German World Magazine / Winter 2017/2018

GW WINTER 2017 | 2018

GERMAN WORLD Exclusive Sneak Preview:

 HEIMAT abroad -

The Ultimate Expat Guide

BILINGUAL MAGAZINE

Diane Krüger About shooting “In the Fade” in her native German Endlich einmal in deutscher Sprache gedreht!

 NEW KID ON THE BLOCK The Wende Museum in L.A.

 CRUISE SPECIAL •

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YOUR SOURCE OF GERMAN-AMERICAN NEWS IN THE US

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Liebe Leser,

Dear Reader,

das neue Jahr ist schon in vollem Gang und wir hoffen, dass es für Sie auf positive Weise angefangen hat. Wir danken Ihnen herzlich für Ihre Unterstützung im letzten Jahr und wünschen Ihnen nur das Beste für 2018.

The new year is in full swing and we hope that it started on a good note for you. We thank you very much for your patronage throughout 2017 and wish you all the best for 2018.

Das Beste… Was ist das Beste? Was bedeutet es für Sie? Für uns hier in Kalifornien wäre das Beste sicherlich, wenn ein Jahr ohne wütende Großbrände und gigantische Erdrutsche vor uns läge. Diese Naturkatastrophen haben auch zum Teil das German World Team direkt betroffen, denn unsere Online-Redakteurin Alexa wurde während des großen Thomas-Fire von ihrem Zuhause in Ventura evakuiert. Zum Glück hat ihre Familie das Haus nicht verloren.

Persönlich hoffe ich, dass 2018 ein Jahr mit weniger Gewalt wird. Ich bin gerade für ein Wochenende in LasVegas gewesen und der Anblick des Mandalay Bay Hotels, von wo aus erst vor wenigen Monaten eine der größten Massenerschießungen in der Geschichte der USA stattgefunden hatte, erfüllte mich mit großer Traurigkeit.Was muss noch alles passieren, damit wir endlich härtere Waffengesetze in den USA haben?

Geschäftlich wird 2018 ein aufregendes Jahr für German World, denn wir starten eine neue Zusammenarbeit mit einer anderen deutschen Herausgeberin: Gabi Hegan aus New York.

Gabi hat eine sehr erfolgreiche Lifestyle und Community Plattform für deutschsprachige Expats im Großraum New York aufgebaut, CityKinder.com, und auch die erste ICH BIN EXPAT FAIR ins Leben gerufen, die letztes Jahr im November in New York stattfand. Jetzt möchte das Team von CityKinder.com sein Informationsangebot auf ganz USA ausweiten und startet HEIMAT abroad, eine Community Website und ein zweisprachiges Magazin. Beide Medien sind speziell für Deutschsprachige in den USA und deutsch-amerikanische Familien konzipiert.

Ich freue mich sehr, dass German World Magazine unter dem Namen HEIMAT abroad fortgesetzt wird. Das neue Magazin, dessen MitHerausgeberin ich sein werde, wird weiterhin zweisprachige Artikel anbieten, aber auch neue, frische Inhalte sowie mehr deutsche Leseseiten und praktische Tipps. Eine Kostprobe von HEIMAT abroad finden Sie auf den Seiten 25 – 28.

Das Team von German World wird weiterhin aktuelle Informationen, die die deutsch-amerikanische Gemeinschaft in den USA interessiert, auf www.german-world.com und durch den monatlichen elektronischen Newsletter GW eNews anbieten.

Falls Sie den Newsletter noch nicht erhalten, so können Sie diesen auf www.german-world.com bequem online bestellen.Wir würden uns freuen, wenn wir so mit Ihnen in direktem Kontakt blieben.

Wir wünschen Ihnen viel Vergnügen beim Lesen der letzten Ausgabe von German World Magazine und hoffen, dass Sie auch viel Freude mit der ersten Ausgabe von HEIMAT abroad haben, die zum Frühlingsanfang herauskommen wird.

Photo: Kramer/Photoatelier-Brune

Grußwort | PUBLISHER’S NOTE

The best … What is “the best”? What does it mean for you? For us, here in California, the best would certainly be a year without raging wildfires and devastating mudslides. These latest natural catastrophes hit close to home since even our online editor Alexa was forced to evacuate from her home in Ventura during the big Thomas Fire. Luckily, her family did not lose the house.

For me personally, I hope that 2018 will be a year of less gun violence. I just spent a weekend in Las Vegas and I was filled with sadness when looking at the Mandalay Bay Hotel, the site of the most recent mass shooting in U.S. history. What else has to happen until we finally have stricter gun controls in the U.S.?

Business-wise, 2018 will be a year of new endeavors for German World Magazine since we are about to start a new cooperation with another German publisher: Gabi Hegan from New York. Gabi started the very successful community website CityKinder.com and organized the first ICH BIN EXPAT FAIR last November in New York. CityKinder.com is a lifestyle and community platform for German-speaking families and expats in and around New York City. Now, the team of CityKinder.com is broadening its outreach and services by launching HEIMAT abroad, a community website and magazine especially designed for German-speaking expats and German-American communities in the U.S. I am excited to announce that German World Magazine will be continued as HEIMAT abroad magazine providing more content in German; fresh, exciting and bilingual feature articles, as well as hands-on tips. Check out pages 25 -28 for a sneak preview of HEIMAT abroad.

The team of German World will continue providing weekly changing information in English on www.german-world.com and in our monthly electronic newsletter GW eNews. If you are not signed up yet, visit www.german-world.com and sign up for this free newsletter. We would love to stay in touch with you.

We wish you an enjoyable read of the last issue of German World Magazine and hope you’ll enjoy the first issue of HEIMAT abroad magazine.

I will be the magazine’s co-publisher, with the first edition arriving at the beginning of Spring 2018.

Best regards,

Petra Schurmann Publisher

Herzliche Grüße

Gründerin & Herausgeberin German World Magazine

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CONTENTS | Inhalt

COVER

14 - 16

DIANE KRUGER From Hildesheim to Hollywood The Amazing Career of Diane Heidkrüger Von Hildesheim nach Hollywood Die erstaunliche Karriere von Diane Heidkrüger

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11 BUSINESS

11 – 13 Business News from Germany

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The Wende Museum moves to a new home in Culver City

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20 – 21 “Alles Walzer”:

It’s Ball Season in Vienna and New York

23 41

6 – 10 News from Germany and Austria

Road Trip:

GermanBusUSA in search of German roots in the Lower Midwest

Vanessa Eichholz:

A young German actress on her way up in Hollywood

42 – 43 Spotlight L. A.

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REGULARS

25 SPECIAL SECTIONS

Culinary:

25 – 28 Sneak Preview: HEIMAT abroad

Recipes & More

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46 – 49 German TV in the U.S.:

DW program preview for February and March

50 Subscription Information

Spotlight DC: Marlene Dietrich Exhibit not to be missed

18 – 19 New Kid on the Block:

CURRENTS

40, 45

18 17

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40

First ICH BIN EXPAT FAIR in New York

ARTS, CULTURE & HISTORY

Cruise Special 29

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TRAVEL

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29 – 37 Cruise Special:

A close look at the latest trends in ocean and river cruising

38 – 39 Travel Review: LOT Polish Airlines

30 LIFESTYLE

GERMAN WORLD

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PUBLISHER Petra Schürmann EDITORIAL Editorial Director & Editor in Chief Petra Schürmann Senior Editor /English Language Editor Jenny Peters CONTRIBUTORS Alexa Z. Constantine, Gabi Hegan, Katja Lau, Anna Mann, Jenny Peters TRANSLATIONS Alexa Z. Constantine, Petra Schürmann

LAYOUT & DESIGN Art Director AMF Graphics | Anna-Maria Furlong amfgraphics@aol.com OFFICE MANAGEMENT & ADVERTISING Alexa Z. Constantine, Alexandra Schinko sales@german-world.com Phone: 323.876.5843 CONSULTANT AT LARGE Marianne Beland, Berlin

WWW.GERMAN-WORLD.COM SUMMER FALL 2017 WWW.GERMAN-WORLD.COM 2017

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Retiring in Germany? We tell you how

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Culture Clash: How a stay in Germany will change you forever

HOW TO REACH US Mailing Address German-World.com, Inc. PO Box 3541 | Los Angeles, CA 90078 Phone: 323.876.5843 office@german-world.com German-World.com Subscriber Services Phone: 323.876.5843 subscriber@german-world.com GERMAN WORLD MAGAZINE is published quarterly by German-World.com, Inc. Subscription rate: $12.95/year Single copy: $3.50/issue

POSTMASTER Send address changes to German-World.com, Inc. PO Box 3541, Los Angeles, CA 90078 Entire contents © 2002-2018 by German-World.com, Inc. unless otherwise noted on specific articles.

All rights reserved.

Printed in the USA

COVER German actress Diane Kruger at the 2017 Vanity Fair Oscar Party at the Wallis Annenberg Center on February 26, 2017 PHOTO © Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com

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NEWS | Nachrichten

n Weder GroKo noch Jamaika für Deutschland:

Ins neue Jahr ohne neue Regierung Das hat es in der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland noch nicht gegeben: Drei Monate nach der Wahl hat das Land noch keine neue Regierung.

n No Grand Coalition – No “Jamaica-Coalition”:

Germany enters 2018 without a new government

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Nach dem “Jamaika-Aus” klingelte bei SPD-Parteivorsitzender Martin Schulz das Telefon: Es war Bundespräsident Frank-Walter Steinmeier, der ihn ins Schloss Bellevue einlud - ebenso wie die Parteivorsitzenden von CDU und CSU. Die FDP-Chef Christian Lindner Botschaft des Staatsoberhaupts: Als zweitstärkste Partei trage auch die SPD eine Verantwortung dafür, dass Deutschland wieder eine stabile Regierung bekomme.

Neuwahlen seien keine akzeptable Lösung.

Und so richten sich alle Augen plötzlich wieder auf die SPD, die Angela Merkel nach der Wahl noch als “nicht regierungsfähig” bezeichnet hatte.

Eine große Koalition hätte im neuen Bundestag, der mit 709 Abgeordneten der größte aller Zeiten ist, eine klare Mehrheit von 399 Stimmen. Die Hängepartie dauert an. Der Mehrheit der Wähler missfällt sie, die Wirtschaft drängelt und Verbündete in Europa wundern sich. Ohne eine neue deutsche Regierung kommen Reformpläne in der EU nicht weiter.

Am 7. Januar sollen die Sondierungsgespräche beginnen.Vor Ostern, so die allgemeine Prognose, wird die neue Regierung kaum stehen. Und so endet das außergewöhnliche Wahljahr 2017 damit, dass die alte große Koalition die Geschäfte weiterführt, bis sich eine neue große Koalition zusammengerauft hat - vielleicht. n

It is unknown in the history of modern Germany: Three months after the election the country still doesn’t have a new government.

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t was just before midnight on November 19 that Chancellor Angela Merkel’s dream of a so-called “Jamaica coalition” collapsed. The political constellation consisting of the conservative union parties (CDU/CSU), the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP) and the pro-environment Greens— whose colors together reflect those of the Caribbean country’s flag — was not going to happen Christian Lindner, the FDP leader, left the negotiating table in the Parliamentary Association building and declared that his party had had enough.

The FDP could not support policies they didn’t believe in, he said.

Disappointed and aghast, the chancellor was left with the negotiators from her own Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its Bavarian sister party, the CSU, and the Greens. Weeks of exploratory talks revealed political gulfs between the parties that even Merkel, the experienced strategist, couldn’t bridge.

But when the Jamaica idea bit the dust, the phone of the head of the SPD, Martin Schulz, rang.German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier asked the SPD leader to visit him at his residence, Schloss Bellevue — along with the party leaders of the CDU and CSU.The head of state’s message was clear: As the second-largest party in parliament, the SPD also shared some of the responsibility for ensuring that Germany got a stable government again.

Failure to form a coalition and consequent new elections were not, he said, an acceptable solution.

So, once again, all eyes are suddenly on the SPD, the party which Merkel described after the vote as “not fit for government. A grand coalition would have a clear majority of 399 in the new Bundestag, which now comprises 709 representatives, making it the largest in history.

For now, the situation remains unresolved.The majority of voters don’t like this. Business leaders are pressing for a solution, and allies in Europe are raising their eyebrows. Plans to reform the EU can’t progress without a new German government.

Exploratory talks are set to begin on January 7.The general prognosis is that there is little chance of a new government being in place before Easter. So the extraordinary election year 2017 ends with the old grand coalition carrying on with business as usual, until the new grand coalition has — perhaps — been cobbled together. n

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Text: Deutsche Welle – www.dw.com

s war kurz vor Mitternacht am 19. November, als Angela Merkels Traum von einer Jamaika-Koalition platzte. Da stand FDP-Chef Christian Lindner im hell erleuchteten Gebäude der Landesvertretung Baden-Württemberg in Berlin vom Verhandlungstisch auf und erklärte, dass es der FDP jetzt reiche. Die Liberalen könnten keine Politik mittragen, von der sie nicht überzeugt seien. Zurück blieben, entgeistert und enttäuscht, die Kanzlerin und die Unterhändler von CDU, CSU und Grünen. In den wochenlangen Sondierungsgesprächen hatten sich inhaltliche Gräben aufgetan, die auch die erfahrene Strategin Merkel nicht überbrücken konnte.

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POLITICS | Politik

n Blitzsieg der Ultra-Rechten in Österreich Bundeskanzler Sebastian Kurz bildet Regierung mit der rechtspopulistischen Freiheitlichen Partei (FPÖ) Nachdem Sebastian Kurz Österreichs größte Partei, die ÖVP, nach seinen Vorstellungen komplett neu ausgerichtet hatte, legte sie bei den Bundestagswahlen m Oktober 2017 einen fulminanten Sieg hin.

Zum Jahresende schaut Deutsche Welle den rasanten Aufstieg des jungen Politikers zum jüngsten Staatsoberhaupt Europas einmal näher an.

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Jakob Glaser/ Neue Volkspartei/AFP

ebastian Kurz wurde am 18. Dezember 2017 als Österreichs neuer Bundeskanzler eingeschworen und ist mit 31 damit der jüngste Kanzler in der Geschichte des Landes. Kurz steht einer rechtskonservativen Regierung vor, der auch die rechtspopulistische Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (FPÖ) als Koalitionspartner angehört.

Kurz erregte 2013 Aufsehen, als er damals mit erst 27 der jüngste Außenminister der Welt wurde. Neben seinen Amtskollegen während dieser Zeit, wie z.B. US-Außenminister John Kerry oder Java Zarif aus dem Iran, sah er auf Fotos fast minderjährig aus.

Seine politische Karriere begann für Sebastian Kurz schon in der Schule.

