Dear Reader, Welcome to our December issue!
Discover Germany Issue 57, December 2017 Published 12.2017 ISSN 2051-7718 Published by Scan Magazine Ltd. Print Liquid Graphic Ltd. Executive Editor Thomas Winther Creative Director Mads E. Petersen Editor Nane Steinhoff Assistant Editor Marilena Stracke Copy-Editor Karl Batterbee Graphic Designer Mercedes Moulia
Nadine Carstens Silke Henkele Sonja Irani Wibke Carter Cover Photo © Thorsten Wingenfelder Sales & Key Account Managers Emma Fabritius Nørregaard Laura Hummer Noura Draoui Sophie Blecha Audrey Bardzik Publisher: SCAN GROUP Scan Magazine Ltd. 15B Bell Yard Mews Bermondsey Street London SE1 3YT United Kingdom Phone: +44 (0)870 933 0423 Fax: +44 (0)870 933 0421 Email: info@discovergermany.com For further information please visit www.discovergermany.com
Contributors Barbara Geier Cornelia Brelowski Gregor Kleinknecht Ina Frank Jessica Holzhausen
Did you know that Germans love Christmas traditions? You have probably already heard of their unconditional love for mulled wine, or the advent calendar craze that can be witnessed in pretty much every household during the festive season. However, there are some unexpected traditions out there which many people (including myself) still don’t know about. An example is the pickle ornament which gets put on the Christmas tree. On Christmas Eve, everyone starts to search for it and the first one to find it can look forward to luck in the new year and an additional Christmas present. Weirdly enough, this German custom is rarely known in Germany and is more popular in the USA. Another odd Christmas tradition, which is probably the world’s scariest one at the same time, can also be found in Germany – the Krampus run. The 500-year-old Alpine tradition describes a custom that sees people dress up as ‘Krampus’ at several events, such as Christmas markets. ‘Krampus’ is a horned, anthromorphic figure, often described as “half goat, half demon”. Thus, visitors can look forward to loud bells, curved horns and terrifying masks. Now that you know everything to consider and remember when you spend Christmas in Germany, we thought it might also come in handy to know a bit more about Germany’s New Year’s Eve traditions. Thus, our writer Wibke Carter went out to find out more and explored the country’s manifold New Year’s traditions. Other topics in this issue are winter getaways, luxury ski resorts, Swiss spa or wellness centres, the DACH region’s most sustainable destinations, an interview with none other than Claudelle Deckert that gives us tasty tips for vegan Christmas dishes, legal experts and much, much more. And to round this issue off, we adorned our cover with none other than German actress Ann-Kathrin Kramer. She spoke to Discover Germany about why she decided to move to Wuppertal, the current state of the German film industry and more. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
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4 | Issue 57 | December 2017
Nane Steinhoff, Editor