Kaitlyn and Kellen get “sized up” by this big Swiss Air DC-3.
Photos by Amy Luetgert
Wow! Cool! That’s what visitors, and especially children, say after a few minutes in this 21,500-sq-foot museum in Lucerne, located right on Lake Lucerne.
With as many as 850,000 visitors a year, the museum is Switzerland’s most popular attraction of its type.
From space capsules to trains (big ones, as well as miniature ones that run through the grounds), to airplanes and helicopters and automobiles, from the latest media technologies and interactive hands-on exhibits to a cycle park, the Swiss Transport Museum displays more than 3,000 objects, plenty to keep two kids busy for a while.
Kaitlyn Luetgert, 9, and her brother Kellen, 6, from the Chicagoland area, spent an afternoon at the Museum with their parents, and their mother Amy Luetgert filed this photo report of their experiences.
The Luetgert kids “sign on” as airline pilots and flight attendants.Kellen says, “I could spend a whole day here!”“No problem, let’s walk under this steam engine,” urges Kellen.With a facade like this, anything is possible inside the Museum.
Photographs compliments of Midi-Pyrénées Tourism Office
Visitors to the Midi-Pyrénées in France, also known as the Southwest, have the unique opportunity to savor some of the most unique food and wine in all of France while also soaking up the rich arts and culture scene of the region.
WINE The Midi-Pyrénées is a verdant, hilly wine region—home to more than two dozen winemakers featuring some of the world’s greatest grape varieties and some that are grown nowhere else in the world.
From the Malbec wines grown in the sun-drenched Cahors region to the Gaillac district, one of the oldest wine-growing areas in France, to the Madiran wines known for their inky color and tannic density, the wines of southwest France offer a wide array of flavors and are a true treasure trove for the dedicated wine connoisseur.
The region is also rich in spirits, most notably the distinctive brandy Armagnac, produced in Gascony. Tourists can explore the “Route de l’Armagnac” which winds through the vineyards and experience the different tastes and sensations of this brandy, known for its unique finesse and roundness.
FOOD The Midi-Pyrénées is also renowned for its fine cuisine. It is home of the black truffle, which is found exclusively in the region around the village of Lalbenque.
The Midi-Pyrénées is also the capital of the iconic French specialty, foie gras. With subtle flavors of hazelnut and a creamy texture, this delicacy can be bought directly from the producer or at the special winter foie gras markets that are peppered throughout many small towns in the Gers district.
CULTURE The Soulages Museum, in the town of Rodez, is dedicated to the work of acclaimed painter and Rodez native Pierre Soulages. Widely considered one of the great abstract artists, Soulages was inspired by the prehistoric and Romanesque art of the region. The museum houses 500 works donated by Pierre and Colette Soulages to Rodez, which is the world’s biggest collection, estimated to be worth close to $55 million.
The Toulouse Lautrec Museum will celebrate the life of painter and lithographer Toulouse Lautrec, born in the city of Albi in 1864. The exhibit will run from October 25, 2014 to January 25, 2015.
FESTIVITIES The Midi-Pyrénées also abounds with celebrations and performances, with more than 180 festivals and events taking place throughout the year.
The Medieval Festival of the Grand Falconer takes place in the village of Cordes-sur-Ciel on July 14—coinciding with Bastille Day, France’s national holiday. The annual festival offers a faithful recreation of medieval life in the Midi-Pyrénées, with fire-eaters, jugglers, falconers, troubadours, musicians, knights and villagers all garbed in medieval attire.
The Piano aux Jacobins, held in the region’s capital city Toulouse during the month of September, is the first festival in France entirely dedicated to piano performances. This year’s edition takes place September 2 to 29.
The small and quaint Gascon town of Marciac will transform into a jazz capital this summer from July 24 to August 13 with its legendary festival, Jazz in Marciac, which has welcomed international jazz icons.
ADVENTUROUS The natural world comes alive in the Midi-Pyrénées with vast areas of untouched countryside and rugged mountains in its national parks. Cyclists come from all corners of the earth to follow the route of the Tour de France in the Pyrenees and climb the famed Col du Tourmalet.