Noch vor der Matura (Abitur) wurde er Mitglied der Jugendorganisation der konservativen Österreichischen Volkspartei (ÖVP) und deren Vorsitzender während er Jura studierte. Mit Hilfe einer Reihe von kontroversen und polarisierenden lokalen Wahlkampagnen in Wien, Hochburg der Sozialdemokraten, half er der konservativen Partei neue Wählergruppen zu gewinnen.Als Dank ernannte die ÖVP ihn 2011 zum Staatssekretär für Integrationsangelegenheiten.

Nach der Bildung einer Regierungskoalition zwischen Kurz and Strache meet for talks after the October election. Österreichs Sozialdemokratischer Partei (SPÖ) und der Volkspartei Österreichs vor vier Jahren wurde Sebastian Kurz der österreichische Außenminister und damit jüngster Top-Diplomat Europas.

Als die neue Flüchtlingswelle, die 2015 über das Land hereinbrach und zu einem europaweiten Problem wurde, erfasste Sebastian Kurz die Ängste der österreichischen Wähler im Hinblick auf unkontrollierte Einwanderung. Er rief zu härteren Kontrollen an den Landesgrenzen auf, zu besserer Integration und zu einer scharfen Bekämpfung des sogenannten politischen Islams, der von anderen moslemischen Ländern finanziert und unterstützt wird.

Kurz sorgte auch dafür, dass die populäre Balkanroute vom Westbalkan nach Österreich und Tschechien geschlossen wurde.

Nach Ansicht von Professor Peter Filzmaier, Politikwissenschaftler an den Universitäten von Graz und Krems, hat Sebastian Kurz etwas zustande gebracht, das es in der Geschichte der österreichischen Politik noch nie gegeben hätte. Filzmaier sieht keinen Grund zu Befürchtung, dass Sebastian Kurz mit nationalistischen Immigrationsgegner wie US-Präsident Trump

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zu vergleichen sei, sondern er bekräftigt, dass Kurz ein leidenschaftlicher Verfechter Europas ist. “Er sieht sich eher als ein konservativer Emmanuel Macron or Justin Trudeau,” so Filzmaier.

Die ÖVP, deren Parteichef Sebastian Kurz nun seit vier Sebastian Kurz and Jean-Claude Juncker shake hands Jahren ist, hat in der Nach- in Brussels on December 19th kriegszeit meistens als Teil einer Großen Koalition an der Seite ihres natürlichen Rivalen, der Sozialdemokratischen Partei Österreichs, mitregiert. Aber jetzt, da die beiden größten Partein Österreichs beide eine weitere Regierungszusammenarbeit abgelehnt haben, wurde der Weg frei für die ultrarechte Partei des Landes, der FPÖ, eine Regierung zusammen mit der ÖVP zu bilden, die mit 31.47% die meisten Stimmen in den Parlamentswahlen im Oktober 2017 erhalten hatte.

So wurden dann auch am 18. Dezember 2017 der Parteivorsitzender der FPÖ, Heinz Christian Strache, als Vizekanzler vereidigt. Fünf weitere Ministerien gingen an die FPÖ, u.a. das Ministerium für Inneres, Verteidigung und Äußeres.

Sieben Ministerposten werden nun von Mitgliedern der ÖVP bekleidet, darunter Minister für Finanzen, Wirtschaft und Justiz.

Nach der Vereidigung äußerte Österreichs Bundespräsident Alexander Von der Bellen, dass er sich einer proeuropäischen Politik der neuen Regierung sicher wäre.

Der Jung-Kanzler Sebastian Kurz kündigte zudem an, den Antisemitismus bekämpfen zu wollen. Dazu gehöre der Kampf gegen die bestehende und ebenso gegen die durch Zuwanderung von Muslimen importierte Judenfeindlichkeit, so Kurz. Er fügte hinzu: “Für uns ist eines ganz klar: Antisemitismus hat in Österreich und in Europa keinen Platz.”

Im Jahr 2018 werde daher nicht nur das 100-jährige Bestehen der Republik Österreich gefeiert. “Wir werden uns auch der beschämenden und traurigen Ereignisse rund um den März 1938 erinnern.” Damals wurde Österreich Teil von Nazi-Deutschland. Es gelte - so Kurz - sich im Gedenkjahr 2018 an diese “dunklen Zeiten” in angemessener Weise zu erinnern. n Englischer Text: Deutsche Welle – www.dw.com Deutsche Übersetzung: Petra Schürmann

Photo: Alex Halada/AFP

Politik | POLITICS Protest in front of the Austrian Parlament in Vienna on December 18, 2017 when the new government was sworn in.

Future Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (L) of the conservative People’s Party and incoming vice-chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache of the far-right Freedom Party.

n Austria Governed Now by the Far-Right The rapid rise of the conservative-nationalist chancellor Sebastian Kurz Sebastian Kurz took the Austrian election in October 2017 by storm by reshaping Austria’s biggest party in his own image.

At the end of 2017, Deutsche Welle took a look at the meteoric rise of the young politician to becoming Europe’s youngest head of government.

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n December 18, 2017, Sebastian Kurz was sworn in as Austria’s new, and at 31, youngest-ever chancellor, leading a nationalist government that includes the country’s most virulent far-right party as coalition partners.

Kurz rose to prominence in 2013, when at 27 he became the world’s youngest serving foreign minister —looking practically pubescent in photo ops with counterparts of the time, including US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iran’s Javad Zarif.

But his political career started in school when, just before taking his A Levels, he joined the youth wing of the conservative Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP; Österreichische Volkspartei) and became its leader while studying law. With a string of controversial and polarizing local election campaigns in Vienna he helped the conservatives make inroads in a traditionally Social Democratic stronghold. In a show of gratitude, the ÖVP appointed him state secretary for integration in 2011. After a coalition between Austria’s Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) and Austria’s People’s Party (ÖVP) was formed four years ago, Kurz became Austria’s foreign minister — the youngest top diplomat in Europe.

Text: Deutsche Welle – www.dw.com

When a new wave of refugees seeking to relocate to Europe became a continent-wide concern in 2015, Kurz recognized Austrian voters’ anxiety over unchecked immigration. He called for tougher external border controls, better integration and stringent control of “political Islam” funded from abroad. He also organized the shutdown of the popular overland route through the West Balkans.

According to professor Peter Filzmaier, a political scientist with Austria’s Krems and Graz universities, what Kurz has accomplished is “unprecedented in Austrian politics, but also quite logical.”

Filzmaier downplayed concerns that Kurz is seeking to become some sort of anti-immigrant nationalist leader in the vein of Hungary’s Viktor Orban or the US’ Donald Trump, stressing that the young politician is ardently pro-EU. “He sees himself more as a conservative Emmanuel Macron or Justin Trudeau,” Filzmaier said.

Kurz’s ÖVP has spent much of the post-war period ruling in a so-called “grand coalition” with their natural rivals, the Social Democrats (SPÖ).

But now, Austria’s two biggest parties have both said they refuse to rule together again. This paved the way for the far-right populist FPÖ (Freiheitliche Partei Österreich/Freedom Party Austria) which performed nearly as well as the SPÖ in October’s elections, (26.86 percent for the Social Democrats to the FPÖ’s 25.97 percent) to enter into government with the ÖVP, which garnered the most votes at 31.47 percent.

The leader of the ÖVP’s right-wing coalition partner Freedom Party (FPÖ), Heinz-Christian Strache, became vice-chancellor in the new Austrian government. Strache is also Minister for Sports and Public Administration.

Five other ministries went to Strache’s Freedom Party.They include the key ministries Interior, Defense, and Foreign Relations.Seven ministers and one deputy are members of Kurz’s People’s Party. The ministries include the finance, economy and justice ministries. The ministers were sworn in on December 18, 2017.

Following meetings with Kurz and Strache, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen said he had been assured of a “pro-European” focus of the new government.

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz also announced that fighting Anti-Semitism was part of the government’s agenda, including the fight against antiJewish tendencies imported by Muslim immigrants. “There is no place for Anti-Semitism in Austria or Europe,” declared Kurz. Therefore, in the year 2018, Austria would not only commemorate the 100th anniversary of its founding but also one of the darkest chapter of the country’s history when it joined Nazi-Germany in March 1938.n

What you need to know about Austria’s far-right Freedom Party Founded in 1955, the FPÖ (Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs) looked like a European-style liberal party, but under the leadership of the late Jörg Haider it evolved into a far-right, populist party. Haider led the FPÖ into its first Austrian government coalition alongside the center-right People’s Party (ÖVP; Österreichische Volkspartei) in 2000.

Austria was briefly sanctioned by the EU for allowing the extremists into the government, and the coalition eventually ended in ignominy as the FPÖ grappled with having to give up its anti-establishment role. But the time in government did help put an end to the FPÖ’s pariah status — at least in Austria.

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A Special Homecoming The Free State of Saxony returns human remains to Hawai’i

By Petra Schurmann

Group at the Dresden Museum of Ethnology’s restitution ceremony on 23 October, 2017: Dr. Kamana’opono Crabbe, CEO of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs ( 2nd f.l.); Marion Ackermann (3rd f.l.); Halealoha Ayau (center); Eva-Maria Stange (2nd.f.r.); Nanette Snoep (far right).

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n October 23, 2017, for the first time in its history, the Free State of Saxony returned human remains to representatives of their country of origin.The remains were stolen from burial caves in Hawai’i between 1896 and 1902 and were sold directly to the Museum of Ethnology in Dresden and to Arthur Baessler, a patron of the museum. Between 1896 and 1904, they became part of the anthropological collection of the Museum of Ethnology in Dresden, which, since 2010, belongs to the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (SKD; Dresden State Art Collections).

When these human remains were removed from their final resting place for the collection one hundred years ago, the deceased were transformed into objects. Now the museum itself is reversing the process of dehumanization; i.e., these remains are being rehumanized by no longer being designated as objects with inventory numbers but as deceased individuals..

The rehumanization of these human remains, combined with an intensive provenance research and a close, trustworthy collaboration of the SKD with the representatives of the Hui Malama I Na Kapuna ‘O Hawai’i Nei - Group caring for the ancestors of Hawai’i and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs made the return possible. The importance of this restitution for the Hawaiians was also shown by the fact that high-ranking representatives of Hawaiian organizations as well as the Economic Officer of the Embassy of the United States, Robert Folley, came to Dresden for the ceremony in the Japanisches Palais. The State Minister of Science and Art, Eva-Maria Stange, the Director-General of the Dresden State Art Collections, Marion Ackermann and the Director of the three ethnographic museums in the network of SKD, Nanette Snoep, took part in the ceremony.

At a press conference, Eva-Maria Stange, Minister of State for Science and Art of the Free State of Saxony, stated: “In Saxony, we have agreed that ‘human remains’, however they may have come to us, will be returned to those ethnic groups from which they originate. Before the return, the history of how the remains were collected has to be illustrated clearly and has to be accompanied by a careful legal process.With the return of human remains to Hawai’i, which takes place today, an inglorious chapter closes for the Free State of Saxony. “ Marion Ackermann, Director-General of the Dresden State Art Collections, placed the return within the current discussion and explained: “Ethnological museums worldwide are increasingly becoming the focal point of critical discussions.The debate on questions of the provenance of “ethnographic objects” acquired or stolen in the colonial context, as well as the restitution of human remains to the descendants of the deceased, has been discussed to extreme lengths.This debate, however, often stagnates at the level of political positioning and lacks productive consequences.”

“Today we have returned the bones of ancestors to Hawai’I,” added Nanette Snoep, Director of the Museum of Ethnology Dresden, the Grassi Museum of Ethnology in Leipzig, and the Museum of Ethnology in Herrnhut. “They had a family, and their life story made them victims in the name of scientific research, colonialism and an unequal balance of power.These deceased were brought to Europe against the will of the societies where they originated.

The void created by this has left painful and irreparable gaps: emotional, religious, spiritual, and historical. The mourning of the survivors has continued for generations. Restitution is a way for healing and justice. For the Iwi Kupuna, the bones of the ancestors, their journey home begins at last.” For more information visit www.skd.museum

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Photos: www.skd.museum, http://store.skd.museum

NEWS | Science & Research

NEWS | Nachrichten

 Munich-Berlin in Four Hours Germany celebrates new high speed train line A quarter of a century in the making, this project was the biggest and most expensive of its kind in Europe.

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Source: Deutsche Welle – www.dw.com

hancellor Angela Merkel was at Berlin’s central train station on Friday to celebrate the inauguration of Germany’s new high-speed rail line between the capital and the country’s third-most populous city, Munich.

The ceremonial first journey from Munich to Berlin clocked in at just about four hours, two hours shorter than the previous connection.

The project — the biggest and, at roughly €10 billion (around $12 billion), most expensive of its kind in Europe — has been 26 years in the making. Talk of a better connection between Germany’s two biggest cities had already begun in the weeks after the fall of the Berlin wall, and has been slowly completed in stages ever since.

Rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) expects the number of yearly travelers between Berlin and Munich to double to about 3.6 million.

German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk pointed out, however, that the new mega-project still cannot boast speeds comparable to China’s new high-speed rail, though it offered the justifi-

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cation that such speeds are difficult in smaller countries where major cities are closer together.

Celebrating the “most modern route in Germany,” alongside Merkel was Christian Schmidt, the agriculture minister who is also overseeing the transport ministry as Germany enters its third month without a new government.

“This milestone in train transport will make Germany an even more important hub,” said Schmidt, a member of the Bavarian CSU.

While some environmental activists bemoaned the disruption caused by the building and future use of the track, some argued that it was a positive move for the climate — boasting a four-hour trip from city center to city center, the new train line is expected to cut into the number of travelers taking airplanes between Berlin and Munich.

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ENVIRONMENT | Umwelt

New Year’s Eve Celebrations Are fireworks harming the environment? tarting a new year can be costly. Germans, for instance, send €100 to 200 million ($240 million) up in smoke every New Year’s Eve, as spectacular fireworks displays light up the sky above villages and cities across the country. But the annual tradition also has an environmental cost, with each rocket releasing a toxic mix of chemicals and particulates into the air.

“Each rocket consists of about 75 percent potassium nitrate, 15 percent charcoal and 10 percent sulfur,” said Günter Klein-Sommer, a chemist and pyrotechnist, speaking at a recent lecture at the University of Cologne.

Depending on the desired effects, other components might be added, including copper, barium or strontium compounds. These end up coloring the fireworks blue, green or red.

In 2016, fireworks produced 5,000 tons of particulate matter (PM10 — particles measuring less than 10 microns in diameter) in Germany alone, according to the Federal Environment Agency (UBA).This amount corresponds to about 17 percent of the annual vehicle particulate emissions.

The fireworks industry, for its part, continues to maintain that it’s not as bad as it seems. Fritz Keller, an environmental consultant with the German Association of the Pyrotechnic Industry (VPI), said particulate pollution from the traffic sector can’t be lumped together with the pollution caused by fireworks.

