Chinese Fasching in Dietfurt, Bavaria

Germany is still in its Fasching highlights. Fasching also means carnival. Cologne, Mainz and Düsseldorf are some of the cities in Germany that are very famous for its carnival. There will be Fasching events that will be going on next week especially in the nearby towns and cities.

One of the Fasching events I witnessed in Germany is in Dietfurt. This town is very famous for its Chinese Fasching or carnival. Here are some images I took from this town.



It seems like Halloween in here but Germans almost have the same and they call it Fasching or Fastnacht or simply carnival.

Oktoberfest 2010 is Coming Soon in Munich, Bavaria, Germany

I already posted some images and information about Oktoberfest in my other site, Travel and Explore Germany. Feel free to click the link to read more infos about the largest fair in the world that is held every year in Theresienwiese in Munich, the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. This year's celebration commemorates the 200th anniversary and will run from September 18 to October 3, 2010.

Here are some of the snapshots I took during our visit last September 2009.

Around six million of people visit Oktoberfest every year. Be careful if you are bringing your kids with you because there are truly a lot of people in the festival.

The original "Oktoberfest" occurred in Munich, on October 18, 1810: For the commemoration of their marriage, Crown Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen (namesake of the Theresienwiese festival grounds) organized a great horse race (the marriage took place on October 12; the horse race on October 17—therefore, there are different dates named as being the first Oktoberfest).


MODERN FESTIVAL

Since 1950, there has been a traditional festival opening: A twelve gun salute and the tapping of the first keg of Oktoberfest beer at 12:00 by the incumbent Mayor of Munich with the cry "O'zapft is!" ("It's tapped!" in the Austro-Bavarian language) opens the Oktoberfest. The Mayor then gives the first beer to the Minister-President of the State of Bavaria. The first mayor to tap the keg was Thomas Wimmer.

By 1960, the Oktoberfest had turned into an enormous world-famous festival. After this foreigners began to picture Germans as wearing the Sennerhut, Lederhosen, and the girls in Dirndl. Horse races ended in 1960.

It is customary for people during the Oktoberfest to wear cowboy shaped hats, which contain a tuft of goat hair. In Germany, goat hair is highly valued and prized, making it one of the most expensive objects for sale. The more tufts of goat hair on your hat, the wealthier you are considered to be. But now, due to textiles and cheap imitations, this tradition has been ending because it is so easy to fake goat hair with the technology at our fingertips. more here

striking a pose during our visit last September 2009. You can see the tower of the Paulaner beer tent in my background.

Eurovision Song Contest 2010

First of all, I would like to greet Lena Meyer-Landrut for winning this prestigious song contest held in Oslo, Norway last May 29, 2010, the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. Congratulations also to all German people for finally winning it again after 28 years. Below are some information about this event.

"The Eurovision Song Contest 2010 was the 55th annual Eurovision Song Contest, broadcast from the Telenor Arena in Bærum, a suburb of Oslo, Norway. It was the third time Norway has hosted the contest, having previously done so in 1986 and 1996. The 2010 winner was Germany with Lena singing "Satellite" written by American Julie Frost and Dane John Gordon. Second place went to Turkey, third to Romania, fourth to Denmark, and fifth to Azerbaijan.

The semi-finals took place on 25 and 27 May 2010 and the final took place on 29 May 2010. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced that the voting system used in the semi-finals would change from previous years to balance jury voting with televoting. A return of accompaniment by orchestra was also proposed but did not happen.

Thirty-nine countries had taken part in the contest, with Georgia returning to the contest and Andorra, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Montenegro withdrawing. Lithuania originally announced its withdrawal from the competition, but was later among the 39 participants confirmed by the EBU. A recent global financial crisis affected how the event was run. NRK sold its rights to 2010 FIFA World Cup to a rival broadcaster to finance its hosting of the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. With 246 points, Germany was named the winner of the contest. It was their second win after 28 years and the first time since 1997 that a Big 4 country won the contest." read more here

Iceland volcano sends new tremors, lower ash cloud

REYKJAVIK (Reuters) – The erupting volcano in Iceland sent new tremors on Monday, but the ash plume which has caused air traffic chaos across Europe has dropped to a height of about 2 km (1.2 miles), the Meteorological Office said.

Ash production had fallen and Iceland's coast guard and scientists prepared to fly over the volcano in search of signs its crater was now producing lava, which could indicate the nature of the eruption was changing.