The Canal du Midi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that runs from Bordeaux and the Atlantic coast to the Mediterranean sea, is ideal for bicycling enthusiasts looking for a relaxing ride and discovering this 150-mile engineering masterpiece.
SPIRITUAL Travelers can embark on a spiritual retreat in the region at the sacred French Grotto of Lourdes, a world famous pilgrimage site. Every year, the cosmopolitan and convivial town receives 6 million travelers from 140 countries from every continent.
Walking the Way of St. James has changed little over the centuries, where pilgrims trek from all over Europe to the city of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. The route winds through many scenic villages born of the ancient pilgrimage, including Rocamadour, Conques and Moissac.
“Ozapft is!” exclaimed Munich’s Lord Mayor Christian Ude after opening the first keg of beer at noon on September 22, thus officially inaugurating the world famous German Octoberfest.
And following 16 days of beer, fun and Gemutlichkeit, the 2007 Munich Octoberfest closed its gates after 6.2 million people visited the biggest fair in the world.
This big city, with rural charm and friendly people, served 6.7 million glasses of beer, thousands of Hendl (chickens) and 104 oxen to the crowds that swarmed into the 14 large tents on the Octoberfest grounds right off of the Schwanthalerstrasse. As many as 10,000 people can be accommodated in some of the huge beer tents.
Alison Ramsey tasted and tested the beers at Octoberfest. A good reporter must get all the facts, and test all the flavors of beer before she files her report.
COLORFUL TENTS The tents, which sometimes appear more like buildings, are highly colorful, and are decorated with painted murals, clouds and more to make them attractive to the visitors, some of which spend all day inside!
A special Octoberfest beer, brewed by Munich’s six major breweries, is served in the tents. The delicious draught is usually served with radishes, Obatzta (special cheese), sausages, roast chicken or grilled fish. And barbecue beef is a Wiesn specialty.
This year, as many as 80 different firms offered fair guests samplings of their foods, and more than 200 attractions greeted fair-goers as well, such as breathtaking rides like the Olympia Loop or the Power Tower, the Krinoline (merry-go-round), the Teufelsrad (Devil’s Wheel), the Toboggan and even a variety show.
HISTORY OF THE FAIR The wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig–later King Ludwig I of Bavaria–and Princess Theresa of Saxony-Hildburghausen in 1810, started the fair when the royal couple invited the people of Munich to celebrate in the fields in front of the city gates. The fields were named “Theresienwiese” in honor of the princess, and locals later abbreviated the name to “Wiesn.”
The annual Munich celebration starts off with a parade featuring festive carriages bearing the land-lords’ families, the horse-drawn drays of the Munich breweries, showmen’s coaches, waitresses on decorated floats and the beer tent bands. It’s quite a spectacle!
The following day the Munich Costume and Rifleman’s Parade features groups in traditional costumes, marching bands, troops of bandsmen and trumpeters, amateur and mountain riflemen. Performers of all kinds, decorated coaches and flower garlands are always main attractions of the parade. And the parade goes on even if the weather is bad!
European Traveler’s Steve Ramsey tests one of the giant pretzels at the 2007 Munich Octoberfest. Got a beer to go with this?
ONE LAST WORD, AND A FAMOUS BREW Of course, one of Munich’s famous trademarks is the 418-year-old Hofbrauhaus, where beer lovers gravitate throughout the year. It’s a fun establishment that holds up to 3,000 guests at the same time. The beer house even has its own beer, served, of course, at Octoberfest.
Stay tuned for more beer news. We had a great time in Munich, so it’s likely we’ll be back! Let’s see…when is next year’s fair?
Wedding “destinations” in the Germanic lands can sometimes be unusual.
Take, for instance, the June 2006 wedding of Swiss-born Hans and Birke Mebold of Rheinfelden, Switzerland.
“Our wedding was something special,” says Birke. “All this talk about the most beautiful day in your life…but it really was the case for us. The whole wedding took on a kind of momentum all its own.”