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Most of the particulate matter released from diesel vehicles, for example, consists of sooty carcinogenic particles, which have a negative effect on soil and plants — and human health.

“In fireworks, on the contrary, particulate matter consists mainly of salts. That’s something completely different in terms of chemistry,” Keller said.

For instance, when black powder burns, potassium carbonate remains — basically a white salt, something people have used in the past to fertilize and protect crops from frost damage.

Chemist Klein-Sommer also pointed out that although the concentration of particulate matter on New Year’s Eve is much higher, levels are usually quick to drop back to normal on January 2.

“Considering that every German contributes around 25 grams of CO2 through fireworks, but as much as 33,000 grams of CO2 through driving and heating, New Year’s Eve hardly matters,” he said.

Text: Deutsche Welle – www.dw.com

S

Kurz notiert | IN BRIEF

Airbus to test its electric “Flying Car” by end of 2017

High-Flying Innovative

Mercedes-Benz sold first electric bus to Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr GmbH The Rhein Neckar Verkehr GmbH will be the first customer for the fully-electric city bus from Mercedes-Benz. Representatives of the Daimler subsidiary EvoBus GmbH and Rhein Neckar Verkehr GmbH have signed a corresponding memorandum of understanding.

The first vehicles will be delivered at the end of 2018, and then go into practical operation in the Rhein-Neckar metropolitan region as part of customer trials. This means that the first examples of the fully electric Mercedes-Benz city bus will remain close to home – as they are produced in Mannheim.Apart from the delivery of vehicles, the two partners have agreed to closely exchange their findings during day to day regular service operations.

Airbus is making progress on its new electr ic-powered vertical take-off and landing aircraft colloquially (and incorrectly) known as a “flying car.”

The European aerospace giant posted a series of photos today from its Vahana project, showing its team working on a pair of single-seat, tilt-rotor vehicles with a paint job that would make a Stormtrooper envious.

As reported on MSN.com, Airbus has said it wants to build a fleet of electric, autonomous, multi-rotor VTOL aircraft that can be used to fly from rooftop to rooftop in dense cities where traffic is often at a standstill. The project launched in early 2016 as one of the first pursuits of A³ (pronounced A-cubed), its Silicon Valley subsidiary. (Vahana is a Sanskrit word that refers to the vehicle or mount of a god.) Since then, the company has reported regular updates, including a concept video of the user experience.  © Provided by The Verge

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COVER | Titelgeschichte

Diane Kruger:

Weltstar dreht zum ersten Mal in ihrer Muttersprache Von Petra Schürmann

As a former model, Diane Kruger is known for her impeccable style and extravagant robes on the red carpet.

In 2011, the magazine “Elle” recognizes her for her exclusive fashion taste.

D

iane Kruger ist eine der wenigen Deutschen, die es wirklich in Hollywood geschafft haben. Und dies seit über zehn Jahren. Ihre deutschen Wurzeln nicht zum Thema zu machen, hat dabei sicherlich geholfen. Nun hat sie ihre erste Hauptrolle in einem deutschen Film gespielt und gleich die Goldene Palme in Cannes als “Beste Darstellerin” gewonnen. Ein Wink des Schicksals?

Es geht um die Rolle der Katja in Fatih Akins neuestem Film “Aus dem Nichts”, der im Februar diesen Jahres auch einen Golden Globe in der Kategorie “Bester fremdsprachlicher Film” gewann. Eine neues Projekt mit Fatih Akin ist geplant: Diane Kruger als Marlene Dietrich. Viele Gründe, die Karriere der schönen Deutschen näher zu betrachten.

Geboren in dem kleinen Dorf Algermissen bei Hildesheim in Niedersachsen zieht Diane Kruger mit 16 Jahren nach Paris, wo sie zunächst noch unter ihrem richtigen Namen Diane Heidkrüger als Model arbeitet. Über diese Jahre in Paris hat sie nicht viel Positives zu berichten: “Es war eine lehrreiche Zeit”, sagt sie zurückhaltend in einem Interview mit ARD. Auf der Suche nach mehr Tiefe, wie sie im Interview weiter erzählt, will sie in ihrer Arbeit auch Gefühle ausdrücken und nimmt Schauspielunterricht. Sie perfektioniert ihr Französisch, ändert ihren Namen in Diane Kruger – ohne den irritierenden deutschen Umlaut – und bekommt zunächst kleinere Rollen in französischen Filmen angeboten. So kann sie sich international besser vermarkten, was sich schon bald auszahlt: 2004 bekommt sie die weibliche Hauptrolle der “Helena” in Wolfgang Petersens “Troja” an der Seite von Brad Pitt und Orlando Bloom .“Ich erinnere mich noch,” so erzählt Petersen German World,” in einem Interview mit Indielondon.com, “sie hatte so etwas in ihren Augen, das man nicht erklären kann. Als wenn man jemandem bis tief in die Seele sähe. Das ist viel mehr als nur hohe Schauspielkunst.”

Ihren Erfolg in den USA hat sie vor allem ihrem akzentfreien Englisch zu verdanken, denn so ist sie nicht auf die Rolle einer Deutschen festgelegt.

Der Regisseur Quentin Tarantino wollte zunächst gar nicht glauben, dass sie Deutsche ist, als er sie für eine Rolle in “Inglourious Basterds” vorsprechen ließ. Bald dreht Diane Kruger amerikanische Blockbuster und in Frankreich Independent Filme und Komödien. Sie pendelt zwischen Paris, Los Angeles und New York. Doch kein Angebot kommt aus Deutschland. In Frankreich wird ihre Arbeit hochgeschätzt: 2012 wird sie in die Wettbewerbsjury der Filmfestspiele in Cannes berufen.

“Aus dem Nichts” ist ohne Zweifel einer meiner besten Filme, eine meiner besten Rollen.”

– Diane Kruger

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Cannes wird für sie schließlich die Brücke nach Deutschland, denn dort trifft sie auf den Hamburger Regisseur Fatih Akin, der ihr später die Rolle der Katja in seinem Film “Aus dem Nichts” anbietet. “Irgendwann ist mir Diane Kruger eingefallen,” so Akin einem Gespräch mit der ARD, ”ich dachte, die würde eigentlich passen. Dann habe ich sie getroffen und dachte: Sie ist mein ‘Character’. Manchmal hat man das, dass Schauspieler und Regisseur wie zwei Puzzleteile aufeinanderpassen.”

Titelgeschichte | COVER

Diane Kruger ... winning in Cannes 2017

... with Fatih Akin at the Golden Globes 2018

... with new partner Norman Reedus.

Deutsch, bitte!

Diane Kruger on filming for the first time in her native language

By Petra Schurmann

D

iane Kruger is certainly one of the few Germans who have made it big in Hollywood – for more than ten years, that is. Not making a big deal of her German descent has certainly helped. Most recently, however, she shot her first movie in German, playing the female lead in Fatih Akin’s drama “In the Fade.” For her performance as Katja, the 2017 Cannes Film Festival honored her with their Best Actress prize.

Is the universe trying to tell her something? A new project with Fatih Akin is already in the making: Diane Kruger as Marlene Dietrich. An exciting development – and a good reason to explore more about the life and career of the beautiful German thespian.

Her success in the U.S. can certainly be attributed to her excellent English, which doesn’t evidence any trace of a German accent, thus not limiting her to only playing a German. Film director Quentin Tarantino could hardly believe that she was German when she auditioned and won a role in “Inglourious Basterds.” Soon afterwards, Diane Kruger was shooting blockbuster movies in the U.S. and independent films and comedies in France. She started commuting between Paris, Los Angeles and New York.

No calls came, however, from German filmmakers. In France, on the other hand, her achievements in acting became so highly respected that she was asked in 2012 to become a jury member at the Cannes Film Festival.

Born in a small village close to Hildesheim, Lower Saxony, the stunning blonde moved to Paris at the age of 16, where she worked as a model under her real name, Diane Heidkrüger. “It was a good learning experience,” she said in an interview with German TV station ARD about those years.

Striving at giving her performance on the catwalk more depth, she started taking acting classes in Paris. At the same time, she perfectioned her French, and she changed her name to Diane Kruger – without the irritating German u umlaut – in order to market herself better internationally.

Her Cannes experience actually served as a bridge into German film, since it is here where she met German movie director Fatih Akin, the Hamburg native who offered her the role of Katja in his movie “In the Fade.” “While looking for suitable actors for my movie, I suddenly thought of Diane Kruger. ‘She could be the one,’ I thought to myself,” recalled Akin in an interview with the German TV station ARD, “and when I met her, I knew immediately that she was my character. Sometimes it happens that an actor and a director fit like two pieces of a puzzle.”

Her first small roles came in French movies; she had her Hollywood breakthrough in 2004 as Helen of Troy in Wolfgang Petersen’s blockbuster “Troy,” starring Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom and Eric Bana. “She had something in her eyes that you cannot explain when you look right into the soul of somebody,” Wolfgang Petersen recalled in an interview with Indielondon.com. “It’s much more than about good acting.”

The character Katja is a dramatic role.The story begins as the travel agency owned by Katja’s Kurdish husband gets hit by a nail bomb; both her husband and her little son are victims of the fatal attack. For the police, the attack is the result of a Kurdish-Turkish conflict or a strike by the Turkish Mafia.To Katja, however, it is immediately clear that it was a Neo-Nazi attack.

She hires an attorney to seek justice. In the thriller, Diane Kruger demonstrates her full potential as an actress and incredible emotional depth.

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COVER | Titelgeschichte The many faces of Diane Kruger: as “Bridget” in “Inglourious Basterds” (2009), in her break-through role as “Helena” in “Troy” (2004), and speaking perfect French as “Marie Antoinette” in “Farewell, My Queen”, and as “Katja” in the German movie “In the Fade”.

“Dieser Film hat mir alles abverlangt.

Ich konnte danach ein Jahr lang nicht arbeiten.”

Es ist eine dramatische Rolle. Die Figur Katja verliert bei einem Anschlag auf das Reisebüro ihres kurdischen – Diane Kruger Mannes ihren Ehemann und ihren kleinen Sohn. Die Polizei ermittelt zunächst in Richtung türkische Mafia oder kurdisch-türkischer Konflikt. Doch für Katja gibt es Anhaltspunkte, dass es ein Anschlag der Neo-Nazis gewesen sein muss und engagiert einen Anwalt, der sie als Nebenklägerin vertritt. In diesem packenden Drama zeigt Diane Kruger ihr volles Potenzial mit ungeheure emotionale Tiefe. Die Zeiten, dass man ihre Schauspielkunst hölzern nennen konnte oder sie nur als “hübsches Beiwerk” bezeichnete, sollten nun endlich der Vergangenheit angehören.

Sechs Monate lang hat sich Diane Kruger auf die Rolle vorbereitet. Sie hat Selbsthilfegruppen in Deutschland und den USA getroffen und mit Angehörigen von Anschlagsopfern gesprochen.

Weiter auf Seite 17

The times in the past when her acting was described as “stiff and unsensational” or she was called “a pretty sidekick” should now be over for good. For more than six months, Kruger prepared herself for the role. She met with members of support groups in Germany and the U.S. who lost a family member due to a terror attack. At the beginning, Kruger admitted, she was very uncomfortable with asking people to talk about their terrible loss and the unimaginable emotional pain they endured.

However, after a while, she realized that the people had an urge to share their emotions with her, finding comfort in being able to talk about the loved ones they lost.

Diane Kruger, who does not have any children of her own, managed extremely well to immerse herself into the psyche of a mother who loses her only child and husband. Her acting is powerful and enormously gripping, getting under everybody’s skin. This came at a price. Working on the movie left Kruger emotionally totally exhausted. “After shooting ‘In the Fade,’ I was simply not capable of working for more than a year,” she admitted in a German TV talk show. “I gave everything to this role.“ Even more than a year after filming, her eyes filled with tears.

It is no surprise that Diane Kruger won Best Actress in Cannes, nor that “In the Fade” won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign-Language Film in January 2018, And going from Hollywood to a career in Germany? Most of the time, it is the other way around. Kruger, who has both German and American citizenship, would love to film again in her home country. “It was a great experience,” she said. “I am German, and I waited for a pretty long time for a good role in a German movie. Hopefully, I do not have to wait another 25 years for the next chance!”

Her wish could come true sooner than she thinks. Rumors have it that Fatih Akin is planning a TV miniseries about Marlene Dietrich – with Diane Kruger in the lead role! n Diane with her mother, her brother (2nd f.l.) and his wife, her former partner Joshua Jackson (r.), and a family friend.

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GERMANY IN Washington, DC

Dressed

for the Image

Stunning Marlene Dietrich Exhibit at the Portrait Gallery until April 15, 2018

Diane Kruger on the set in Hamburg with Fatih Akin and co-star Numan Acar.

Anfangs, so sagt sie in einer Pressekonferenz, hat sie sich fast “schmutzig” gefühlt, dass sie Menschen, die einen so schmerzlichen Verlust erlebt haben, auf ihr Leid ansprach.Aber irgendwann hat sie gemekrt, dass es den Hinterbliebenen guttat, über ihren Schmerz und den Verlust zu sprechen.

Diane Kruger, die selbst keine Kinder hat, hat sich in außergewöhnlicher Weise in die Rolle der Katja eingefühlt und diese schauspielerisch absolut ergreifend umgesetzt. Das hat sie selbst persönlich sehr mitgenommen. “Ich konnte ein Jahr lang nach dem Dreh von “Aus dem Nichts” nicht arbeiten,” gesteht Diane Kruger in einer Talkshow des deutschen Fernsehkanals NDR. “Diese Rolle hat mir alles abverlangt.”

Selbst mehr als ein Jahr nach dem Dreh kommen ihr die Tränen als sie diesen Satz auspricht.

Vorbei sind die Zeiten als die New York Times in Bezug auf ihre Darstellung der “Helena” in “Troja” schreiben konnte, sie sei einfach zu makellos schön, um eine gute Schauspielerin zu sein.

2017erhält sie in Cannes für ihre Rolle als Katja den Darstellerpreis als beste Schauspielerin und im Januar 2018 wird “Aus dem Nichts” in Los Angeles mit dem Golden Globe als bester fremdsprachlicher Film ausgezeichnet.

Von Hollywood zur Karriere im deutschen Film?

Normalerweise stellen sich das deutsche Schauspieler genau umgekehrt vor. Diane Kruger, die mittlerweile auch die amerikanische Staatsbürgerschaft besitzt, würde gern wieder in Deutschland drehen. “Es war eine super Erfahrung,” so Kruger.

“Ich bin Deutsche und ich hab echt lange auf eine Rolle in Deutschland gewartet. Ich hoffe, dass ich nicht wieder 25 Jahre warten muss.”

Ihr Wunsch könnte schneller in Erfüllung gehen, als sie denkt. Angeblich plant Fatih Akin einen Fernseh-Mehrteiler über Marlene Dietrich - mit Diane Kruger in der Hauptrolle! 

