GermanyisWunderbar
Want to view this email online instead? See it as a web page
GermanyisWunderbar GermanyisWunderbar
GermanyisWunderbar June 2011
GermanyisWunderbar
 

The worst is over

Has Germany’s tourism been affected by the world’s worst ever outbreak of E-coli poisoning? Undoubtedly. The death toll stands at 37 (36 in Germany and one in Sweden), but the number of new cases is declining fast, and it’s all connected to the consumption of beansprouts in a relatively small area of northern Germany.

Here at GiW we’ve been consulted by readers asking us about the safety of travel, but we’re not an official body so all we can do is refer to the Foreign Office travel advice, which currently states: “German authorities have confirmed that beansprouts and other shoots are the most likely source.... authorities are advising against eating the raw shoots and are no longer advising against eating raw tomatoes, cucumbers or lettuce.” 

Certainly some of the athletes entered for the next rowing World Cup, to be held in Hamburg the coming weekend 17-19 June, are not taking the risk; the British and the Dutch have pulled out. And the authorities must have a wary eye on the sporting highlight of the year, the FIFA Women’s World Cup, which starts on 26th June in Berlin.

Fingers crossed that now that the source has been properly identified, there will be no more casualties.
 

 
GermanyisWunderbar
 

GiW feeds the press

GermanyisWunderbar

It seems that Wunderbar is the ‘go to’ source for quality travel editorial about Germany. In recent weeks we’ve provided features on the Mosel for the Independent, on Hamburg for Business Traveller magazine, on luxury Germany for Ultra Travel magazine (spring edition) in the UAE, on Stuttgart for Business Traveller Middle East (July/August edition), and on Hamburg and Bamberg and Nuremberg for the National newspaper in Abu Dhabi. Any more for any more?

 
GermanyisWunderbar
 

Germany’s unusual cures

GermanyisWunderbar

The nation that coined the word ‘wellness’, has a lot more to offer than just naked saunas.

Schroth. Being woken at 4am and wrapped in hot towels may not sound ideal, but the whole idea of Schroth is to stimulate the body’s natural immunities with a series of nudges, in diet, in routine, in exercise. There will be therapeutic fasting, and strict drinking rules, but you don’t necessarily have to go without your glass of wine! The whole body-wrap thing derives from an early practice of trying to correct scoliosis, curvature of the spine. The alpine resort of Oberstaufen in the Allgau is officially recognised as the Schrothkur centre.

Kneipp. The 19th century Dominican priest Sebastian Kneipp is described as the ‘father of hydrotherapy’, after curing himself of tuberculosis by jumping into the icy Danube, then climbing out and running home as fast as he could. After doing this a few times a week, his health returned. The modern therapy is based on the same principles of physical exertion to warm the body; a very short, very cold dip and immediate physical exertion, while the skin is still wet, until the body is rewarmed. The Danube’s role has been usurped by hot and cold showers, rinses, baths, and compresses. Bad Schandau near Dresden is a centre of Kneipp therapy.

Felke. Another 19th century priest, the pastor Emanuel Felke, devised his own treatment involving the earth (or clay) from the Moselle region in order to treat joint pain, obesity and high blood pressure. Felke originally made his patients take cold baths and sleep on clay floors or straw sacks in open cabins, but these days the emphasis is more on the application of ‘curative loam’ (posh word for earth) either in compresses or by the bathful. The Felke cure is offered in the resort of Bad Sobernheim in Rhineland-Palatinate, southwest of Wiesbaden, which also has Germany’s first barefoot trail, so your toes get some good earth too.

Radon gas. Radiation and therapy are not ideas that are often associated, but there is a school of thought that believes that low volumes of radon gas, naturally-occurring product of the radioactive decay of uranium, is actually good for certain conditions, particularly arthritis and to various respiratory problems. Mostly this is administered by sitting in a radon tunnel or even a mine, and being exposed to low doses. There are radon spas at Sibyllenbad, on the border with the Czech Republic east of Bayreuth, at Schlema, also near the Czech border south-east of Zwickau, and with a radon tunnel at Bad Kreuznach, south-west of Wiesbaden.

Hay. A roll in the hay may suggest anything from soft-porn movies of the 1970s through to an attack of allergic sneezing, but in the Allgäu region of Bavaria (particularly the resort of Obertsdorf) hay baths (cut from organically-tended alpine meadows, natch) supposedly release essential oils, stimulate the blood circulation and improve skin texture. 

Whey. Hay bath, whey bath, wha-hey bath. Yes, you can even bathe in this cheese-making byproduct, also in the Allgäu, if you really want to. Supposedly good for the skin, too.

Beer. Now surely you’re taking the piss? No? Another one that’s good for the skin, apparently. The original is supposedly the Kummerower Hof in Neuzelle, on the border with Poland east of Berlin.

Naked walking. OK, so it’s not really a therapy, but the proponents of a newly-launched 18km naked hiking trail between the towns of Dankerode and Wippertalsperre in the Harz Mountains, certainly believe that textile-free ambulation has its holistic benefits. Possibly not to the eye of the beholder, of course.

 
GermanyisWunderbar
 

Words, Words, Words

GermanyisWunderbar

Here in Britain we may be proud of the way in which the English language permeates other languages around the world, but actually we import a fair bit of German into our daily lives. From angst to blitz, dachshund to Doppelgänger, and ersatz to hinterland.

But there are some German words which are extra special, usually because they say something that we have no easy way of expressing in English. Take Zeitgeist (the spirit of the age), for example. Or Schadenfreude, the pleasure one takes in someone else’s pain.

German nouns can be gobsmackingly matter-of-fact. Like Handschuh (hand + shoe = glove), Krankenwagen (sick + waggon = ambulance), and Brustwarze (breast + wart = nipple).

And then there’s the words that simply sound good, such as a Weltenbummler (person who travels the world), Sesselpupser (an armchair farter), beschwippst (tipsy) and Gemütlichkeit, which is an almost untranslateable word which in essence means a feeling of comfort, perhaps as a combination of beschwippsing and sesselpupsing.

But Germans are most famous for their long compound words, supposedly the longest in the world…continued on www.germanyiswunderbar.com

 
GermanyisWunderbar
 

Masthead images

Left to right, T top, B bottom: Black Forest gone blue, Achim Mende. Brandenburger Hof hotel. Schloss Lübbenau (T). Bundesliga, GNTB (B). Ski lift at Fichtelberg, Oberwiesenthal Tourism (T). Martin Luther (B). Chilled gnome, DZT (T). Rügen cliffs, GNTB (B). Cherry cake, pa (B). Berlin S-Bahn.

 
GermanyisWunderbar
Why am I receiving this?

You are receiving this newsletter as you subscribed via our Website, or have previously expressed an interest in our content. However, If you would prefer not to receive further emails from us, you can always unsubscribe at any time.

  Visit germanyiswunderbar.com Email GermanyisWunderbar GermanyisWunderbar