The Meholds first were officially married in a small church called Johanniterkapelle in Rheinfelden, home of Switzerland’s most popular beer, Feldschlosschen, and the town in which the couple both work.
Following the 11 a.m. ceremony, and a small reception, the couple was whisked away on Rheinfelden’s biggest fire truck with its blue lights flashing wildly. Both Feldwebel Hans and Birke are Rheinfelden fire brigade volunteers of 16 years and five years respectively, with Hans head of the town’s traffic regulations and security section.
HELICOPTER RIDE Where the couple’s fire truck ride ended, their helicopter ride began, to the 2,100-foot-high resort town of Eptingen where they met a bus full of 50 wedding guests of family and friends.
At Vitznau on Lake Lucerne, the group boarded a specially-reserved Mt. Rigi Railway steam locomotive and two-car cogwheel train consisting of No. 16, an 1923 oil-fired engine, and the BelleEpoque, a stately parlor car built in 1873 and coach No.10, built in 1871. The crew assigned to the wedding train consisted of a driver, a fireman, a conductor and one hostess dressed in period costumes for each car.
As the steam train ascended up the side of steep 6,000-foot-high Mt. Rigi on a clear, warm spring day, the guests were served refreshments. The train passed quaint farms, pastures filled with grazing sheep and cows, and hiking trails.
At Rigi Kulm, the group was welcomed by the alpine horns of Ruedi Imlig and his brother. Then a second wedding ceremony took place in the small chapel on the top of Rigi.
The wedding steam train for Hans and Birke Weber chugs up Mt. RigiBride Birke Weber steps out of her special railway car at the top of Mt. Rigi; her new husband, Hans, follows.Train hostess Lucia Weber on the Belle Epoque, an 1873 salon car
DINNER AND DANCING AT THE TOP The guests then enjoyed dinner and dancing at the Hotel Rigi Kulm. “The scenery at the top was so beautiful and the food was excellent,” says Birke. Afterward, dancing was provided by Gunter Pichler and his GP Music band.
“My great grand aunt had taken us to Mt. Rigi last year, and we were stricken by the incredible view from the top,” says Birke.”When we thought about a location for our wedding, it didn’t take long to decide to go to Mt. Rigi.” She admits the travel arrangements for buses, trains and helicopters were a bit daunting, however.
The happy couple and guests returned from the mountain after midnight on an electric cogwheel train, and later spent their honeymoon in Sweden. If this is what they planned for their wedding day, it sounds like this couple is never going to have a dull moment.
Hans and Birke Mebold, a year after their wedding, stand in front of the Rheinfelden, Switzerland church where they were married before their many relatives and friends.
When the massive central door on the side of Noah’s Ark was opened, the first crowd of curious townsfolk was there to behold its wonder.
Of course, it’s only a replica of the biblical Ark, built by Dutch creationist Johan Huibers, as a testament to his faith in the literal truth of the Bible. The ark is 150 cubits long, 30 cubits high and 20 cubits wide. That’s two-thirds the length of a football field and as high as a three-story house.
LIFE-SIZE ANIMAL MODELS Life-size models of giraffes, elephants, lions, crocodiles, zebras, bison and other animals greet visitors as they arrive in the main hold. A contractor by trade, Huibers built the ark of cedar and pine. Biblical scholars debate exactly what wood was used by Noah for construction.
Huibers did the work mostly with his own hands, using modern tools and with help from his son, Roy. Construction began in May of 2005. On the uncovered top deck — which was not quite ready for the opening– will come a petting zoo, with baby lambs and chickens, and goats and one camel.
Visitors on the first day were stunned. “It’s past comprehension,” said Mary Louise Starosciak, who happened to be bicycling by with her husband while on vacation when they saw the ark looming over the local landscape.
There is enough space near the keel for a 50-seat film theater where kids can watch a video that tells the story of Noah and the ark. Huibers says he hopes the project will renew interest in Christianity in the Netherlands, where church going has fallen dramatically in the past 50 years.
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