M

arlene Dietrich brought androgyny to the silver screen through her roles in such movies as Morocco (1930) and Seven Sinners (1940). The biggest Hollywood star at a time when “talkies” were still new, Dietrich captured men’s hearts and women’s admiration on screen and off.

Dietrich challenged the strictly limited notions of femininity at the time through her lifestyle and fashion: “I dress for the image.

Not for myself, not for the public, not for fashion, not for men.” Relying on her good looks, striking voice, sense of humor and no-nonsense personality, Dietrich achieved international fame during her long career.

Dietrich’s many honors include the Medal of Freedom for her service entertaining American troops for 18 months during World War II, often on the front lines. The German-born star remains a symbol of anti-Nazism, a fashion icon and an influential figure of the LGBTQ community. 

Marlene Dietrich: Dressed for the Image was organized in cooperation with Deutsche Kinemathek Marlene Dietrich Collection Berlin.

Portrait Gallery historian Kate C. Lemay is the curator of this exhibition.

The exhibit is on display until April 15, 2018.

Location: Portrait Gallery, 8th and F Streets NW Washington, DC 20001 Gallery Hours: 11:30 AM - 7:00 PM daily.

Admission is free WINTER 2017 / 2018

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F

or Justinian Jampol, founder and executive director of the Wende Museum, November 18, 2017, was a day when a dream of his came true: it marked the official opening of the Wende Museum’s new and spacious home in Culver City.



SPOTLIGHT | California

A New Kid on the Block Grand opening of the Wende Museum at its new facility in Culver City

By Petra Schurmann

Jampol has been the mastermind behind this unique museum that offers more than 100,000 objects including sculptures, furniture, technical equipment, paintings and photographs from Eastern Europe during the Cold War era. The aim of the museum is to create a clearer, broader understanding of the period between 1945 and 1991 as well as to preserve Soviet art, history and culture, while also drawing comparisons to contemporary events and issues.

Photos:Marlene Marlene Picard, Picard,Volker Volker Correll.

Correll.Courtesy Courtesy of ofThe TheWende Wende Museum.

Museum.

Photos:

“The Wende” – as many American journalists refer to it – was founded in 2002 and was also located in Culver City, but only in a very small office suite on Buckingham Parkway in an unassuming business complex.With little space at its old home, the Wende Museum had flown much under the radar of most museumgoers. Much of its vast collection was stored in five different facilities and was only made accessible to scholars, students or researchers on an by-appointment-basis.

However, this all changed when Justinian Jampol managed to get a 75-year, $1-a-month lease from the City of Culver City for its vacant National Guard’s Armory, a former atomic bomb shelter built in 1949 in anticipation of a possible World War III Soviet air strike.

Architect Christian Kienapfel (Paravant) transformed the shelter into 7,000 square feet of exhibition space perfect for installations.

The irony of the new museum’s home is striking. After all, it was meant to withstand an attack from Russia during the Cold War and now it displays artifacts from Russia for much more peaceful uses.

“Unfortunately, with North Korea and Russia in the news,” remarked Justinian Jampol in an interview with the L.A. Times, “it’s like the ‘80s again. It’s very Cold War retro. Historians and historical institutions are always using these platitudes or abstract ideas like, ‘Oh, we have to study the past to know our present and future.’ And I’ve always avoided that because it felt so cliché. But now I’m rethinking that because it really does feel super-connected.”

Justinian Jampol, a Los Angeles native and scholar of modern European history, spent a lot of time in Berlin after the Fall of the Wall while studying. He became totally fascinated with the era of the Cold War and the swift change, “Wende” after 1989. He noticed how historical landmarks, materials, objects and artifacts that documented an entire cultural history of what life was like in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union were rapidly disappearing.

Jampol started acquiring objects on his own in the mid 1990s with his own money. His collection quickly expanded in 2000 with a significant donation by activist Alwin Nachtweh and his partner Ulrike Wolf, which prompted Jampol to incorporate his collection as The Wende Museum in 2002 as a 501(c)3 California nonprofit organization.

In 2004, the museum took another transformative leap forward when Arcadia, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin, made another significant donation. Arcadia has been The Wende Museum’s leading supporter, contributing more than $10 million since 2004. The museum’s permanent collection was recently named for Baldwin and Rausing. Peter Baldwin was very influential in Jampol’s life before he 18

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Impressive Ernst Thälman bronze bust

Photo: By EMS

California | SPOTLIGHT Cornelia Funke and Dr. Gaethgens

Dennis Slon, Peter Baldwin, Dr. Jampol, L.A. County Chief of Protocol Lourdes Saab, Benedikt Taschen.

Dr. Justinian Jampol with his wife and Tim Robbins Benedikt Taschen, Dr. Jampol, Peter Baldwin (f.l.t.r.)

began collecting. As Jampol’s undergraduate UCLA advisor, Peter Baldwin encouraged him to focus on European history and to attend graduate school at Oxford, where Jampol eventually earned his master’s in Russian and East European studies before embarking on a Ph.D. there, studying modern history.

With the support of Arcadia, the museum was able to initiate a sweeping campaign to acquire, preserve and provide access to threatened cultural materials of Cold War Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union.

The inaugural exhibit “Cold War Spaces” shows only a fraction of the museum’s collection. Its 10 sections explore difference spaces of life during the Cold War – the public, private, work, border, secret and even outer space, the latter being symbolized, among others, by a big bronze bust of Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.

I was especially drawn to a display of a typical GDR furniture set and accessories (photo on the right), which brought back memories of my friends in Dresden in the mid 1980s. I also enjoyed the collection of porcelain dishes and household items, which brought life in the former GDR back to mind.

On Opening Night, in front of a full house, Justinian Jampol took the opportunity to thank the many sponsors and supporters that made the move to the new facility possible, including the publisher Benedikt Taschen, an advisor to The Wende Museum since 2011. Taschen published the museum’s collections catalog, “Das DDR Handbuch” (“The East German Handbook”), written by Justinian Jampol. The mayor of Culver City, County of Los Angeles representative Lourdes Saab, German best-selling author Cornelia Funke, former city councilman Tom LaBonge and Oscar-winning actor Tim Robbins (who is a Culver City resident and a long-time enthusiast of the Wende Museum) all attended the Opening Night.

With its beautifully landscaped backyard, external event space and a small book store, The Wende Museum is the perfect place to spend a leisurely afternoon and to time travel under the Californian sun to dark Cold War times, which hopefully never come back. 

Section of the exhibit “Cold War Spaces”

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2/19/18 9:56 AM

Alles Walzer!

Willkommen zur Ballsaison Von Von Petra Petra Schürmann Schürmann

Mehr als 450 Bälle finden jedes Jahr in Wien statt. Ausgelassen feiert die Walzer-Metropole die Faschingszeit jedes Jahr im Januar und Februar mit als 2000 Stunden zum Tanzen.

Eines der besten Beispiele eines traditionellen Wiener Balls in den USA ist der Wiener Opernball in New York.

P

ünktlich zu Beginn des Fasching startet in Wien auch die Ballsaison und zwar am 11. November mit einem Walzer für alle im Zentrum der Stadt.

Ihren Höhepunkt erreicht die Ballsaison in der österreichischen Hauptstadt im Januar und Februar. Die jahrhundertalte Tradition der Faschingsbälle wird immer beliebter in Wien.

Für all diejenigen, die vorerst nicht zur Ballsaison nach Österreich reisen können, werden im Viennese Opera Ball New York einen adäquaten Ersatz finden. Seit 1955 wird diese Benefizgala unter der Schirmherrschaft des Bundespräsidenten von Österreich und des Bürgermeisters von Wien in New York organisiert.

Traditionell beginnt die Ballsaison mit dem Rote-Kreuz-Ball Mitte November. Am Silvesterabend hat man dann die Gelegenheit in der Hofburg, Regierungssitz von Kaiserin Maria Theresia und Kaiser Franz Joseph I., sich in kaiserlichem Ambiente zu amüsieren.

Der Wiener Openball, der dieses Jahr am 8. Februar eröffnet wird, ist legendär, denn er wird in der Wiener Staatsoper veranstaltet. An diesem Tag haben die Gäste die einzigartige Gelegenheit, auch hinter die Kulissen des Opernhauses an der Ringstraße zu schauen und auf allen Rängen zu tanzen und zu feiern.

Viele Jahre lang leitete Marcie Rudell das Organisationskomité des Viennese Opera Ball in New York, bis Silvia Frieser, geborene Wienerin und Präsidentin der amerikanisch-österreichischen Handelskammer in New York, im August 2016 die Organisation übernahm. “Es ist sehr wichtig, “so Frieser in einem Interview, “dass der Wiener Opernball in New York mehr Aufmerksamkeit auf die engen wirtschaftlichen und kulturellen Verbindungen zwischen Österreich und den USA lenkt und internationale Geschäftsleute miteinander in Kontakt bringt. Üblicherweise findet der Wiener Opernball in New York immer im Waldorf Astoria statt, doch dieses Jahr musste Silvia Frieser einen neuen Veranstaltungsort finden, da das Waldorf Astoria wegen Renovierungsarbeiten für drei Jahre geschlossen ist. Am 2. Februar findet der Ball daher zum ersten Mal im Ziegfeld Ballroom statt, eines der größten und, aufgrund seines exquisiten Art déco Dekor, schönsten Ballsäale New Yorks.

Einer meiner Lieblingsbälle in Wien ist seit jeher der Ball der Wiener Philharmoniker im Gebäude des Wiener Musikvereins. Viele von Ihnen kennen vielleicht diesen wunderschönen Saal, in dem auch immer das traditionelle Neujahrskonzert veranstaltet wird, das weltweit im Fernsehen ausgestrahlt wird und Jahr für Jahr Millionen von Zuschauern hat. Der Ballsaal des Musikvereins ist eines der elegantesten Ballsäale Wiens, in denen man dem glanzvollen Lebensstil des fin du siècle noch am besten nachspüren kann.

Getreu der österreichischen Tradition wird der Ball mit einem offiziellen Defilée der Ehrengäste, einem Ehrensalut und dem Einzug der Debütantinnen und ihren Begleitern eröffnet. Dem Cotillion der Debütantinnen und einer Polonaise folgt der Traditionsruf “Alles Walzer”, der alle Gäste zum Wiener Walzer auf die Tanzfläche bittet. Die Gäste werden außerdem von Opernstars René Pape and Angela Meade sowie Ballettänzern und einem Wiener Orchester Ensemble unterhalten.

In der Hofburg finden auch noch zahlreiche andere Bälle statt, zum Beispiel der Ball der Kaffeehausbesitzer, der bekannt für seine besondere Atmosphäre ist und jedes Jahr mehr als 6000 Gäste anzieht.

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Alles Walzer!

Welcome to the Ball Season

By Petra Schürmann

VOB President Silvia Frieser and VOB Artistic Director Daniel Serafin

T

he Vienna ball season starts punctually at the beginning of the Carnival season, called Fasching in Austria, on November 11 with public dancing of the waltz in Vienna’s city center. In Austria’s capital, the ball season reaches its peak in January and February.

The old tradition of carnival balls, Faschingsbälle, continues to thrive in the city.

The ball season always kicks off with the Vienna Red Cross Ball at City Hall in mid-November. On New Year’s Eve, guests dance into the new year in a magnificent setting at the Hofburg,Vienna’s Imperial Palace from which Austrian sovereigns including Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Franz I used to rule the country.

Numerous other famous ball events are held here as well, such as the Coffeehouse Owners’ Ball, one of the most atmospheric of the year, which annually brings about 6,000 visitors to Vienna’s Imperial Palace.

The Opera Ball, which takes place this year on February 8 at the Vienna State Opera, is legendary. On this day, visitors have the unique opportunity to experience the famous opera house on Ringstrasse “backstage” surrounded by many celebrities.

One of my all-time favorites is the Ball of the Vienna Philharmonic at the Vienna Musikverein that took place this year on January 18. The fabulous building that many recognize from the traditional Neujahrskonzert (New Year’s Concert) that is televised worldwide and enjoyed by millions of TV viewers each year, is one of the most elegant venues in Vienna and offers a taste of the opulence of the fin du siècle lifestyle in Austria.

Each year more than 450 balls take place in Vienna. The city of waltzes exuberantly celebrates Carnival aka Fasching in January and February, offering more than 2000 hours of dancing. One of the best examples of a traditional Viennese ball in the U.S. is the Viennese Opera Ball in New York.

For those of you who cannot travel to Austria during the ball season, the Viennese Opera Ball in New York is your best bet to enjoy the Austrian ball tradition. Since 1955, this white-tie charity event has been organized under the auspices of the president of Austria and the mayor of the city of Vienna.

For many years, Marcie Rudell organized the Viennese Opera Ball in New York, until Silvia Frieser, a Vienna native and president of the U.S. Austrian Chamber of Commerce, took over in August 2016. “It is important to the Viennese Opera Ball,” Frieser states in an interview, “to highlight the close economic and cultural relationships between Austria and the United States and connect international business professionals.”

Usually held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York, Silvia Frieser needed to find a new venue for 2018 since the Waldorf Astoria has been closed for renovations for three years. On February 2, 2018, the newly reopened Ziegfeld Ballroom will serve as this year’s venue. It is one of the largest ballrooms in New York City and beautifully adorned in Art Deco style.

True to the Austrian tradition, the ball will open with a procession of the dignitaries, the presentation of colors (performed in the U.S. by West Point cadets), the presentation of the debutantes and their escorts, who perform a traditional Cotillion, followed by the “Alles Walzer” announcement inviting all guests to come to the dance floor for the first Viennese Waltz. Guests are entertained all evening with a musical program created by Artistic Director Daniel Serafin, featuring opera stars like René Pape and Angela Meade, ballet dancers and a Viennese orchestra.

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Das Programm, unter der künstlerischen Leitung von Daniel Serafin, endet um Mitternacht mit der traditionellen Quadrille. Danach können die Gäste noch im Wiener Salon zur Musik von DJ Christophe Lacroix bis 3 Uhr morgens weiterfeiern.

Mehr als 700 Gäste werden dieses Jahr erwartet, darunter die Debütantin Erzherzogin Isabella von Habsburg, sowie Erzherzog Michael de Habsbourg-Lorraine, Ihre Königlichen Hohheiten Erzherzog Geza von Habsburg und Erzherzogin Elizabeth von Habsburg. Hauptsponsor des Balles ist Silhouette Eyewear, auch heute noch ein österreichisches Familienunternehmen. Der Erlös des Abends wird dem Musiktherapie-Programm des Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center mit Unterstützung von Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation for Cancer Research zugute kommen.

The traditional Midnight Quadrille will end the official Viennese Opera Ball, but guests are invited to party on at The Viennese Salon with DJ Christophe Lacroix and an Austrian specialties buffet.