"The situation is definitely better than it was particularly on Saturday, which was a difficult day for us due to heavy ash fall just south of the volcano," said Urdur Gudmundsdottir, a spokeswoman at the foreign ministry.

The appearance of lava could suggest the eruption was moving into a less explosive phase, possibly a good sign for thousands of travelers who have been stranded at airport across Europe for the past five days because countries have closed their airspace over safety fears.
more here

EU to resume limited air traffic Tuesday

BRUSSELS – European officials carved up the sky Monday, creating three zones to more quickly break the flight deadlock caused by volcanic ash flowing from Iceland over Europe. Many more flights will be able to take off on Tuesday, the bloc said.

European countries can resume airline traffic in designated "caution zones" where the threat of ash is considered less dangerous, French officials said after a meeting of the bloc's 27 transport ministers.

Under the accord, one area — defined by the European air traffic control agency Eurocontrol — will remain entirely off limits to flights. Another area will be open to all flights and a third area will be a caution zone in which some flights will be allowed.

Jean-Louis Borloo, the No. 2 French Cabinet official, said flights in the caution zone will be "very secure" with many tests to make sure jet engines are not damaged by ash.

EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas said after a videoconference with EU transport ministers and industry officials that "the decision increases air space available to air traffic. This is the final outcome."
continue reading here

Polish President, Lech Kaczynski Died in Russia Jet Crash

This news had been aired couple of times over a German radio as we were on our way to Neumarkt, Bavaria, Germany until we drove back home. Polish President, his wife and other Polish leaders were dead in Russia jet crash. below are the excerpts of the news.

Polish leader, 96 others dead in Russia jet crash

MOSCOW – Polish President Lech Kaczynski and some of the country's highest military and civilian leaders died on Saturday when the presidential plane crashed as it came in for a landing in thick fog in western Russia, killing 97, officials said.

Russian and Polish officials said there were no survivors on the 26-year-old Tupolev, which was taking the president, his wife and staff to events marking the 70th anniversary of the massacre in Katyn forest of thousands of Polish officers by Soviet secret police.

The crash devastated the upper echelons of Poland's political and military establishments. On board were the army chief of staff, national bank president, deputy foreign minister, army chaplain, head of the National Security Office, deputy parliament speaker, civil rights commissioner and at least two presidential aides and three lawmakers, the Polish foreign ministry said. continue reading here

Off Topic Article

I guess it is time to share an off topic article here. When I was still in my elementary grade I was a fan of the famous group of singers from Puerto Rico named Menudo. I can still remember the names of some members like Robby Rosa, Charlie, Ricky Martin, Ray Reyes and Roy Rosello if I am not mistaken. I can't forgot this group because they once had a concert in the Philippines. I even had a group poster from them. My favorite one was Ricky Martin. I guess it was last week that I read an article about Ricky. Is Ricky Martin gay? Ricky himself admitted that he is a gay. I can't really believed that but I admired him having the courage to admit that he is a gay. I really don't know the full story until I read an article tonight about Ricky Martin at Web Articles. I just wish him good luck to his career.

Oktoberfest 2009 Begins Tomorrow

It's party time! The world's most renowned festival is finally here. Tomorrow will be the opening of Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany. Did you see how the people go partying inside the beer tents? This is only a small beer tent. They also have some that can occupy up to ten thousand people! Imagine that! This is very interesting! I will see you there!

striking a pose before drinking a beer..ooppsss have not tried drinking a beer there..better take some photos..wink!

Volksfest, Festival in Neumarkt, Bavaria, Germany

Good evening everyone! Let's talk about festival again. Life is just so short that we will not enjoy it. The picture below was taken during the parade of Neumarkt Volksfest in Bavaria, Germany. This celebration is also a part of Bavarian culture and tradition. It is a festival which is held in this city every year during the month of August. It usually last for a week. I guess it's been five consecutive years now that I always attend this festival. It is always fun and I love it. Last month was the first time that I witnessed their parade. I was amazed because more than hundreds of groups participated during the parade.

These horses below are huge and are also adorned with decorations. The white building you with the watch is the City Hall of Neumarkt. I was inside this building as the history of this city was told to us during my German language course. Have fun viewing the photos in this blog.

