The black forest chalet cuckoo clocks have the lovely sound of the Swiss music boxes included in them but there are to other basic styles of the Chalet design and they are the Black Forest chalet and the Swiss chalet.  The lovely Swiss music boxes sound that is added to the Bavarian chalet cuckoo clocks are The Happy Wanderer and, of course, Edelweiss.

There is only one way to describe the chalet cuckoo clocks and that is breathtaking because of their amazing detailing and uniqueness that makes each cuckoo clock a clock of its own. These clocks are so pretty with their animated characters, their projecting cuckoo bird, and the often found water wheels that are always moving.

Of course, there are other types and designs of the cuckoo clocks besides the chalet cuckoo clocks but the chalet clocks hold much more enjoyment for those that are in search of something to include in their homes. These german cuckoo clocks are unique because of their adding life with the animation and music added to their clocks.

The Cuckoo-Palace Shop has a wide variety of original chalet clocks and they are delivering directly from the black forest in southern germany.

While many living in Erzgebirge (ore mountains in saxony) make their living carving Nutcrackers and other finely crafted wood items, there are three distinct families that have started nutcracker manufacturing companies that have garnered them fame and respect throughout the world.

The Steinbach family has been making their famous Steinbach nutcrackers for over two hundred years, starting as a cottage business like everyone else and eventually building two factories.  Their goods are highly prized by collectors and sold all over the world.  They can trace their ancestry back as far as Erwin V. Steinbach, a 13th century architect and master builder of the Dome of Strasbourg in 1284. Besides bringing pleasure to nutcracker collectors worldwide, the generations of this family have served the public as judges, politicians, architects and in the military.  The family itself is still in charge of and actively involved in their business.

Ulbricht Nutcrackers, founded by Otto Ulbricht in 1928, is also a family business to this day.  Christian, the present family patriarch, still carves sample for the artisans to use as patterns for the Ulbricht nutcrackers.  His son and daughter are in charge of the two family factories.  After World War II, the Ulbrichts were able to reclaim their property in Erzgebrige and one of their facilities is still located there in Seiffen.

But every nutcracker factory and family who makes nutcrackers owes their success in part to William Friedrich Fuechtner, who created the first German Erzgebirge nutcracker in 1865.  The Feuchtner family still produces nutcrackers and the business is managed by the sixth consecutive generation involved in the production and marketing of their creations.

Dear fans and friends of Germany,

We kindly ask your assistance for our coming film project:

This summer (2011), we will produce a TV family swap for German television. One American and one German family will swap lives for two weeks and get to know each others’ country, business and life style.

With your help, we are looking for American families…

• who have a German family background or are enthusiastic about German culture and customs and dream of traveling there together as a family one day.
• who run a restaurant, a diner or a bar in the US that makes it hard for them to travel.
• who wish to swap lives with a family from Germany for two weeks.

Background Information:

Running a family business usually means harmonious and well-oiled teamwork. Over time, things get in a routine and long-held dreams seem far away.

With our TV-Show we plan to break that routine. One American family will experience what living and working in Germany is like: they will take over a German restaurant for two weeks and experience the true Deutschland. Later, they will have a host-family from Germany taking over their business for two weeks.

How do Americans perceive Germany and its mentality? And how do Germans accomplish the American way of life? It is an amazing chance for the family to find out what Schnitzel, Bratwurst and Deutschland are really all about!

How You Can Help Us:

Do you know a family who would be enthusiastic about participating in our film project? Do you know someone else who might be helpful finding such a family?

Please forward the attached notice and application form to any family interested, or pass it on to someone who might know such a family. We would be very grateful for your assistance in this matter.

Thank you and Dankeschön from Germany!

For more information contact: Sarah Levy eMail: info@kelvinfilm.com

DOWNLOADS…

Family Swap Info Sheet and Application Form Family Swap

The service is held on Sunday, December 12 at 2pm Central Time and the live stream can be watched by visiting www.trinitysheboygan.org/live/

Thanks to Bob Miske for passing this info on!