Over 700 guests are expected to attend, among them debutante Archduchess Isabella von Habsburg, Archduke Michael de Habsbourg-Lorraine, T.I.R.H Archduke Geza von Habsburg and Archduchess Elizabeth von Habsburg.

The main sponsor of the ball is Silhouette Eyewear, still an Austrian family business today. The proceeds of the evening will benefit the music therapy program at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center with the support from Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation for Cancer Research.

For photos of this year’s event and next year’s date visit www.vienneseoperaball.com

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ienna’s Ball Calendar

Vienna Red Cross Ball | www.wienerrotkreuzball.at New Year’s Eve Ball at the Hofburg Vienna (Imperial Palace) | www.hofburgsilvesterball.com Vienna Coffeehouse Owners’ Ball | www.kaffeesiederball.at Ball of the Vienna Philharmonic | www.wienerphilharmoniker.at Doctors’ Ball | www.aerzteball.at Viennese Ball of the Sciences | www.wissenschaftsball.at Johann Strauss Ball | www.johannstraussball.com Hunter’s Ball (Jägerball) | www.verein-grueneskreuz.at Opera Ball | February 8, 2018 | www.wiener-staatsoper.at Bonbon Ball | February 9, 2018 | www.bonbonball.at Lawyers’ Ball | February 10, 2018 | www.juristenball.at Ball of the Vienna Boys’ Choir | April 21, 2018 | www.ball.wsk.at

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New York | SPOTLIGHT

New Networking Opportunity in New York:

First ICH BIN EXPAT FAIR a big success

By Petra Schurmann

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n Saturday, November 4th, 2017, the German-speaking community of the Greater New York area came together for the first annual ICH BIN EXPAT FAIR featuring 40 exhibitors, 6 expert lectures, a fun children’s program and of course plenty of food and drink.

Visitors were able to visit with their exhibitors and join free lectures spanning topics pertaining to relocation, career development and parenting international children.

The ICH BIN EXPAT FAIR also offered opportunities to network with other Expats as well as local businesses and services including relocation companies, schools, language programs, lawyers, translators, food companies, child & health care professionals, and more.

The event was conceived and hosted by Gabi Hegan, founder of CityKinder. com (a lifestyle and community website for German-speaking families) and Irene Fuchs, Director of Membership and Events at the German American Chamber of Commerce. With the support of the Swiss and Austrian Chambers as well as their generous sponsors the first edition surpassed the organizer’s expectations.

Feedback they received from exhibitors and visitors alike was all around very positive and the CityKinder Team is already preparing for the 2nd edition happening in November 3, 2018. Stay tuned for more info!

If your company or organization is interested in participating in the 2nd edition and gain exposure with the German speaking community of NYC, please contact the ICH BIN EXPAT FAIR Team now at info@ichbinexpatfair.com or visit their website at www.ichbinexpatfair.com.

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© Germany.info

SPOTLIGHT | Germany in the Midwest

#GermanBusUSA

Germany 3

people, 2 weeks, 1 Bus: Claire, Jonas and Eva of the “GermanBusUSA”Team started on the first-of-its-kind, multi-state road trip on Monday, October 30, 2017.

Their aim was to get out into the country and meet people in their hometowns to talk to them about their German heritage, about Germany in general, about the United States and Germany – politically, but also socially and culturally.

The tour took the three through Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia; through towns, neighborhoods and schools with “German” in their name or places with German history or German events.

About 25 percent of Americans claim German heritage. Many of the immigrants settled along the Ohio River. In Louisville, Kentucky, the number went up from a handful of Germans in the 1820s to 18,000 German immigrants by the 1850s.

Our countries share a number of challenges in these turbulent times, but we also share a long history, common values and common interests.

The team set out to bring these topics up with Americans whom they met along the road.

The first stop was Jackson, Mississippi, where the German Bus visited a number of schools, including Germantown High School.

Germantown in Memphis, Tennessee, was celebrating its first communal Oktoberfest when the German Bus Team happened to be in town and helped get the party started.

Germantown is a suburb of Memphis, founded in 1841. Local historians have two running theories as to the town’s name—it was either named after the designer of the town, N.T. German, or because of the small group of Germans who first arrived at the area. With the first residents of Germantown came the first churches, schools, and shops.

Check out Germantown Museum for more information on the place!

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The #GermanBusUSA tour visited Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia before returning to the German Embassy in Washington, DC.

The GermanBusUSA in Kentucky ... ... and in Tennessee

Through its first community Oktoberfest, Germantown celebrated its origins by recognizing the local German language and culture that still remained.

In Nashville, Tennessee, the German Bus Team took part in a Trivia Night. As the organizers knew we were coming, they included some Germany-related questions in the quiz. Could you have answered them? Test your knowledge about Germany! See the quiz on page 41.

As Germans immigrated in the US they formed social organizations as a way of promoting and sustaining the culture of the home country. Most of these clubs centered around either music or athletics.We in The Team visited the GermanAmerican Club Gesangsverein (singing society) when the German Bus arrived in Louisville.

In 2018, the 400 members will celebrate the 140th anniversary of the club.

Another important part of sustaining culture but also the social life then and now of GermanAmericans is participating in a Stammtisch.

In Louisville the Germany-lovers created the Stammtisch Mainz, named after Louisville’s sister city in Germany.

Finally, as a last stop of the trip, the German Bus team paid a visit to Fort Germanna in Locust Grove,Virginia, site of the first German settlement in the Virginia colony more than 300 years ago.

The road trip became a great mix of education, culture, history and simply fun. Hopefully, there will be more trips of this kind in the future. 

Did you know...

The Louisville Anzeiger was the longest running German newspaper!

It was published for 89 years!

What is important when you immigrate to a foreign country? Of course you want to get the newest updates on what is going on in your neighborhood. For that, the Germans had their own newspapers, 28 in total in Louisville alone, all written in German.

Text: Germany.info

Jonas works at the Foreign Office in Berlin and Claire works at the German Embassy in Washington.

© Germany.info

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Cruise Special | TRAVEL

Alle an Bord!

2018 verspricht ein Jahr der Superlative für die Kreuzfahrtindustrie zu werden

Photo: Courtesy of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. www.hl-cruises.com

Die Zeiten, als Casinos, überladene Buffets und Gratis- Cocktails rund um die Uhr die Haupt-attraktionen auf Kreuzfahrten waren, sind vorbei. Der Trend zeigt, dass die Reisenden immer mehr an den Zielorten selbst und am Kennenlernen der lokalen Kultur und Küche sowie an sportlichen Aktivitäten an Land interessiert sind.

Der neueste Trend: Konzepte und Angebote für die unter 40-Jährigen.

All Aboard!

2018 Promises to be One of the Biggest Years in Cruising Forget casinos on board, permanent overeating, and binge-drinking for free. The latest trends in ocean and river cruising strongly lean towards a more hands-on destination experience, the tasting of local food, and to a more active vacation style when ashore.

The latest trend: Cruise concepts customized for millennials and Generation X travelers.

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SHIP, AHOI! Von Petra Schurmann

Die Kreuzfahrtindustrie verzeichnet neue Rekordzahlen dank hoher Beliebtheit bei den unter 40-Jährigen

The cruise industry sees new record numbers as Während man bei dem Wort “Kreuzfahrt” While most people think of millennials jump on board

meistens zuerst an Ozeanriesen denkt, deren Passagiere mit schöner Regelmäßigkeit kleine Karibikdörfer oder malerische Inseln wie Santorini überschwemmen, so gehen die neuesten Kreuzfahrttrends zu kleineren Expeditionsschiffen, individuellen kulturellen Erlebnissen in den Zielorten, Auswahl an gesunden Speisen und mehr sportlicher Aktivität während des Landgangs.

Und immer mehr Passagiere im Alter von unter 40 kommen an Bord, was auch die Nachfrage nach Neuheiten wie Wellness Programmen, Yogaklassen und silent discos auf Ozean- und Flusskreuzfahrten generiert hat.

Gemäß einer Studie, die kürzlich von der in Hamburg ansässigen Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) veröffentlicht wurde, bewerten die unter 40-Jährigen Kreuzfahrten attraktiver als reine Landurlaube, Cluburlaub, geführte Touren, Anmietung von Ferienhäusern und Camping.

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ravel agents remain the most important “matchmakers” between the evergrowing number of cruises and the consumer. The use of a travel agent increased by almost 80 percent from 2015 to 2016, according to the American Express Spending & Saving Tracker.

In general, the global cruise industry has seen an amazing growth with more then 25 million passengers worldwide taking a cruise in 2017 compared to only 15.8 million people in 2007. While North Americans accounts for the largest group of cruise travelers, Germany is leading the pack in Europe with 1.8 million vacationers, about 30 percent of all European cruise travelers.

Luxury experiences on brands such as Crystal Cruises, Scenic and Ponant include butler service and gourmet meals as well as high-tech toys that include underwater lounges, helicopters and even submarines.

An exciting addition to the cruise market comes with Virgin Voyages, helmed by British mogul Richard Branson, expected to be launching in 2020-and for adults only. Targeting in particular the millennial generation, the ocean cruise ship will boast a trendy design akin to the company’s airline.

Especially river cruises see a huge rise in popularity among travelers under 50, with 13 new river ships added in 2017 alone, an increase of seven percent, in order to meet advancing demands.That’s reason enough for us to dedicate a good portion of our cruise special to river cruising.

German World editors had the opportunity to experience three very different cruise ships first hand: Our senior editor Jenny Peters took a trip with WWW.GERMAN-WORLD.COM

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cruising being only huge ocean liners with thousands of pas- By Petra Schurmann sengers flooding small Caribbean towns or tiny islands like Santorini following the daily debauchery at the overflowing breakfast buffet, the latest travel trends have shifted.

Travelers are now looking toward smaller expedition-size ships with unique cultural experiences among local people in the countries visited, healthy food options and more activities while on land.

And, with more and more travelers representing the millennial generation coming on board, wellness cruises, yoga classes and silent discos are some of the newest trends that are happeningin ocean and river cruises alike. According to a recent study by the Hamburg-based Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the largest industry trade group, millennials rated cruise travel higher than land-based vacations, all-inclusive resorts, tours, vacation house rentals, or camping.

Princess Cruises to Alaska, first-time contributor Gabi Hegan got a sneak preview of the newly renovated MS Europa 2, owned and operated by Hapag-Lloyd Cruises and the only German cruise ship being awarded the much coveted 5-Stars-Plus rating by Berlitz Cruise Guide 2018, and publisher Petra Schurmann enjoyed a relaxing cruise on the Danube visiting four countries in one week with AmaWaterways is to be co-owned by Austrian entrepreneur Rudi Schreiner, German travel executive Kristin Karst, and American travel industry veteran Gary Murphy. Find out more about this amazing European-American trio who celebrated the 15th anniversary of their company AmaWaterways LLC in 2017.

We wish you happy cruising on the following pages.



Improved technology is another trend to watch, with Symphony of the Seas being the first cruise to debut a new mobile check-in service that uses facial recognition technology to speed up the embarkation and disembarkation process in the terminal.

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The Cruise Industry in Numbers  Total revenue generated worldwide in 2015: 39.6 billion U.S. dollars  25.3 million cruise travelers worldwide in 2017, more than 13 million from North America, 6.6 million from Europe including about 1.8 million passengers from Germany  Cruise industry supports over 956,597 full-time jobs worldwide, 360,000 jobs in Europe with 45,700 of them in Germany.  26 new vessels launched in 2017 which equals a total investment of almost 7 billion U.S. dollars.  97 new cruise ships are expected to be launched from 2017 to 2026 totaling an estimated investment of 53 billion U.S. dollars.

Source: CLIA, www.Crusing.org

Cruise Special | TRAVEL

I

t was 90F when we stepped off the plane in Anchorage, Alaska, blazing hot in a place we expected to be chilly. Not a good sign when it comes to global warming, but because of that warm sun, the land portion of the Princess Cruises trip we took was an absolute delight.

ALASKA Where Your Adventure Dreams Come True

It was the chance to finally get to visit Denali National Park and Preserve that was the big lure of this land-and-sea combination trip.

We took the road up to Denali (which the massive mountain that defines the park is finally also called, no more Mt. McKinley) on State Highway A3 in a comfortable motor

By Jenny Peters coach, where we saw the devastation of a fire firsthand which had, the day before, stretched across the road and burned both sides of the forest, reminding us that Alaska is still a wild place, where anything can happen on a vacation there.

We proceeded to the epicenter of Denali National Park, staying at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge, which is within hiking distance of the main entrance to the park. That huge protected landscape can be visited only by hiking or taking one of the special “school bus” tours run by the park service into the wilderness; very few private autos and no tour buses are allowed inside the park. Which explains why we quickly saw a huge moose and her two baby calves, as well as bald eagles soaring high in the skies in that vast, still-wild expanse.

All too soon, it was time to leave beautiful Denali and travel back down to meet the Star Princess cruise ship docked south of Anchorage in Whittier. To get there, we boarded the Direct-to-the-Wilderness Rail, a luxurious glass-topped train, for a full day’s ride that wended through strikingly beautiful landscapes and even stopped for animal sightings.

Once onboard the massive Star Princess cruise ship, we settled into our comfortable minisuite with balcony (the ship has 1,297 cabins) as the seven-day water portion of the trip began.

This ship, like most in the Princess fleet, offers a host of fun things to do onboard, ranging from a collection of lounges and bars to a lovely full-service spa, numerous classes, seminars and lectures, live theater and movies, shops and the obligatory casino.We loved the outrageous Skywalkers Nightclub on the very top deck as well as the spectacular Chef ’s Table experience (book that one well in advance), a highlight of the cruise featuring personal service from the executive chef and the ship’s master sommelier.

Of course, it is all the astonishing natural wonders off the ship that Alaska visitors really come to see, starting with the Hubbard Glacier in Disenchantment Bay, the first stop on the cruise.

One of the few advancing glaciers in the state, it’s an ice castle built by nature, with gorgeous reflections in the waters around it and frolicking seals, peacefully floating otters and even passing whales wandering by. Shoot photos from your balcony (the captain makes sure both sides of the ship get equal scenic time) or head to the prow, where the winds can be chilly and people are standing three deep. There’s also The Sanctuary, where, for an extra charge, adults only can enjoy a bird’s eye view complete with blankets, loungers, hot chocolate and personal service.

