GPN Newsletter - Germany

Germany is waiting for you!

This is the 2nd Newsletter of Global Passenger Network. GPN is an elite group of networks representing the best motor coach and travel companies in the world. We offer our clients high quality coach services and travel opportunities all over the globe through a single website: www.gpn.travel

GPN - Germany

Germany is represented by EBERHARDT-REISEN, a company which stands for modernity, comfort and security in coach tourism. Efforts to improve the amenities of travelling have always been one of our central preoccupations, in order to optimize standards for our guests. Besides our sophisticated logistics, which offer solutions for all demands in the field of passenger transport, EBERHARDT-REISEN serves all what the heart of each traveller desires, from accommodations, restaurants arrangements to the organization of special events. We make the impossible possible and we are keen on serve "moving moments" at any time.

Karlsruhe: the radial city

Karlsruhe, with its population of 280,000 and set on the plains of the Rhine river between the Black Forest, the Vosges and the Palatinate hills, is a city justifiably described as a "stronghold of creative thought with added savoir vivre". Offering over 800 hectares of public parks and gardens, Karlsruhe has more islands of peace and relaxation than anywhere else in Germany. The botanical garden, the palace gardens, and the zoological gardens make a visit to Karlsruhe a green inner-city dream. Numerous street cafés, beer gardens and squares provide ample opportunity for winding down and taking refreshment.

Visit the "Ettlinger-Tor-Center" the largest indoor-shopping-mall in Southwest-Germany. The Pyramid, located on the marketplace and Karlsruhe's most famous landmark, is right at the heart of the city. The royal palace, now home of the Baden State Museum, is reached via the "Via Triumphalis" with its unique ensemble of classical architecture. The Centre of Art and Media, Germany's "Centre Pompidou" and otherwise known as the ZKM, offers an experience of a very special kind. Don't miss the world's first interactive museum! A whole array of other museums, too, invite you to browse and gaze in wonderment. Besides art and culture, the culinary delicacies are also an important aspect of Karlsruhe's renowned lifestyle. Baden cuisine has an excellent world-wide reputation, so this particular region will whet your appetite, too. www.karlsruhe-tourism.de

Contact: Stephan Theysohn; stephan.theysohn@kmkg.de Tel.: 0049 721 3720 5390

Wine and Beer Festivals in Southwest Germany

In the summer months wine festivals take place in the Baden wine area along the Rhine River and the Wuerttemberg wine region where people can enjoy a variety of wines and regional foods in a cozy atmosphere.

The Heilbronn Wine Village (Sept. 11-19, 2008) attracts over 300,000 visitors each year. 300 different wines and sparkling wines are served directly by associations, vine dressers and wine cellars. During the Stuttgart Wine Village (Aug. 27 - Sept. 7, 2008) visitors can also explore the viniculture museum and stroll through the surrounding vineyards of the city.

In autumn the Stuttgart Beer Festival (Sept. 26 - Oct. 12 2008) opens its doors, one of the biggest beer festivals in the world. Here you can enjoy not only a traditional procession and funny rides, but different kinds of local beers and a wide range of Swabian specialities.

Check www.tourism-bw.com for more information about Baden-Wuerttemberg and its festivals.

Pforzheim - The Town of Gold and Jewellery. The Black Forest.

Pforzheim is the ideal starting point for Black Forest holidaymakers. It is centrally located on the motorway 'A8' between Karlsruhe and Stuttgart; Stuttgart airport is only a thirty-minute drive away.

Pforzheim (116,000 inhabitants), the Northern 'Gateway to the Black Forest', was once the residence of the Margraves of Baden and the birth town of the humanist Johannes Reuchlin (1455-1552). From here, for more than 100 years hikers have set out on the high-altitude ridge trails across the Black Forest (Western, Eastern and Middle trail). As centre of the German jewellery and watchmaking industry Pforzheim rightly deserves being referred to as the 'Town of Gold and Jewellery'.

In a wide variety of museums visitors are provided with in-depth information on the Town of Gold and Jewellery, e.g. in the Jewellery Museum which is located in the 'Reuchlinhaus' and which displays a unique collection of original jewellery ranging from the third millennium before Christ to the present day.

In the "Schmuckwelten Pforzheim" (Jewellery World Pforzheim), an experience and shopping centre which is unique in Europe, visitors are taken through real and virtual worlds of experience covering an area of 4,000 square metres and a unique shopping palace for jewellery and watches.

In the Technical Museum of the Pforzheim Jewellery and Watchmaking Industry visitors are shown how jewellery and watches are manufactured using historical machines which are still functioning; five times a year, one-week hobby classes in jewellery-making are offered for those interested.

The 'Schütt Gemstone Exhibition' as well as various artists' workshops are also well worth a visit.

Information and anecdotes on the town history may, among other places, be found in the Pforzheim Town Museum (exhibiting the original 'Oechsle Scale' - the scale for wine and fermented grape juice devised by Ferdinand Oechsle - and the car of Bertha-Benz), the Castle Church and Collegiate Church of St. Michael's (housing the tombs of the Margraves of Baden), the Archaeological Site 'Kappelhof' (excavation site from the Roman period) as well as in other museums.

Art and culture is offered in the 'CongressCentrum' (the town's municipal hall), the Municipal Theatre, the art centre 'Kulturhaus Osterfeld' and many other locations.

Pure nature may be enjoyed in the 'Enzauenpark' (the park along the riverside meadows of the river Enz which was the site of the former state garden show) or the Wild Life Park.

ERFURT - Rendezvous in the Heart of Germany

Erfurt, the 1260 year old state capital of Thuringia, is characterised by its medieval city center, one of the best-preserved in Germany. It is a charming blend of wealthy patrician townhouses and lovingly reconstructed half-timbered buildings, overlooked by the towering spires of St. Mary's Cathedral and the Church of St. Severus. The Merchants' Bridge (Krämerbrücke) is the only one of its kind in Europe - at 120 metres long and incorporating 32 houses, it is the longest inhabited bridge. Right next to the Cathedral Hill, Petersberg Citadel, the only extensively preserved baroque city fortress in the whole of Central Europe, invites you to explore its intricate maze of underground passageways.

But Erfurt is not just an architectural pearl; it is also the focal point for a culture which has taken centuries to evolve. As the centre of Thuringia's economic, intellectual, cultural and political life, the city has always attracted great individuals, especially ones who significantly influenced the spirit of their age: Martin Luther, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Schiller, Johann Sebastian Bach and Napoleon Bonaparte. Buildings which have links with these figures, such as the Augustinian Monastery and the Imperial Hall, have been reconstructed and now give visitors a faithful and realistic image of the past.

Nowadays, Erfurt - the "gateway" to Thuringia - is one of the most attractive venues for exhibitions and conferences. It is a modern and welcoming Land capital.

The best way to get to know the city is with a city tour on foot, by tram or by carriage. A number of restaurants and cafés have the famous Thüringer Bratwurst and Thüringer Klösse (dumplings) and delicious traditional pastries for you to sample.

Good access by road, train and plane, sufficient lodging possibilities and the hospitality of our people will make your stay in Erfurt both comfortable and pleasant.