Austria
Almanac-type information about Austria (E): The World Factbook
General information about Austria's culture, states, economy, and media (G): Österreich
General information about Vienna's people, food, tourism, and much more (G): Wien
Coats of Arms for Austria and its states and municipalities (E): International Civic Heraldry
Germany
Almanac-type information about Germany (E): The World Factbook
Coats of Arms for Germany and its states and municipalities (E): International Civic Heraldry
Coats of Arms for Germany and its states and municipalities (G): Düring
General Information about Germany. Covers news, food, shopping, travel, etc. (E): Expatica
General Information about the 16 German States. (G): Bundesländer
German directors and actors have influenced American films (E): German-Way.com
Deutschland Magazine (G/E): is a bi-monthly periodical that reports on politics, culture,
business, and science in Germany.
Switzerland
Almanac-type information about Switzerland (E): The World Factbook
General information over many topics such as Swiss Cantons, food, landscape, culture, etc. (G/E): Switzerland in Sight
Coats of Arms for Switzerland and its cantons and municipalities (E): International Civic Heraldry
German College Football
The Oregon University System has an international exchange program with the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Any student enrolled at an Oregon
university may study at any of the twelve universities in Baden-Württemberg. Therefore, you might be able to attend college in Germany and play
football if you are good enough. Your tuition costs will be the SAME in Germany as they would be in Oregon.
Players unable to meet the standards of the 1. Bundesliga may be selected to play in the
second level known as 2. Bundesliga. This league is divided into two divisions, North
and South. Teams that make up these divisions are:
International Summerstays has
programs which allow students to stay with a German family for a month during the Summer. This is a good
opportunity for students to improve their German, see Germany, and experience German culure beyond what they
would encounter as a tourist.
The First World War (1914-1918) Spartacus Encyclopedia (E): This site that has a great deal of information about many aspects of the First World War. Topics include:
outbreak of the war, important battles, military and political leaders, weapons and machines, trench warfare, war literature, women at war, strategies and tactics, statistics, etc.
Read the true story about German and British soldiers singing Christmas songs together on Christmas Eve, 1914 and then exchanging gifts on Christmas Day. The
text is from a sermon given at Wellesley Village Church.
Here is a first-hand account of German soldiers meeting with the opposite side on the Eastern and Western fronts to exchange Christmas greetings.
The story is contributed by John McCutcheon.
The Third Reich / Nazi Government (1933-1945) Das NS-Regime (G): A very good site for the effects of the National Socialist (Nazi) Party on German life. Website topics include:
daily life, art, propaganda, anti-semitism, resistance movements, politics, and economics. There are many links to primary documents (original documents/sources).
The German Resistance Memorial Center (G/E): This site provides you with information about how Germans fought to prevent Hitler from coming to power in 1933
and then against the Nazi government after Hitler established a dictatorship. Special attention is given to the two unsuccessful assassination attempts on Hilter's life on November 8, 1939 and July 20, 1944.
Georg Elser (G): Georg Elser knew that one of Hitler's goals was to attack Germany's neighboring countries in order to gain more "Lebensraum" or living space.
Elser believed that if he killed Hitler, he would prevent Germany from entering into an unneccessary and unjust war. This site will give you information about the his life, the plot to kill Hitler, and his execution after his failed attempt on November 8, 1939.
The Second World War (1939-1945) The U-Boat War (E): This site has everything that you could possibly want to know
about German submariners and submarine warfare during the Second World War.
Nicole Caspari (G/E): This is a site that has information about Anne Frank and The White Rose, a group of
students that attempted to overthrow German dictator, Adolf Hitler. They were unfortunately caught and executed. Read more about these remarkable people.
The Great Escape (E): Read about the escape of Allied POWs form a German POW camp in 1944. This true story
would later be made into a major motion picture in 1963, starring many Hollywood greats.
Transportation to Europe Lufthansa, Germany's major airline, has non-stop flights
from Portland, Oregon (PDX) to Frankfurt, Germany (FRA). It's is extremely convenient to fly from Oregon to Germany because of
this.
At Portland International Airport's website, one can get general information
about Oregon's largest airport, as well as the time of departures from and arrivals at PDX for Lufthansa flights.
Travel Guide
Here is a travel guide (Reiseführer) for all of Europe. (G/E): Columbus Guides
Information about Berlin, Germany (G/E): Berlin.de
Information about walking tours of Berlin, Germany (G/E): Berlin Walks
Information about walking tours of Munich, Germany (G/E): Munich Walks
Information about bicycling tours of Munich, Germany (G/E): Mike's Bike Tours
Information about Munich, Germany (G): Munich Info
Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany (G): Theresienwiese
Live camera at Marienplatz in Munich, Germany (G): Marienplatz
Website of the world famous Hofbräuhaus in Munich, Germany (G/E): Hofbräuhaus
Berlin, Germany's capital, hosts an annual film festival that is growing in popularity. Since its founding in 1951, the Berlin International Film
Festival has numbered alongside Cannes and Venice among the leading film festivals of
the world. (G/E): Berlin International Film Festival
Check out current movies playing in Germany. Many films which are seen in European theaters are
U.S. films that have been dubbed or are shown with subtitles. It is also possible to see an original American film in English.
Two good websites are film.de or kino.de.
Opera Music
Richard Wagner's
Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring
of the Nibelungs or The Ring Cycle) is a series
of four operas: Das Rheingold (The Rhine Gold), Die Walküre (The Valkyrie),
Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung (The Twilight of the Gods). This sequence of four
operas was written between 1853 and 1874. The subject matter is based on the Nibelung
saga from ancient German mythology.
This Goethe Institute webpage has simple story boards with music to tell the story. It gives
biographical information about Wagner and much more very interesting information.
Miscellaneous
Every year most of the European countries come together for Eurovision.
Eurovision is basicly a song competition. Each participating country enters a song which will be performed. The
song may be in the country's native language or not. Eurovision is normally in May. Check out this site to hear some types of European music.
German Radio Germany Germany Today, a news and feature radio program produced for more than 15 years for more than 500 U.S. stations,
reports weekly on issues from Germany that concern all Americans. And now German Today a new website,
allows you to listen or even download stories filed by our team of professional correspondents located throughout Germany.
Bayern 3 (G): a radio station in Munich, Bavaria that plays current pop-music
Radio Web (G): an internet site which has many different links to popular radio stations in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
News TiVi (G): News stories for german kids. These articles will be easier to read than other newspapers. University of Ulm (G/E): Up to date news articles and archives from 1995 to present
Every year the Germans celebrate Fasching or Karneval. It is the equivilant of Marti Gras in Lousiana. Some Germans
will dress up in masks or costumes for the celebration. Masken (G): is a great site for some of the types of masks
you can see.
There is an enormous amount of interest in German folk dancing in the United States.
The two big groups I know of are (E): Gauverband Nordamerika
and (E): German Folkdancing. Both have some very useful
material on-line! Although many in the Gauverband don't speak German fluently, there
are several who do, and who can help with technical dance instructions, even when
they're in dialect.
Check out the world's first Easter bunny museum! (G): Osterhasen Museum
Here is a website for kids regarding Easter. (G): Zzzebra