That’s a terrific place to be when the ship arrives in legendary Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, the bucket-list Alaska destination that allows cruisers to see this UNESCO World Heritage Site up close, where towering glaciers – the Lamplugh, Margerie, Johns Hopkins and Grand Pacific – often calve off gigantic chunks of ice as you watch and listen. It’s almost otherworldly – and especially enjoyable when viewed from your private balcony while sampling the special Deluxe Breakfast served as the ship enters the bay, holding your camera in in the other hand. At that moment, you’ll know exactly why you came on a cruise to Alaska.n WINTER 2017 / 2018

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TRAVEL | Cruise Special

ZU GAST AUF DER MS EUROPA 2 Unvorstellbarer Luxus und Familienspaß auf Hoher See

By Gabi Hegan

Letztes Jahr im Oktober dockte Hapag-Lloyds MS EUROPA 2 zwei Tage lange am Manhattan Cruise Terminal in New York, bevor sie weiter Richtung karibische Inseln segelte. German-World Magazine war zu einer Pressetour eingeladen und bat die in New York wohnhafte Gabi Hegan, Gründerin von CityKinder.com, für unsere Leser hinter die Kulissen zu schauen.

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enn man in New York City oder in jeder anderen großen Hafenstadt lebt, bieten Kreuzfahrten eine tolle Möglichkeit, sein Feriendomizil bereits schon nach einer kurzen Taxifahrt zu erreichen. Und ein Luxusschiff wie die MS Europa 2 lässt sehr schnell das Gefühl totaler Entspannung aufkommen.

Die MS EUROPA 2 gehört mit ihrer Kapazität von 500 Passagieren zu den kleineren Schiffen unter den Kreuzfahrtdampfern, was der Crew die Möglichkeit gibt, sich ganz individuell um die Belange der Gäste zu kümmern. Schon bei Betreten dieses luxuriösen Kreuzfahrt-Schiffes bemerkt man, dass hier auf das kleinste Detail geachtet wird. Für die Innenausstattung wurden nur hochwertigste Materialien verwendet und ein modernes, unaufdringliches Design gibt ein Gefühl der Freiheit und Leichtigkeit.

Bei unserem Besuch an Bord der MS EUROPA 2 gab Hapag-Lloyds Kommunikationschef Moritz Krause eine kurze Präsentation der Luxusyacht und der letzten Neuerungen an Bord. Alle 2 Jahre werden Kreuzfahrtschiffe von Hapap-Lloyd zwei Wochen lang grundüberholt inklusive Erneuerung der Teppiche, Tapeten und sonsti32

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ger Dinge, die auch nur kleinste Zeichen der Abnutzung zeigen.

Nach der Präsentation ging es auf einen Schiffsrundgang, auf dem wir auch einige Suiten sowie die regulären Kabinen besichtigen konnte.

Selbst die preisgünstigste Kabinekategorie ist mit einer Fenstertür und Balkon ausgestattet.

In den öffentlichen Bereichen habe ich mich sofort in den Wellness-Bereich verliebt, besonders in den Pool, dem größten den es auf einem Kreuzfahrtschiff weltweit gibt. Der Pool kann bei Bedarf auch überdacht werden, so dass man das Schwimmbad bei jeder Witterung genießen kann.

Trotz allem Luxus ist die MS EUROPA 2 auch gut auf Familien vorbereitet. Es gibt einen Kids Club und auch Babysitter stehen zur Verfügung.

Gleichzeitig wird darauf geachtet, dass die Gäste mit Kindern so untergebracht werden, dass sie die Gäste ohne Kinder nicht stören, aber trotzdem selbst in den Genuss aller Vorzüge der Kreuzfahrt kommen. Maximal sind immer nur 50 Kinder gleichzeitig an Bord erlaubt.

Unsere Tour endete mit einem Besuch im Restaurant “Weltmeere”, wo während der Kreuzfahrt täglich je vier Menüs für Lunch und Dinner angeboten werden. Außerdem verfügt der Luxusdampfer auch noch über sechs

Spezialitätenrestaurants, darunter je eines mit italienischer und französischer Küche sowie ein Sushi- und AsiaFusion-Restaurant.

Das Angebot in den Spezialitäten-Restaurants kann ohne Aufpreis genossen werden. Allerdings werden Reservierungen empfohlen.

Alles in allem habe ich drei höchst interessante Stunden auf diesem sagenhaften Schiff verbracht, das auch “die schönste Yacht der Welt” genannt wird.

Nach dem Besuch war mir klar, warum die MS EUROPA 2 gerade als “Fünf-Sterne-Plus” Kreuzfahrtschiff vom Berlitz Cruise Guide 2018 ausgezeichnet wurde.

Eines Tages, so hoffe ich, werde ich auch einmal ein Kreuzfahrt mit der MS EUROPA 2 genießen können. n Weitere Informationen unter www.hl-cruises.de oder bei Ihrem Reisebüro.

Cruise Special | TRAVEL

ABOARD THE MS EUROPA 2 Unparalleled Luxury meets Family Fun on the High Seas

By Gabi Hegan

This past October the Hapag Lloyd’s MS EUROPA 2 was docking at Manhattan Cruise Terminal in the West 40ties getting ready for her trip to the Caribbean Islands. German-World Magazine was invited to join the press tour and asked New York based Gabi Hegan, founder of CityKinder.com to attend.

I

f you live in New York City (or any other major port city of course) cruises are a great way to start your vacation with just a short cab ride away – and I’m sure a week or two on the MS EUROPA 2 will give you that total relaxation feeling not many other trips or cruises can.

The ship is one of the smaller vessels among ocean cruise ships, accommodating only a maximum of 500 guests, which helps the crew to cater to individual needs of each guest. From the moment you step on board you notice, that attention was paid to every detail. The décor is luxuriously crafted using only the finest materials, but everything feels light and modern and slightly understated.

Once on board we were first invited for a champagne reception and a short presentation about the MS EUROPA 2 and the latest renovation project. Every 2 years the ship is being docked for 2 weeks to get a complete overhaul including new carpets, paint and replacing of any ever so slight wear and tear.

Following the presentation, we went on a tour of the vessel to see some of the suites and the regular staterooms which have even in the lowest category windows and a balcony.

In the public area, I loved the spa area featuring the largest pool on a cruise ship and a retractable roof, so guests can enjoy a swim or just relax poolside in any weather.

With all these luxury features the MS EUROPA 2 is also well equipped for families featuring a kids club and babysitters, however, the bookings are well managed so only a maximum of 50 kids are allowed at any given trip. The staterooms are carefully allocated to the families so that passengers without children are not disturbed by noisy family activities while families also get to fully enjoy all the amenities the boat has to offer.

The tour culminated in the main restaurant Weltmeere featuring world class cuisine featuring a selection of four courses for lunch and dinner. In addition to the main restaurant, the MS EUROPA 2 features six specialty restaurants including Italian, Sushi, pan-Asian and French cuisine. There is no extra fee to dine in one of the specialty restaurants, however, reservations are recommended as they offer limited seating.

All in all it was an amazing three hours I got to spend on this beautiful ship, which has also been dubbed the most beautiful yacht in the world, and I began to understand why the MS EUROPA 2 has been awarded the coveted distinction of “5-Star Plus” by the Berlitz Cruise Guide 2018. One day, I hope, I’ll be able to enjoy a full cruise. n

If you’re interested to learn more, please visit www.hl-cruises.com or contact your travel agent.

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Faszination

Flusskreuzfahrt Mehr als 1.5 Millionen Reisende haben 2017 Kreuzfahrten auf Europas Flüssen unternommen, 40 Prozent der Gäste stammen aus Nordamerika, Tendenz steigend. Was macht Flusskreuzfahrten so beliebt?

Von Petra Schürmann

The AmaPrima approaching Passau.

F

lusskreuzfahrten in Europa gibt es seit mehr als 25 Jahren, aber was mit zwei- oder dreitägigen Touren auf eher zweckmäßig ausgestatteten Schiffen anfing, hat sich in einen boomenden Zweig der Reiseindustrie entwickelt. Die Schiffe heute, die mehr und mehr schwimmenden GrandHotels ähneln, locken mit geräumigen Suiten, elegantem Ambiente und Gourmetspeisen. Verglichen mit Ozeankreuzfahrtschiffen, die oft mit Casinos, Eislaufring und riesigen Theatern an schwimmende Städte erinnern, sehen Flusskreuzfahrtschiffe mit höchstens vier Decks und einer maximalen Länge von 135 Metern eher unspektakulär aus. Grund für die limitierten Außenmaße sind natürlich die Brücken und Schleusen, die ein Flussschiff passieren muss.

Es gibt jedoch keine entspanntere Art, neue Länder und Kulturen zu erkunden, als per Flusskreuzfahrt. So habe ich es jedenfalls auf meiner ersten Fahrt vor einigen Jahren mit Viking River Cruises auf der Rhône und letztes Jahr auf einer Donaufahrt mit AmaWaterways’ AmaSerena von Budapest nach Vilshofen (Nähe Passau) selbst erleben können. Obwohl man jeden Tag an einem neuen Ort ist, oft sogar in einem anderen Land, muss man weder Koffer ein- und auspacken noch die Route selbst planen oder jeden Tag ein neues Hotel suchen. Das Hotel schwimmt mit. Das Ergebnis: mehr Zeit für die Familie, mehr Zeit zum Entspannen. Immer beliebter werden Kreuzfahrten auch für Familientreffen, bei denen mehrere Generationen zusammen reisen. Gerade AmaWaterways ist dafür bekannt, in jedem Zielhafen ein vielfältiges Ausflugsprogramm für diverse Fitness-Level anzubieten.

Auch ist man eher in kleinen Gruppen auf Erkundungstour, geführt von englischsprachigen Reiseleitern aus der jeweiligen Region.

Stressfrei ist auch das Betreten und Verlassen eines Flusskreuzfahrtschiffes.

Bei maximial 200 Gästen gibt es keine langen Schlangen beim Ein- und Ausstieg. Und dank der Tatsache, dass sich die meisten großen europäischen Metropolen entlang der Wasserwege gebildet haben, da diese vor der Erfindung der Eisenbahn und des Automobils zum Transport von Waren und Personen unverzichtbar waren, ist man auch meistens von der Anlegestelle sehr schnell im Stadtzentrum.

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AmaWaterways Co-Owners Rudi Schreiner (l.), Kirstin Karst and Gary Murphy

Entscheidend für die Erschließung des amerikanischen Marktes für Flusskreuzfahrten in Europa war interessanterweise ein Österreicher: Rudi Schreiner. Der gebürtige Wiener hat nicht nur nacheinander das Flusskreuzfahrtgeschäft bei drei, heute konkurrienden Firmen aufgebaut – Uniworld, Viking River Cruises und AmaWaterways – sondern hat durch wegweisende Innovationen die Flusskreuzfahrt-Industrie entscheidend geprägt.

Rudi Schreiner – Pate der Flusskreuzfahrt Schreiner, der in Fachkreisen auch “Pate der Flusskreuzfahrt” genannt wird, studierte Architektur und Anthropologie. Während seiner Studienzeit unternahm er immer wieder lange Reisen, unter anderem an den Amazonas, wo er mit Freunden ein Floss baute und so sieben Monate lang das Leben der am Fluss lebenden Einheimischen beobachtete. Seine Faszination für das Erkunden von fremden Kulturen per Flussfahrt war geboren und ist bis heute ungebrochen.

Einen entscheidenden Entwicklungsschub für Flussreisen in Europa war die Eröffnung des neuen Rhein-Main-Donau-Kanals 1992. Dieses Projekt war schon von Karl dem Großen im Jahre 763 angestoßen worden und sollte ein einmaliges Netzwerk von Wasserwegen zwischen Nordsee und Schwarzem Meer bilden. Schreiner sah sofort die neuen Möglichkeiten, die sich damit ergaben, denn plötzlich konnte man nicht nur zwei bis drei Tage auf dem Rhein oder der Donau fahren, sondern nun waren Flussfahrten durch 15 Länder möglich.

Schreiner, der damals für die Entwicklung neuer Produkte bei Uniworld verantwortlich war, setzte mit Erfolg auf das Flusskreuzfahrtgeschäft: von anfangs 100 Reisenden im Jahr 1995 wuchs die Zahl bis zum Jahr 2000 auf ca. 18.000 Passagiere jährlich.

Cruise Special | TRAVEL

The Fascination of

River Cruising More than 1.5 million travelers took to the rivers of Europe in 2017, 40 percent of them were from North America. The percentage is estimated to grow even more. Why has river cruising become so immensely popular in recent years? (clockwise from left to right): The AmaBella docking in Duernstein on the Danube. The new super vessel, AmaMagna, to be launched in May 2019. The unique twin balconies were introduced in 2010 with the AmaBella.

A pool with swim up bar on the AmaSerena.

R

All photos: © Courtesy of AmaWaterways LLC

iver cruising in Europe started more than 25 years ago, with very modest beginnings: just-the-basics riverships and two- to three-day tours. From those humble beginnings, a booming branch of the travel industry has developed. The riverships of today resemble floating grand hotels, rather than small, bare-bones barges. But compared to ocean cruise liners which often feature casinos, ice-skating rinks and huge theaters, riverships are much less spectacular, with a maximum height of four decks and a maximum length of 135 meters.The reason for the size limitations are, of course, the bridges and locks that a riversship has to navigate.

Sailing on a river ship, however, is the most relaxing way to explore new cultures and countries. That’s been my experience, both when I took my first river cruise a few years ago with Viking River Cruises on the Rhône, and most recently with AmaWaterways, taking a trip on the Danube from Budapest to Vilshofen (near Passau) on board of the AmaSerena. Despite being in a different city (and sometimes even country) almost every day, there is no packing and unpacking of suitcases required, no looking for the best route or a nice hotel; instead, your hotel swims along with you. As a result, you spend more quality time with the loved one(s) traveling along and have more time to yourself to relax.

In fact, more and more multi-generational groups are coming on board riverships for family reunions. AmaWaterways is especially known for offering a variety of excursions for different fitness levels in each port, proving Nordic walking sticks and bikes for free, or wheelchairs for a fee, if requested. The excursion groups tend to be small and escorted by local, English-speaking guides.

By Petra Schurmann

Even getting on board and leaving the vessel is a smooth and easy process.

With a maximum of 200 guests on board a rivership, there are no long lines for embarkation or disembarkation. And thanks to the fact that most European metropoles were created along the main waterways, since those were indispensable for the transport of goods and people before the invention of the railway or automobile, the vessels usually dock very close to the center of each port.

Interestingly enough, it was Rudi Schreiner, an Austrian entrepreneur, who has been especially important developing the European river cruise market in North America. Born in Vienna, Schreiner developed the river cruise business for three (now competing) companies in the U.S. – Uniworld, Viking River Cruises and AmaWaterways, along the way bringing the river-cruise industry to new heights due to important innovations.

Rudi Schreiner – The Godfather of River Cruising Schreiner, who is often referred to by industry experts as the “Godfather of River Cruising,” studied architecture and anthropology. During his studies he used to go on long and exotic trips, like one to the Amazon, where he built a float with friends and traveled down that South American river exploring the life and nature along the river for seven months. Since then, he has been absolutely fascinated with exploring foreign cultures via a waterway.

