Although the European summer is coming to an end, many German wine festivals are in full swing.
Germany's wine regions have a lot to offer tourists, especially during the summer and autumn. Deutsche Welle have provided a timely article about their numerous festivals, which offer the opportunity to enjoy local wines, food and entertainment.
The new high-speed rail link between France and Germany opened today. It cuts travel time between Paris and the German city of Stuttgart by a third to just under four hours. Eventually, it is planned to extend the service to eastern European cities such as Budapest and Bratislava.
One of travelling's most atmospheric memories, is to stand on the footbridge linking platforms at a great European rail station like the Hauptbahnhof Munich and read the destination signs for trains heading to the far corners of the continent. Trains seem much more tangible and engaging than planes.
I came across this nice little travelogue documenting a trip to Munich, made by Aeric Winter and his friends, Liv and Alex. It starts a bit slowly but there is some interesting footage, including a bit at the end about Oktoberfest.
The opening shot is of Cologne cathedral at the start of their journey. Some years ago I saw a very impressive busker performing on the piazza at the top of the steps, in front of the cathedral. Buskers can be found in most large cities and towns around the world and some perform to a very high standard, but this busker was playing Mozart on a full size concert grand piano.
Next week, Munich celebrates its film and television industry, beginning with the Munich International Short Film Festival which runs 14 to 20 June, 2007, and then followed by Filmfest München, the Munich Film Festival, which runs from 22 to 30 of June, 2007.
Munich is Germany's film capital and this year, Filmfest München celebrates its 25th year; it is Germany's largest summer film festival with roughly 200 films on 15 screens. The general public are encouraged to participate in this audience-friendly festival, which attracts more than 65,000 ordinary movie lovers, over 600 members of the international press and 1000-plus film-related professionals.
The Bavarians enjoy their beer festivals and they have a secret. Many foreign tourists have arrived in Munich at the beginning of October, disappointed to find that they have just missed Oktoberfest, which is carefully timed so that it usually falls in the last two weeks of September. What they don't tell you is that you can be early for their second biggest beer festival which is in the Spring. The festival is Der Berg or to give it its official title, Bergkirchweih in Erlangen.
Bergkirchweih Erlangen has been held annually since 1755 and this year is scheduled for 24 May - 4 June, 2007. Over a million visitors enjoy the Berg each year but few are foreign tourists and it is much easier to find a hotel bed than it is in Munich during Oktoberfest.
Erlangen is a university town close to Nuremberg and there is a wider selection of hotels in Nuremberg; special late-night trains run back there during the festival.
Here is a video clip posted by Celaniry which gives the flavour of Bergkirchweih, actually flavour is the wrong word because there is not much beer in evidence but the festival atmosphere is nicely portrayed.