Gäubodenvolksfest in Straubing in Bavaria, Germany

Welcome to the second largest festival in Bavaria, Germany, the Gäubodenvolksfest in Straubing. Actually guys this festival is already over. It is considered to be the second largest festival next to Oktoberfest of October Festival in Munich in the state of Bavaria. It is said that there are more than a million of guests and visitors who visit this festival every year. It is held in the middle of August and lasted for eleven days.

What caught most of my attention as we visited the festival was, a lot of German people wore the so-called Trachten, Dirdl and Lederhose which are considered to be the national costume of Germany. I also visited Oktoberfest in Munich last year but there were more people last month in Gäubodenvolksfest in Straubing who wore Trachten, Dirdl and Lederhose or leather pants in this festival.

I truly appreciate and admire how the German people preserve their culture and tradition through festivals like these. More updates to come about this famous festival in Bavaria.

you see that crown? That is the symbol of the Gäubodenvolksfest

The Gäubodenvolksfest was founded by Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria in the year 1812 as an agricultural festival to organize an annual meeting of the people in the Danube region.


Did you see that ladies who wear dresses? those are only example of Trachten or Dirdl costumes

Visiting The Auto Show in Regensburg, Germany

Let's go back to Germany this time! I hope that you have some fun reading my posts here and at the same time enjoying the pictures which I share to all of you. Last Saturday, May 9, 2009, we visited the Auto Show in Regensburg in the state of Bavaria, Germany. It was a great time last weekend with very nice and friendly weather. A lot of automobile dealers participated during the show and at the same time selling their cars also. You can see different cars and automobiles from the old ones to the latest models. It was very interesting. For me the highlight of the show was the old timer cars which the owners also displayed for public viewing. See the one in the picture and with the new model..wink!

photo taken at the Automobile show in Regensburg, Germany..the new model is waving her hand...wink!

Horror in Amstetten and the monster named Josef Fritzl

Have you been in Amstetten? Have you heard or read the story about the so-called "monster father" named Josef Fritzl? I have been reading Neumarkter Tagblatt, a local German newspaper here in Germany since Monday about Josef Fritzl. It is always in the front page for 4 days row now. Before I begin with this horrible story let me tell you first a bit about Amstetten.

Amstetten, as you can see in the google map below is a town in Lower Austria. It is the capital of Amstetten District. Why I know this place? During my adventure last June 2007 in Austria, we passed by in Amstetten boarding a train. Me and my friend saw a lot of towns and municipalities as we rode the train from Salzburg to Vienna. That was a very long trip.
What about Josef Fritzl? As described by Neumarkter Tagblatt newspaper, he was called "The monster father" after raping more than thousand times his own daughter and locking her on their basement for 24 years? Can you imagine a life in the basement without seeing light for 24 years? Fritzl's daughter named Elizabeth was raped since she was 11 years old. She also has 7 children with her own father wherein 6 were alive and 1 was dead after some hours of giving birth. The baby was also burned in the oven by his own father and grandfather at the same time.

Can you imagine this horror? How can a father do this to his child? I know we already heard a lot of stories about children who are sexually abused by their own father. But this story is different. It is very horrible, terrible, hideous and dreadful. What else can I say? It totally shocked me and I can't fathom on my mind how can a father do that to his own child? Is he in his normal mind? What can you say about this my friends? I know I can't judge people because I don't have the right to do so. But if ever you have to ask me of the kind of sentence that Fritzl had done, I would say, he must pay for it by being sentenced to life imprisonment. I also can't say that he will be sentenced to death because I believed that only God can take away people's lives. Anyway, today if I'm not he is already sentenced to life's imprisonment. I believed that is a fair and just verdict.

Here is an excerpt of the story;

"Police spokesman Franz Polzer told CNN that 73-year-old Josef Fritzl admitted holding his daughter, Elisabeth Fritzl, 42, hostage in the windowless cell and fathering seven children by her.

"The mother had memories [of the outside world] and got used to the situation," Polzer told a press conference Monday afternoon. "The others knew nothing else."

The main question reverberating from the small Austrian town: How could a man keep his daughter locked in his basement for 24 years, where she gave birth to seven of his children while her mother and three of those children lived upstairs without an inkling of the horrors in the cellar?

Please read the rest of the story here

Lastly, I would like to offer a prayer to the victim and her children and family and to all victims of sexual abuse that they may be given the courage, determination, peace of mind and the strength to continue to face life trials and uncertainties. God bless us all!