A decisive moment in the history of river cruising in Europe was the opening of the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal in 1992. This project, which dates back to an initiative of Charlemagne in 763, was aimed at creating a large network of interconnected waterways between the North Sea and the Black Sea. WINTER 2017 / 2018

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TRAVEL | Cruise Special

Photos (f.l.t.r.): Gorillas in the mist - Rudi Schreiner and Kristin Karst on their first trek to a gorilla reserve in Rwanda, a new, very exclusive AmaWaterways excursion limited to 8 people per group. Game watching on the Chobe River. Giving back: The ODA Free Village English School in Cambodia supported by AmaWaterways. The christening of the AmaKristina in Lahnstein with Kristin’s parents attending.

Kristin enjoys bike riding along the Danube.

Danach bekam Rudi Schreiner im März 2000 die Chance, als Präsident für Viking River Cruises USA zu arbeiten. Hier traf er Kristin Karst, eine Top Vertriebsexpertin von American Express, die er als Mitarbeiterin einstellte. Für beide war es Liebe auf den ersten Blick und beide teilen die Leidenschaft für Flussreisen. 2002 verließen beide Viking River Cruises und gründeten mit ihrem langjährigen Geschäftspartner von Brendan Vacations, Jimmy Murphy, die Firma Amadeus Waterways, um Flusskreuzfahrten genau nach ihren Vorstellungen zu konzipieren.

Das Unternehmen, das 2009 in AmaWaterways umbenannt wurde, wird heute von Rudi Schreiner, Kristin Karst und Jimmy Muphy’s Sohn Gary geleitet. Was 2002 mit drei hochmotivierten Unternehmern und einem Schiff anfing, ist heute ein florierendes Unternehmen mit 220 ständigen Mitarbeitern und einer beeindruckenden Flotte von 22 vielfach ausgezeichneten Flusskreuzfahrtschiffen. “Von Anfang an,” so Kristin Karst, “war es unser Bestreben, ein Produkt aufzubauen, das uns auch selbst gefallen würde. Daher waren hochwertige Speisen und Getränke, ein zeitlos elegantes Ambiente, freundlicher, persönlicher Service und Routen mit einzigartigen Ausflusgsmöglichkeiten immer besonders wichtig.”

Bei AmaWaterways konnte Rudi Schreiner sein Talent als Architekt und Reiseindustrie-Profi voll entfalten. Er konzipierte alle Schiffe seiner Flotte und brachte 2010 das erste Mal ein Schiff mit dem einzigartigen Doppelbalkon auf den Markt, die AmaBella.

Mittlerweile gehört auch der Mekong in Vietnam sowie der Chobe und der Zambezi in Afrika zu AmaWaterways Reisezielen.

AmaWaterways founders: The late Jimmy Murphy (l.), Kristin Karst and Rudi Schreiner; On June 2, 2016, Rudi Schreiner was awarded the prestigious CLIA Lifetime Achievement Award at the Cruise 360 Hall of Fame.

CLIA cited the many innovations that Rudi has created over the years at AmaWaterways, and for helping three of the major international river-cruise companies since the mid 1990s to launch their U.S. operations.

Im Mai 2019 kommt Rudi Schreiners neueste Erfindung auf den Markt: die AmaMagna, ein Schiff von doppelter Breite, das vier verschiedene Restaurants bietet, den größten Pool aller zur Zeit auf dem Markt existierenden Flusskreuzfahrtschiffe, Kabinen mit einer Mindest-Größe von ca. 20 Quadratmetern und Suiten mit bis zu 66 Quadratmetern Größe. Und wieder setzt AmaWaterways neue Standards.

Auch eine neue Route auf dem Ganges ist geplant. Nur leider rückt Kristin Karsts persönlicher Wunsch, ihr Schiff AmaKristina auf der Elbe fahren zu lassen, aufgrund von häufigem Niedrigwasser in weitere Ferne. Ein Trost: Die AmaKristina wurde gerade als Best River Cruise Ship mit einem Travvy Gold Award, dem Oscar der Reiseindustrie, ausgezeichnet. Gleich vier weitere Travvy Gold Awards durfte AmaWaterways mit nach Hause nehmen: Best River Cruise Line Overall; Best River Cruise in Europe, Asia and Africa.

Für Kristin Karst sind es vor allem vier Werte, die sie als Grund für den Erfolg sieht: Leidenschaft für das, was man tut, Kreativität, harte Arbeit und positives Denken.

Kristin Karst selbst wuchs in der früheren DDR auf, aber ihre Mutter, die Russisch lehrte, war der Meinung, dass Kinder so früh wie möglich fremde Sprachen und Kulturen kennenlernen sollten.

“Noch heute,” so Karst in einem Interview mit Forbes.com, “kann ich mich lebhaft an meine erste Flugreise, damals mit Aeroflot, erinnern. Am Flughafen in Sotchi herrschte Chaos.Wir waren umgeben von Menschen verschiedenster Herkunft und sogar von Hühnerkäfigen. Ich kann mich noch so gut an die Aufregung erinnern, die ich damals spürte. So fing meine Leidenschaft fürs Reisen an, die den Rest meines Lebens beeinflussen sollte.”

Und auch einen Sinn für neue Geschäfte entwickelte sie schon als Kind: Um zu den Reisekosten beizutragen, baute sie einen Verkaufsstand mit ihrem Bruder auf und bot wieder verwertete Papierprodukte und Gemüse aus dem eigenen Anbau an. Diese Erfahrung lehrte Kristin Karst, dass harte Arbeit und Kreativität Träume wahr werden lassen. n

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Cruise Special | TRAVEL

Schreiner, who was responsible for product development at Uniworld in the early 1990s, managed to grow the river cruise business from 100 passengers in 1995 to 18,000 in the year 2000.

Soon after, Schreiner got the chance to become the president of the U.S. operation of Viking River Cruises. It was here that he met Kristin Karst, a top travel professional from American Express Travel, who had applied for a job at Viking River Cruises. For both it was love at first sight and both share an enormous passion for river cruises.

anticipation. That was my first taste of the passion for travel that was to shape the rest of my life,” she recalls.

And even as a child, in order to earn extra spending money, she came up with her first business idea – recycling paper products and selling fresh vegetables from their garden.This experience taught Karst to appreciate how hard work and creativity can make your dreams come true. 



All photos: © Courtesy of AmaWaterways LLC All photos: © Courtesy of AmaWaterways LLC

Schreiner immediately grasped the immense opportunities that the opening of the canal offered.

Instead of cruising for two to three days on the Rhine or Danube, people could suddenly cruise through 15 countries for a week or more.

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The Latest Cruise Trends

Infinite Balconies on Ocean Liner

Taking inspiration from river cruise ships, Celebrity Edge will introduce infinite balconies in 2018, where the space closest to the outside can transform from a fresh air veranda into a closed-off sun room with the click of a button.

This will be a first on ocean vessels.

River Cruising Gets More Active

In 2002, they left Viking River Cruises, to found a company that would offer cruises exactly meeting their own tastes and preferences. Together with their longtime business partner Jimmy Murphy of Brendan Vacations, they founded Amadeus Waterways, which was renamed AmaWaterways in 2009.

Today, the company is co-owned and managed by Rudi Schreiner, Kristin Karst and the son of the late Jimmy Murphy, Gary Murphy.What started in 2002 with three highly motivated and passionate entrepreneurs and one ship has flourished into a company of 220 employees and a fleet of 22 highly awarded river vessels.

“From the beginning,” explains Executive Director and co-owner Kristin Karst, “it was our goal to create a product that we would enjoy ourselves as well. Therefore, a high-quality menu, good wines, friendly and personable service, an understated, elegant ambiance and unique excursions were most important to us.”



At AmaWaterways, Rudi Schreiner put his talent as architect to work. He designed all of the AmaWaterways vessels and launched the first twin-balcony ships in the industry in 2010 on the AmaBella.

In May 2019, Rudi’s latest brainchild will hit the waters: the AmaMagna, double in width of the usual riverboat and boasting four restaurants, the largest swimming pool of any rivership in the world, suites ranging up to 700 square feet and a dedicated Wellness Center. Once again, AmaWaterways sets new standards for the river-cruising industry.

Uniworld has developed a river cruise brand solely for 21- to 45-year-olds, called U by Uniworld. It comes complete with complimentary yoga classes and Wi-Fi, as well as unique activities such as kayaking on the Seine and cocktail-making in Amsterdam.

Amadeus River Cruises are said to test a millennial product in 2018 called “Project M” onboard its Amadeus Provence. No further details have made known so far.

Unfortunately, one of Kristin Karst’s personal dreams, letting her namesake ship, the AmaKristina, sail on the Elbe, has not come to fruition yet due to the frequently too-low-to-travel waters of the Elbe. A consolation is that the AmaKristina was just awarded with the Gold Travvy Award (the Oscar of the travel industry), for Best River Cruise Ship. Four other Gold Travvy Awards went to AmaWaterways this year: Best River Cruise Line Overall; Best River Cruise in Europe, Asia and Africa.

In 2018 and 2019, more exotic destinations like the Ganges in India or the Congo in Africa will be offered in order to attract more adventurous and younger travelers. Following this trend, AmaWaterways added a very exclusive excursion to a gorilla reserve in Rwanda,Viking River Cruises will launch its first company-owned vessel on Egypt’s Nile River, the 52passenger Viking Ra, CroisiEurope has a second 16-passenger Africa vessel in the works, African Dream II, which will launch in December and sail along the Chobe and Zambezi rivers.

For Kristin Karst, who grew up in the former GDR, the reasons for the huge success of AmaWaterways are: Passion, creativity, hard work, and positive thinking.

Kristin’s passion for traveling began during her childhood. Her mother, a teacher of Russian, was convinced that children should be exposed to foreign languages and cultures as early on as possible.

Karst was nine when she took her first flight with her family heading to a vacation hiking in the Caucasus Mountains. “It was with Aeroflot, and to this day I have vivid memories of the experience. The airport in Sotchi was chaotic. We were surrounded by a wide assortment of people and even chickens in cages. I remember so clearly my feelings of excitement and

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On river cruise lines, the use of bikes and fitness rooms – often free of charge – have become standard. In addition to bike and mountain tours, kayaking and canoeing is being offered as well as healthy menu choices and onboard are fitness and wellness instructors like on AmaWaterways vessels. 

Versatile: Indoor Pool Turns into Event and Movie Venue

Amadeus River Cruises, part of Luftner Cruises, equipped its 15th vessel, the Amadeus Queen, with an indoor pool featuring a roof that can be opened in nice weather and transformed into a multi-purpose area or movie theater. 

Alternative Technologies

Douro Azul will launch a rivership with an electric engine in 2018. 

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Targeting the Millennials

River Cruises Become More Adventurous

Attracting more Families

A-ROSA is focusing more on families and is even offering child care on some of its cruises. 

Comeback for Paddle Wheeling Vessels?

While most river cruise companies strive at modernizing their fleet constantly, Croisi Europe offers a very special flair for travelers with their two paddle wheeling vessels: Elbe Princesse and Elbe Princesse II.

Source: CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association) / www.Kreuzfahrtnews.net

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TRAVEL | Review

LOT Polish Airlines Your best bet for affordable and comfortable travel to Europe

By Petra Schürmann

After my preferred airline for trips to Europe, Air Berlin, had sadly ceased operations last year, I was at a loss for which airline to take for my next European travel last October since all other European airlines tend to be very pricey – especially if you are looking for a little bit of comfort for a 12-hour flight.

Luck would have it that I heard about LOT Polish Airlines and its new nonstop flights from Los Angeles. I checked their flight table and saw that they had a really good connection to Munich, Frankfurt or Düsseldorf with only 1.45 hrs stopover in Warsaw. My final destination, however, was Berlin and I had the choice of either changing planes in Chicago and Warsaw or to have a layover in Warsaw of 4.30 hours. I chose the latter.

LOT recently reinstated nonstop flights from Newark to Warsaw, and a new direct service from Warsaw to Stuttgart and Nuremberg. In Austria, LOT serves six airports including Salzburg and Vienna; in Switzerland service to and from Zurich, Basel and Geneva is available.

The amazing rate for a roundtrip in Premium Economy was $1,290 in October 2017. Similar deals are available in Spring 2018. LOT also offers “Economy Saver” deals like a roundtrip LAX - Berlin in February or March for $659 inclusive all taxes and fees!

Of course, I was wondering what kind of Premium Economy class cabin might await me for such a low rate. However, I was pleasantly surprised. Not only did the check-in at a dedicated Premium Economy desk and the fast track through security at the airport go smoother than expected, the seating and service in Premium Economy was amazing.

LOT has recently added several Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, the most technically advanced aircraft in the world, to their fleet for the U.S. flights.

Thanks to the use of state-of-the-art technology of the Dreamliner, the aircrafts offer increased cabin pressure and humidity levels, and are much more spacious than other aircraft types. In Business Class, 18 flat bed seats are available – one of the biggest on the market. LOT’s Premium Economy class offers a separate cabin and 21 spacious seats, all equipped with armrests, footrests and leg rests. I enjoyed having a reading light next to my headrest, a USB port for my phone, great working WiFi on board and a wide variety of movies, TV series, audiobooks, music and games.

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Review | TRAVEL

LOT’s Premium Business Class Seats

LOT’s Premium Economy Class Seats

Almost as good as Business Class: LOT’s Premium Economy Class Cabin

Even in the regular Economy Class, passengers enjoy more space compared to other aircrafts. Seats are also equipped with footrests, USB ports, and an individual video screen.

The food on my flight, served on white porcelain dishes, was excellent, over the top for Premium Economy class.The wine and sparkling wine selection as well as the choice of beers and hard liquors matched the high quality of the food. All flight attendants spoke excellent English, some of them even German, and were very warm, welcoming and attentive to all my requests.

I began to understand why The American Global Traveler Magazine had voted LOT “The Best Eastern European Airline” in 2017, an appreciation of readers from all over the world.

Changing planes at Warsaw’s modern Chopin Airport was easy and the 4.5-hour layover just flew by thanks to a great choice of local and international restaurants, as well as free and fast WiFi. And when it comes to collecting or redeeming miles, flying LOT, a member of the Star Alliance, will nicely add to your United Mileage account.

Lunch in LOT’s Economy Class

The whole experience made me want to rediscover Poland and spend some time in Warsaw since my last trip to Germany’s interesting neighbor dates back to communist times. 

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CULINARY | News

Wine in Distress 2017 saw smallest harvest since 1945 in France and Germany

By Annette Schiller

A

cross the board in France and Germany the weather in 2017 was incredibly chaotic and vintners will certainly remember 2017 as one of the most volatile and difficult growing seasons.

March was unseasonably warm and triggered early bud break. In Germany, it was the warmest March since 1881 according to weather statistics. Fresh shoots were already appearing when all of the sudden frost hit in the second half of April, affecting most regions in France as well as in Germany.

