European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 16, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse A. 1 a the travel Loving germans other . Destinations replacing Florida As vacation of Choice by Stephen Kynzer i the new York times earlier this year or. And mrs. S. Received terrible news at their Home near Frankfurt Germany. One of their close relatives had been attacked and murdered while on vacation in Miami. Because the couple who asked that their full names not be used were planning to visit friends in the United states they decided to change their plans and choose a less violent destination.,. Quot after a while though we began to consider the situation More calmly Quot said mrs. S. Quot we saw Illinois Oklahoma St. Louis Cape May and Boston and we did t have any problems at All. Violence can happen anywhere. You have to be careful but you can t let your fear keep you at Home germans Are perhaps the world s most eager tourists spending about $40 billion each year for foreign travel. No nation in the world spends More and Only the United Stales with three times the population comes close. Most germans enjoy four to six weeks off from work each year and Many companies pay their workers several Hundred dollars annually for Urlaub Setd or vacation Money. In German cities there seems to be a travel Agency on every Corner and it to find a German who does not have wide experience with foreign travel. Nearly 150 years ago an Essen publisher named Karl Baedecker noticed the German impulse to travel. In 1829 he published a guide to Koblenz quickly followed by one about the Rhineland. Soon his company grew into the world s Best known producer of guidebooks printing them in Many languages and covering Ever More exotic destinations. European countries Are the favorite destinations of germans with Spain Italy and Austria the most popular. The United states and Canada account for less than 3 percent of foreign trips and efforts to increase that number have been Hurt though not devastated by recent attacks against foreigners in the Miami area. Quot germans like to vacation in the Sun and until this rash of killings Florida was becoming More and More popular Quot said Otto Schneider head of the association of German travel agents. Quot if there had been Only one or two episodes of violence against foreigners there it would have been quickly forgotten. But die problem is that it keeps happening. After the last killing there was a massive wave of cancellations something like 5,000 in just a couple of Schneider said German travellers Are different from americans. Quot you americans Are a nation of discoverers Quot he said. Quot you want to see five cities in four Days to sleep in a different bed every night. Germans Are not like that. We travel mostly to a a the places where germans like to do their relaxing include the Canary islands and Majorca where there Are clusters of restaurants and hotels that Cater almost exclusively to their preferences. There Are streets in Tenerife for example where one can find dozens of varieties of German Beer Wurst and schnitzel. After unification in 1990, Many people in Western Germany rushed to visit the new Eastern states. Because there Are very few hotels of die Quality to which westerners Are accustomed one or two visits generally sufficed. Travel in the opposite direction however has been massive. Freedom to travel was one of the greatest gifts that unification bestowed on Eastern germans and they took immediate advantage of it. Their first destinations were the Western european cities they had been Reading about for years. But although they visit places like Rome and Amsterdam More frequently than their Western cousins they spend much less Money. Bethlehem Plansfull-1yule Celebration by the ass dated press workers hoisted the merry Christmas sign onto the Balcony of Bethlehem s municipality building Friday in preparation for the first full fledged Christmas Celebration in six years. Bethlehem s mayor Elias Orelj said the resumption of festivities in the town of Jesus birth was a show of support for the peace agreement Between the Palestine liberation organization and Israel signed sept 13 in Washington. Quot it s time for us to prove to the world through this Celebration that we support the peace process and to express our desire to coexist peacefully with our israeli neighbors Quot Freij said. Since the beginning of the int Eyadeh or palestinian uprising in december 1987, Christmas celebrations Jive been subdued in Bethlehem. The town was paralysed by commercial strikes on Christmas eve called by uprising activists in the occupied territories Freij said that for the first time since 1987, municipal workers will decorate a live Cypress tree sandwiched Between an israeli police station and the Christmas tree cafe in Manger Square. He said that about 5,000 boy scouts would resume a traditional practice of greeting the roman Catholic patriarch monsignor Michel Sabbah at the Plaza. Sabah will Lead Midnight mass. Freij said he regretted that Israel was preventing Norway from sending a 40-foot Evergreen to be placed m the Square near the Church of nativity where tradition says Christ was bom. A government spokesman n said Israel customarily bars the import of Trees to avoid the spread of disease. The Ramstein officers1 club presents an a a t of tie Utal show of dec 16, 17,18 amp 19 a special Holiday offers specials such As aubusson fax Ltd 31400 Saruk Isfahan Kyff 8900 and Many More Iii save to 50% if you re a Ramstein officers club member Don t miss the new year s eve gala. It s your Chance to win a Rug i. socializing in the finest Oriental carpets bring the kids on saturday to visit with Santa Claus. Sale starts Friday december 17 thru saturday december 18, army 4 air Force Exchange service stripes Magazine december 16, 1993
