Frank Nechvatal
Our January meeting celebrated Fasching, or as some may say, Gardi Gra. The party again had its Fasching King and Queen with their court, and we dined on great treats. Thanks to our President Delores Kline, it proved to be an outstanding event.
This is an election year, and the nominating committee will be seeking candidates to serve as president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. Please consider a position in order to keep our club alive.
We will look forward to a third video in the series on German immigration to the Americas. The third video is entitled “Little Germanies” and follows two immigrant families who represent the opposite ends of economic spectrum, the Steinweg family who founded the Steinway and Sons Piano Company and the Gumpertz family who struggled to find a way out of the slums of New York’s Little Germany.
News from Germany: As of December of 2017, after two years of construction, a world-record-breaking cableway has opened in the Bavarian Alps. This new cable car system takes passengers up to the tallest of Germany’s alpine mountains, the Zugspitze. This mountain is located near the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The Zugspitze is Germany’s highest peak at 9,718 feet. It is a favorite spot for skiing and snowboarding. There is, during the winter, an igloo village consisting of 20 hotel snow houses. A true winter wonderland!
Fun Facts about Germany:
1. Germany is the world’s second producer of cars, after Japan, and motor vehicles in general, after the U.S.
2. The term “ecology” was coined by German biologist Ernst Haeckel in 1866.
3. Germans can be credited for the discovery of insulin, the invention of the clarinet, the pocket watch, the automated calculator, the light bulb, the television (partly), paraffin, gasoline and diesel engines, the automobile differential gear, the motor cycle, the jet engine, the LCD screen and the Walkman.
4. Germany played a central role in the Reformation of Christianity.
5. The world’s oldest savings bank was established in Oldenburg, Germany, in 1786.
Auf wiedersehen v