Despite tremendous efforts fighting off the freezing temperatures in the vineyards by bringing in buckets with burning parrafin and hovering helicopters, many of the shoots were destroyed. However, secondary growth set in and things began to look much brighter.The summer was warm but patterns of irregular heavy rainfall and severe hailstorms caused further damage. September started cool and rainy but the second half brought sunny and beautiful weather stimulating the final boost of ripeness and overall quality.

As a result, overall yields in Germany are about 20 percent lower than usual and numbers vary among the wine regions and wineries. Some vintners lost 80 - 100 percent, others almost nothing. Interestingly, the northernmost regions -Saale-Unstrut and Sachsen- sitting on 51 of latitude were untroubled by the catastrophic weather patterns and showed a yield increase of 30 percent.

In France the picture is pretty much the same with a harvest of 17 percent below the average over the past five years. Chablis and the Mâconnais in Burgundy were hit hard with frost and hailstorms, but the rest of Burgundy did well and for the first time since 2010 overall yields in Burgundy were up by 12 percent from the 2016 harvest.

Bordeaux was hit much harder than the rest of France and experienced a loss of almost 50 percent. Bordeaux, with its oceanic climate, seldomly registers winter temperatures below 43 F and the spring frost came as a shock.

That called for an early harvest, and in both France and Germany the vintners worked frantically day and night to pick the grapes and to process the harvest before any drama could occur again.

Rhône, Burgundy, Bordeaux, Champagne, and Germany started harvesting two weeks earlier than usual and filled the barrels or tanks in record time.

I quote Fritz Gröbe, owner and winemaker of Weingut Gröbe in Rheinhessen, Germany: “This is a historical vintage. It was the earliest and shortest harvest season ever. Our harvest ended on September 28, which has never happened before.” n More on www.ombiasypr.com 40

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Text: Courtesy of Ombiasy Wine Tours

The vintage 2017 may be the smallest one in a long time but will be remembered as a vintage of exceptionally high quality. The remaining grapes reached phenolic maturity early and developed unseasonably high must weight and incipient botrytis.

The Interview | ENTERTAINMENT

NOT LOST AT ALL “Lost in Space” actress Vanessa Eichholz about her life in Hollywood

By Anna Mann

C

Swabian actress and producer Vanessa Eichholz, known for her role in Father Rupert Mayer, Reeperbahn, and Hellboy, sat down with German World to talk about her latest project Lost in Space, which will premiere on Netflix in 2018.

ould you tell us a bit more about your part on the Netflix show “Lost in Space” you recently worked on?

Do you feel like there is a lot of pressure for female Hollywood actresses to stay young and fit?

The upcoming show is called “Lost in Space,“ a remake of a successful TV series in the 1960s on CBS and a New Line Cinema movie in 1998 with Hollywood stars William Hurt, Heather Graham and Gary Oldman.

Unfortunately, I’m not allowed to say much about the content of the upcoming series, but it was great working with director and producer Neil Marshall (“Game of Thrones,“ “Westworld“) and I’m very excited for it to air in 2018 worldwide on Netflix.

Absolutely. I’m currently in the process of writing a book with my established co-author, Sonia Laszlo, about our Hollywood experiences in the male-dominated industry Hollywood and we also talk a lot about the pressure to look young in this town. We also work with the Geena Davis Institute about facts and figures and our publisher is very excited for the book to come out soon. 

You have worked in a Hollywood production on the movie “Father Rupert Mayer” with Hollywood icons Daryl Hannah and Stacy Keach before, how was the experience different from acting in ”Lost in Space”?

It was very different as ”Father Rupert Mayer” was a movie, not a TV show, which always sets a very different tone production-wise.TV is usually much faster paced.

Also, ”Father Rupert Mayer” was shot in Munich, Germany at the prestigious Bavaria Film Studios in the middle of January, so as you can imagine, it was freezing. Both Stacy Keach and Daryl Hannah are wonderful actors and it was amazing to be part of the same movie. Obviously, the film was about a Catholic priest confronting the Nazi regime and was digging into German history a lot. I play the priest’s assistant/coworker Mrs. Bahr, who helps free the priest out of a concentration camp from the Nazis.

German TV has also been interested in you recently?

Yes, it was a wonderful experience shooting for two of Germany’s biggest cable TV channels Pro Sieben and SAT1 for their primetime programming. One of the shows (”Taff ”) is comparable to ”Extra“ on E! and the other show “Frühstücksfernsehen“ is similar to ”Good Morning America.

“We shot at the iconic Hollywood sign as part of the locations and they were really interested to learn more about my life as an actress in Hollywood and how it is different from me acting in Germany.We also discussed beauty tips and tricks of Hollywood stars.

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SPOTLIGHT | California

Bittersweet Rosemarie Reisch hosts last event of the L.A. Berlin Sister City Committee

By Petra Schurmann

I

True to the organization’s dedication to build bridges between the two sister cities, the board members invited Berlin-based musician and composer Beatrix Becker to perform her presentation of “Bridges of Music” for this memorable evening that would be the last event of the Los Angeles-Berlin Sister City Committee (LABSCC).

The young German artist Beatrix Becker is known for combining diverse musical styles such as klezmer and tango as well as jazz and film music in search of new sounds and moods.

On January 20, she brought her musical piano and clarinet skills to Los Angeles accompanied

by Berlin-based guitarist Benjamin Doppscher and Moscow cellist Georgy Gusev. Playing with heartfelt passion, the versatile trio traversed many musical styles of lighter moods, and darker sounds. They exposed themselves in the humorous sadness of klezmer, a music that has captured everything in life – mercilessly honest and beautifully human – both forgiving and hopeful.

The members and sponsors of the LABSCC were very thankful that they were able to meet and experience one of Berlin’s finest examples of musical talent. Beatrix Becker studied clarinet and piano at the Mainz School of Music as well as musicology at the Humboldt University Berlin. She received further training in jazz and world music with Giora Feidman (Israel) and Mulo Francel (Munich), in composition with Irma Urteaga (Argentina) and in film scoring with Jan A. Kaczmarek (Hamburg). She has recorded numerous albums, and has extensively toured through Germany, Europe, Israel and the USA. In 2016, she founded the project called “Bridges of Music.” Supported by the German Consulate General in New York, “Bridges of Music” toured from New York via London to Berlin.

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All photos: ©Volker Correll, Tshombe Sampson , Courtesy of Los Angeles-Berlin Sister City Committee.

n commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the sister city partnership between Los Angeles and Berlin that occurred on June 27, 2017, the Los Angeles-Berlin Sister City Committee hosted an elegant soirée on January 20, 2018, at the beautiful residence of the organization’s long-time president Rosemarie Reisch in San Marino.

California | SPOTLIGHT

Beatrix Becker was a very fitting choice to highlight the last event of the LABSCC. The evening was especially bittersweet for Rosemarie Reisch who served the 50-year-old organization for 24 years as its president and had opened her home countless times for hosting dignitaries like the former mayors of Berlin, Eberhardt Diepgen, Walter Momper and Klaus Wowereit as well as world-class artists like Hermann Prey, Anne Kerry Ford, Ute Lemper and now Beatrix Becker. The LABSCC fostered student exchanges between the two cities and brought firefighters and policemen from both sister cities together for fun and casual networking events. Even an Oktoberfest was organized several times at Rosemarie Reisch’s residence. Unforgettable were the 10-year anniversary celebration of the Fall of the Berlin Wall with “candy bomber” American pilot Gail Halvorsen at the Berlin Forest at Griffith Park in L.A, the 40-year anniversary of LABSCC with Ute Lemper at UCLA Royce Hall and the stunning Berlin fashion show at Viviana in Downtown L.A. in 2014.

In 2017, however, the cities of Berlin and Los Angeles decided to organize the cities’ bilateral exchange in a new way with the help of a newly founded corporation Sister Cities of Los Angeles, Inc. Headed by Board Chairman Tom Gilmore, the new organization chose not to include or consult the LABSCC in order to shape the sister-city partnership for the future. In 2017, we witnessed deplorable 50-year-anniversary events that had just one common denominator: they neglected to pay respect to those who had kept the Berlin-L.A. connection alive for 50 years. Many long-time members and supporters of the LABSCC were simply appalled that neither their organization nor Rosemarie Reisch were mentioned once during the official events in 2017.Without Reisch’s generosity of opening her home for numerous large and elaborate events and her financial contributions, the friendship between L.A. and Berlin would have been fostered on a much smaller scale in California.

In an interview with German World Rosemarie Reisch mentioned how profoundly thankful she was to have been able to serve this wonderful organization for so many years and to welcome so many outstanding talents and dignitaries to her home. However, she simply does not understand how her organization could have been so unfairly snubbed during last year’s 50-year anniversary celebration. However, after all these memorable years with the Los Angeles-Berlin SCC, there will be more time now to spend on family, various businesses and interests.

German World says “Vielen herzlichen Dank” to Rosemarie Reisch, to the many dedicated fellow board members, and to the generous sponsors for sustaining one of the most engaging, sophisticated and bridge-building German-American organizations that Los Angeles has ever had. n The last Board of Directors: William Basel, Treasurer, Gary Shapiro, Heinz Niederhoff, Rosemarie Reisch, Michael Wolff, Frank Mottek, Secretary, Henry Mulak, Director. (f.l.t.r) WINTER 2017 / 2018

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CULTURE | Modern Living

Culture Clash

Six Ways Living in Germany Will Change You for Good

n Not crossing the street until it’s green In the Anglophone world it might seem like perfectly reasonable behaviour to step out into the road if you’ve scoured both horizons and not found a vehicle in sight.

But in Germany it’s considered downright reckless - and a bad example to children, who might be watching out of windows even if they’re not there beside you on the street.

Give yourself a few months and you’ll be waiting

When you go back to the homeland for your Christmas holidays, don’t be surprised if people look at you a bit funny - you’ve probably picked up one of these peculiarly German habits.

with the crowds for the little man to turn green if you don’t, prepare to get shouted at.

n Saying hello and goodbye to shop owners It would seem downright rude to ignore a shopkeeper or cashier in Germany, even if you don’t end up buying anything.

Germans may not be known for their friendliness, but they never fail to greet you as you come into the convenience shop, grocery store or pharmacy and almost always sing a melodic “Tschüß” as you walk out the door.

Perhaps it’s because shops tend to be smaller and thus feel more intimate than they do in the US just imagine greeting all of Walmart’s workers as you walked in.

n Obsessively collecting bottles for Pfand Germans take recycling seriously - as you can tell by each apartment complex’s courtyard dedicated to an elaborate system of specific bins.

Beginners’ German classes sometimes even spend time explaining the process, almost as a matter of German pride.

But on top of that, supermarkets make it extremely easy to turn in bottles for their Pfand deposit and immediately get the cash reward through automatic machines.

Thus you will see long queues of folks on weekends awaiting their chance to earn a few extra cents per bottle - and huge collections of bottles amassed in each German’s household, rich or poor.

Simply tossing a beer bottle in the normal garbage bin would feel almost sacrilegious when you know the next passing bottle collector could put it towards their next meal or good night’s sleep.

n Throwing in English words while speaking German German culture is so heavily influenced by American culture that sometimes it seems like 44

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every second word has been pinched from English - even for words that already exist in German.

After a while you’ll feel that it’s too weird to use the actual German word you learned so diligently in school and start using the English one instead - but with a heavy German accent to it of course.

n Being totally cool with nudity (and mixed sex saunas) This is the one that prudish Anglo-Saxons probably take the longest to get used to. But it is accepted - if not widespread - to be naked in certain areas at the beach or by the lakeside.

If you are a member of a gym in Germany you will also have to get used to the fact that you’ll be the only one wearing speedos in the sauna if that’s how you choose to go about it.

And there’ll be naked members of the other sex too.This is one habit that is sure to cause a storm if you take it back to the Anglo world with you.

n Having lightning speed hands at the cash register When you head to the checkout counter at grocery stores in Germany, you have to be both physically and mentally prepared. Those cashiers don’t mess around. And no one is going to bag your food for you like stores in the States.

Nope. German grocery store checkouts are survival of the fittest, a competition between consumer and cashier to see if you can keep up with their lightning-speed hands, throwing veggies, milk and eggs across the scanner as you scramble to pack things in a bag before they read out your total.

Those who are too slow should expect frustrated sighs and passive aggressive watch-checking from both the cashier and the customers behind them. n

Recipe | CULINARY

Das schmeckt im Winter:

Linsensuppe mit Schinken Lentil Soup with Ham A German Classic for New Year’s Lunch or Cold Winter Months

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our family will love this classic, slow-simmered lentil soup. The soup includes carrots, celery, and onions, along with basic seasonings.

A leftover meaty ham bone or ham hock flavors this tasty lentil soup.

Cooked sliced smoked sausage or diced cooked bacon can be used to replace the ham. If you have vegetarians in the family, omit the ham and replace the water with low sodium vegetable broth.

Some herbs that go particularly well with lentils: mint, parsley, thyme, and sorrel. Compared to other dried legumes, lentils are easy to prepare -- no presoaking is required -- and they take much less time to cook.

The leftovers are even better the next day, so make a big double batch or make the soup a day in advance. Or freeze the lentil soup in meal-size or serving-size portions for another day.

INGREDIENTS • • • • • • • • • • •

1 meaty ham bone (or 1 large ham hock) 6 cups water (or all or part vegetable or chicken stock; low-sodium) 1 1/2 cups dried lentils (brown or green) 3 to 4 medium carrots) 1 cup chopped celery 1 cup chopped onion 2 teaspoons salt* Optional: 1 teaspoon sugar 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 bay leaf Parsley or thyme for garnish

P R E PA R AT I O N 1. In a stock pot combine the ham bone, water or stock, lentils, carrots, celery, onion, salt, sugar, black pepper, and bay leaf. Cover the pot and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the lentils are tender. 2. Take out ham bone or hock and remove meat.

3. Chop meat and return it to lentil soup. 4. Remove the bay leaf.

5. Ladle the lentil soup into bowls and top with fresh chopped parsley or thyme

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LAST PAGE |

Deutschlandjahr 2018 / 2019 The public diplomacy campaign “Deutschlandjahr”(Year of Germany) is coming!

S

tarting in October 2018, Germany and its deep ties with the U.S. will be on display all around America. The German Embassy asked the German community in the U.S. to help celebrate by submitting ideas for projects that showcase our countries’ partnership in the areas of culture, education, science, and business by January 20, 2018.

“Deutschlandjahr” is a comprehensive and collaborative public diplomacy campaign sponsored by the German Federal Foreign Office, the Federation of German Industries (BDI), and the Goethe-Institut with the goal of presenting today’s Germany to people across the entire U.S. Together we will show how closely the two countries are linked by heritage, common values, and shared interests. Deutschlandjahr will illustrate how we can have a brighter future if we tackle global challenges together.

Visit the German Embassy’s website www.germany.info for more details.

STAY TUNED WITH ALL THINGS GERMAN IN THE U.S.!

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