Some university students in Germany thought it would be funny to take the winning song from the German winner of Eurovision and make it into an unofficial World Cup anthem.  After posting their video on YouTube, it became an overnight success, bringing in over half a million views in under a week.  EMI, the company that owns the rights to the original composition, ordered the video be taken down, but that only created more publicity.  That is when Universal Music expressed interest in recording the song and the rights were cleared with EMI, and now the boys who made the parody received a recording contract.  Pretty crazy!

Spiegel Online has a great write up on the entire story here and below is the YouTube video that caused it all…

Click here to view the embedded video.

A stuffed animal tiger caused quite a scare when it was found “sleeping” in front of a man’s car in Aachen, Germany, according to a report by Der Spiegel. Police spokesman, Paul Kemen, told Der Spiegel that, “He had left his house and was walking up to his car when he saw this tiger. He took a step closer and was gripped by fear so he rushed back indoors and called the police.”

When the police arrived, the man watched the officers approach the animal carefully, only to find out is was a well crafted stuffed toy. The police officers got a kick out of the find, but the man who spotted the tiger seems to have been more embarrassed than amused. “He refused to give any interviews to the press and believe me, I could have arranged plenty for him,” said Kemen.

Source: spiegel.de

Thanks to our forum member, GordonS, for pointing this article out on our forum.

This past week, Audi began showing off it’s new Travolution technology near its Ingolstadt, Germany headquarters.  Travolution is a vehicle to infrastructure communications system which improves efficiency and safety on the road.  Did I lose you yet?

While this system is capable of doing a lot of different things, one of the big features is a method of having the car communicate with traffic lights and other cars around it.  The car sends out a communication to the traffic signals to help in timing the lights.  The idea is to reduce fuel consumption by cutting down on idling at stop lights,  and in many cases eliminates the need to even stop at a light.  On top of that, the traffic signals can send timing information to the car, which will then recommend a driving pattern or speed for the driver so that the don’t need to stop as often.  And this is just a small part of what the system does.

Audi has included a special online payment system in the cars so that drivers can pull up to a gas station and never have to pull out their credit card.  The same thing goes with paying for parking in a parking garage.  I’m not sure how this added value really saves on fuel consumption, but it might save a little time for the driver.

Right now the Travolution system is being tested on 15 cars and 150 traffic lights in Ingolstadt, but so far the testing has been off to a good start.  On average, the cars only have to stop at every 5th light and the fuel consumption has been cut down by 17%.  Audi will begin testing on a larger scale for the next four years, and will start testing in the Frankfurt am Main area soon.

This definitely seems like a good move, and it will be interesting to see how soon Audi will make this available.  I have a feeling it may be a while before we see it happen, especially here in the States, but I’m ready for something new.  And for those of you who want to see it in action, I have included a video made by Audi that shows off the technology.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s an interesting bit of news for you.  Bike helmets can save your life, or at least some pain, if you take a nasty fall.  However, the more hits the helmet takes the less effective it is in protecting your noggin.  Well, researchers at Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute have developed a special helmet that releases a nasty oder when it needs to be replaced due to damage.  The hope is that by having a helmet that smells bad will prevent users from “making do” with a less than safe helmet.  This technology is also being considered for use in other products as well, such as pressure hoses and gas pipes.

[Image courtesy Olaf Rentsch.]

If you have decided to start your Bachelor degree course in Germany, you need to do some preparations in advance with regards to your admission and your studies. Introductory courses (Propädeutikum) and preparatory courses (Studienkolleg) are specifically designed to support new and foreign students prior to and during a Bachelor degree course in Germany.

But what is the difference between a preparatory course, an introductory course or a summer school? What are my benefits of participating in a preparatory or introductory course? Who should register for one of these courses? What does it cost to take such a course? How do I apply for it? What requirements and conditions do I need to meet for a successful application?

Chat and discuss your questions in English or German with our experts, Harald Klingel (Coordinator of all Preparatory Course offers in Germany) and Winnie Rosatis (Head of the International Office of the University of Applied Sciences Fulda, which offers and organizes introductory courses), 21st April 2010, 4-5 pm. You can also post your question now and vote for other questions. Please be aware that Winnie Rosatis and Harald Klingel are experts in the field of preparatory courses and introductory courses.

You can find more info at: http://www.study-in.de/en/chat/

Disclaimer: DANK is not connected or affiliated with this chat.  If you participate in the chat, please share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Thanks to Christa Garcia for sending in this information