While the travel industry often takes great pains to appeal to younger demographics, what with the influx of advertisements for debauched Spring Break getaways and MTV branded guides, those 50 and over crave the same kind of exploration that their younger cohorts do.

And where do these baby boomers choose to spend their hard-earned cash, or, in some cases, retirement fund savings? Today, Club Med and timeshares don't mark the height of senior citizen travel. According to a recent report by Reuters, culture-hungry greycationers are enamored with Germany, a country that is not only attracting many an international visitor these days, but whose older citizens are stimulating the national by booking holidays and supporting local businesses in the process. Says Reuters:

more ›

Theme Parks / Amusement Parks / Germany / Roller Coasters / → All Tags

Guten Tag To Germany's New Theme Park Offerings

Nothing beats downing a churro or two and gallivanting about your favorite theme park. Well, if you’re planning on being in Germany sometime this summer, you’ll have a couple new rides to test out. Just remember to eat the metric ton of fried delicacies after you test out these new attractions.

At Europapark, Germany’s most popular park, they’re debuting some kind of catapult-coaster-contraption. It will spin you around 360 degrees and reach about 60 miles per hour—in two and half seconds—as it totally disorientates you and makes you feel like garbage. Even without an official name yet—we suggest the SausageMaker—this thing should quickly turn into a crowd favorite, so remember to bring some entertainment while you’re in the “queue.”

more ›

Sausages / Food / Germany / Food Trends / → All Tags

What's Worse Than Kiwi Wurst?

German sausages just got better. Or so they say. If variety is really the spice of life then the variety of new sausages available at a good Wurst stand in Germany should be making everybody happy.

The new chilli-honey Wurst is at least something we can imagine, but the kiwi fruit Wurst that also includes maraschino cherries and pineapple pieces seems to be taking things a bit far. Lemon and aloe vera are other new ingredients. We're not sure if these sausages are to our taste, but they certainly add novelty value to the average German meal.

Related Stories:
· Say Aloe To A New Flavour [The Australian]
· Only If There's Sauerkraut [Jaunted]

[Photo: planetina]

Art / Germany / → All Tags

Digging Deep in Münster

Outdoor art is no easy thing to exhibit. Just ask the team involved with the Skulptur Projekte Münster--Sculpture Projects in Münster, Germany--they reckon it's such a huge undertaking they only hold this exhibition once every 10 years! 2007 is time for the fourth such event, running from 17 June to 30 September, with the theme of a Sorry Installation (Archaeological Site).

What's all that really mean? Well, Belgian artist Guillaume Bijl decided to make a "fake" archaeological dig by "burying" a cathedral in a deep hole. We guess that's one of those once-in-a-decade ideas and that's probably about often enough. Check it out along with related events (not all in deep holes) from next week; just so you know, previous decades still have their art installations, like the Cherry Pillar, on display so there might not be any big hurry.

Related Stories:
· Hotels in Münster [HotelChatter]
· A Paradise of Public Art [Budget Travel]

[Photo: Lerchenau]

Germany / Resorts / Tuscany / → All Tags

Germans Buy Village In Tuscany

We know Germans love to travel--they seem to pop up all over the world. And while some of them will hitch up their lederhosen and go adventuring independently, others like the security of knowing there'll be German speakers and a few Bratwurst wherever they go.

Which presumably is why German tourist operator TUI thinks buying an entire Italian village in Tuscany was a sound business decision. For 250 million Euros (US$336m), TUI now owns all 8 square miles of a medieval Tuscan village named Tenuta de Castelfalfi. Only it won't be named that for long, as the new German owners will be renaming it the Toscana Resort Castelfalfi.

The only deed not handed over was that of the church, which remains in Italian hands--but the Germans have to pay for its upkeep in their new village. TUI's proud that soon "it will offer 3,200 customers a genuine rural experience." Genuine German-Italian, that is.

[Photo: Argenberg]

Related Stories:
· Entire Tuscan Village Falls to Invasion of German Tourists [UK Times]

Germany / Holland / Art / Sex Travel / → All Tags

When Tables and Chairs Turn Erotic

The Dutch, as we know, are kind of progressive. That's why a Dutch company called Sexy Furniture cannot only make the owner a living, but also provide an exhibition for a Berlin art gallery.

