At the Freetime Fair: Freiburg (Satis Shroff)

Went to the Past-time Fair in Freiburg. It was drizzling outside but inside it was full of people. The cft freizeitmesse seems to be a hit: caravan and outdoor, motorrad weekend, modelbau, ferienmesse and fit-for-life.(Satis Shroff). Here are some impressions..

                               She was selling trips to Tyrole (Austria) and her dirndl looked attractive

                                                             Fruits galore: all dried to savour

                                                                   A caravan holiday

                                                              Freetime activities

                                                                Sleeping berth in the caravan

                                                                    A caravan frontseat

                                                                    Karavan Waschbecken

                                                                             

                                                                       Schwarzwaldbueb

                                                                    Faucet without an end..

                                                             Schwarzwald tourism in medieval clothes

German Flair for Camping, Freetime and Travel (Satis Shroff)

This was a fair with different themes that were brought under a hat. There was something of interest for everyone: freetime, tourism, fitness and health.

You could see travel cars, caravans in all shapes and sizes, camping gear, tents and accessoires, clothes for occasions, garden furniture, even diving-suits, aqualungs and book galore. I just read this afternoon at my dentist’s that Rosamunde Pilcher isn’t in demand in Germany anymore and the publisher (Surkampf) didn’t know what to do with her books. Rosa just doesn’t sell, was his lamento.

Back to the caravans: you could see people going in and out of the four-wheeled and six-wheeled products on display. Motorbikes with systems, music-anlage, cameras mounted behind the bikes, bluetooth and navigation---all in one. There was even a discount. You could get a caravan for 30,000 euros.

What do you do after work?  A lot of Germans want to have more time for their hobbies according to the Research Institute Forsa which carried out a survey with the theme ‘Good Resolutions for 2012.’ In Germany we have 4 hours and 3 minutes of freetime at our disposal per day. The youth and pensioners have 5 hours of freetime but the parents of children under 17 have only three hours.

What do we Germans do with our freetime? A survey says that since 25 years watching TV is the favourite pastime in Germany. Another high rate is reached by talking over the phone (91%), listening to music (89%), reading newspapers (79%) and excursions with the family (72%).

Last year we, Germany, booked 70 million trips around the world at a record of 61 billion euros. We just love to travel. This year the bookings are expected to be even higher.

People from Baden and Württemberg travel a great deal in comparison to other Germans. The favourite haunts seem to be Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. As far as beach-holidays are concerned, Bavaria leads the field. Destinations abroad are: Spain with Mallorca as the legendary ‘Teutinic Grill,’ then bella Italy, Turkey and Austria. A third of the Germans remain in their own Länder. Last year, the average expenditure of German tourists was 1020 euros per person for an average of 12,5 days.

Another theme was ‘Fit for Life’ and the area Freiburg and South Baden, which are known for their health centres and spas, were well represented. The tendency is to rename hospitals which are called Krankenhäuser in German, for the name ‘Krankenhaus’ evokes a house where you get sick and not healthy. A health center sounds much better and gives the patient the impression that he or she’ll be on his or her feet again. The university klinik Freiburg featured medical professors and physicians who delivered talks on: arthrosis, burn-out syndrome, pain-therapies. A big mock-up version of the human lung was on display and you could walk in and observe the pathological changes in the bronchioles.

Since the German population’s getting old, the Bundesverband 50 Plus was selling their offers to people in the autumn and winter of their lives.

When three Germans get together they create an association (verein) goes the adage, and the vereins were there presenting sports-events with the floor-ball, zumba, taekwondo, inviting the visitors to take part.

‘Nature for all’ was another theme for people with and without handicaps.

Is it true that divers can kiss longer? Nik Linder and his wife Bianka were out to break their own world Guiness record in underwater kissing for 12 minutes and 19 seconds. The two run the Diving Center Freiburg.