In the Amadeus Art gallery in central Berlin, cabinet maker and artist Mario Philippona is exhibiting wooden sculpture and furniture pieces inspired by the female body, with names like "TittyFrutti" attached. Philippona says that his passion for wood (and, perhaps, women) inspired him to create other pieces including:

a wine-glass cupboard in the shape of a pair of large breasts, a table supported by legs moulded from a female model and a bedside drawer which opens by pressing a button in the piece's "vagina".

If this isn't art for the non-art-lovers, then we don't know what is. What a good service Philippona's doing by creating art for the masses.

Related Stories:
Erotic Furniture on Show [Ananova]
Red Light Amsterdam Endangered [Jaunted]

Airlines / Germany / Tourists / British Airways / → All Tags

Sitting Next to a Stinker

Ever suffered through a plane trip next to a particular stinky co-passenger and wished you could do something about it? Apparently, you can. Airline policies usually include clauses allowing them to bar passengers with especially bad odors. For example, American Airlines can choose not to allow passengers who "have an offensive odor not caused by a disability or illness" to travel; British Airways can refuse you if "you or your baggage may affect the comfort of any person in the aircraft."

And it was the British Airways policy that got a good test this week, when a German court had to decide whether or not they'd done the wrong thing by disembarking a passenger whose smell caused a problem for those around him. He said he couldn't change his shirt since all his fresh shirts were in his checked baggage, and complained that the airport hadn't had good enough air conditioning. He then sued BA for compensation after he was taken off his flight to Germany. But the courts handed down this message loud and clear: stinky is no good. So pack your deodorant and a spare shirt if you're likely to offend.

[Photo: allison.jean]

Related Stories:
· Traveler Ejected For Smell [Yahoo News]

Travel Deals / Continental / Germany / → All Tags

Newark to Cologne: $266 All-in on Continental

There's a great fare on Continental floating around for dates between now and as late as May (!). Fly between Newark and Cologne, Germany, for $266 all-in.

Thursday departures seem to have the best availability in the price range. Continental flies a single-aisle 757-200 on the new-ish route, and flight times between EWR-CGN and CGN-EWR are 7:25 and 8:45, respectively. That's tolerable on the way there, but creeping into Travel Hell territory on the way back. Still, at that price for not just winter, but spring dates, it'll be a hard flight to beat.

As a bonus, Cologne happens to be the hub of German LCC, Germanwings, which means you have more than enough possibilities for exploring the potential for a killer deal combo.

[Photo: Kevin Boydston]

Germany / Food / Festivals / → All Tags

Come and See the Vegetables

Cabbage tourism. That's a phrase we never expected to read or type, but there are niches for every kind of traveler these days, and it's just been brought to our attention that we missed the opening of a very special cabbage festival.

Yep, we failed to tell you that the Kohltage or Cabbage Days festival began in September in northern Germany's town of Dithmarschen. September 19, in fact, marked the cutting of the first head of cabbage (ouch), followed by a festival involving cabbage dishes of every imaginable kind, cabbage bread, cabbage liquor and a giant pyramid of cabbages in the town square. You'll have to wait until the same time next year for the festivities to start up again.

We're sure cabbage tourism is something that could catch on, and obviously the Bosnian town of Bijeljina agrees, with their plans to build the giant cabbage. So let's forget eco-tourism, medical tourism and all those other sensible sounding reasons to go places and instead focus on a travel diet of cabbages. Healthy and...you know, good for your system.

Related Stories:
· Big Bosnian Cabbages [Jaunted]

Sex / Germany / Adult Entertainment / → All Tags

German Pensioners Love Red Lights

Talk about a sassy granny.

Red-light district experts seem to be drifting east from the Netherlands into Germany, if the latest appointment to a Berlin brothel is anything to go by. Waltraud Hotzl, better known simply as Mumsy by all, with her 70 years of age, is making a big success of her position as a bouncer in red-light Berlin. Not only does she keep the clients in line and dispose of drunks easily, she also does her share of disciplining the staff. Her boss says:

If she hears a squabble between the girls, she will shout 'Children, all quiet on deck please.' Total silence always follows.

Most sensible people we know have retired by the time they hit 70, but perhaps Waltraud is on some kind of working holiday for pensioners. She might pop up in a brothel near you soon.

[Photo: blogseven]

Related Stories:
· Don't Get Mumsy Mad [Edmonton Sun]
· Red Light District Endangered [Jaunted]