A Web Potpourri
From "Expo 2000" to "Spargel"

GERMANY & WEB > Page 1, 2

We're about to go all over the place -- literally and figuratively -- in Germany. We'll surf the World Wide Web for a variety of sites and topics in German.

Let's start with the Expo 2000 world's fair in Hanover. Although the United States was apparently too poverty-stricken to have a pavilion at the first world exposition to be held in Germany, most of the other countries of the world have been able to come up with enough money to be there. Expo 2000 runs from June 1 to October 31. Leitthema: "Mensch - Natur - Technik: Eine neue Welt entsteht". The Expo 2000 Web site is a pretty one, but graphics intensive and slow loading.

    Expo 2000 Hannover (German, English and other languages)

Do you know who Renate Wallert is? Well, if you're German you do. Perhaps you have heard about the foreign tourists and Filipino school children who were taken hostage by a rebel group called Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines. This bizarre, ongoing Geiseldrama (hostage drama) has been going on for over two months. The plight of the ailing Frau Wallert, one of three Germans and 18 other foreigners who were kidnapped April 23 (Easter Sunday) in the Philippines, has gripped Germany. (Two Americans managed to escape, or we Americans would be hearing a lot more about this story!) Now there's even a Web site entitled "Hilfe für Renate Wallert" ("Help for RW"). The German Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt) has also posted related information and advised Germans not to travel to West Mindanao. - The current German Außenminister is Joschka Fischer of the Green party.

    Auswärtiges Amt - Geiselnahme (German)
    Auswärtiges Amt (German Foreign Office)
    Spiegel: Eine Chronologie zur Geiselnahme (German)

G.O.-Wissen Online is something like a German combination of National Geographic and Scientific American (both of which are also available in German). Its topics range from Alexander von Humboldt to talking washing machines or volcanoes. This e-zine features news and articles with photographs on a wide panorama of topics. G.O. makes good use of audio, video and animations to get its point across. Take a look at this interesting, well-designed site!

    G.O.-Wissen Online (German)

And you thought your last museum visit wore you out? How about a tour of 8,500 museums across Germany, Austria and Switzerland? The Virtual Library Museen Web site makes it possible. This German site offers reviews and summaries of exhibitions and specialist literature. It also links to museum news and offers a researcher's search engine. In addition to those in German Europe, you can find links to museums all over the world.

    Virtual Library Museen (German and English)

Planning a trip to Germany? Here's a great German tourism site: Deutschland Touristik, "das deutschlandweite Reiseinformationssystem." This Web site presents information on over 800 German tourist destinations (hotels, tourist condos and leisure facilities). An online map helps you find your way around. Aimed at Germans, this site is in German only. (When I last checked the Touristik site, it had some broken elements.)

    Deutschland Touristik (German)

If you've ever been in Germany in May or June, you know how crazy the Germans are about Spargel or asparagus. During Spargelzeit (asparagus season, which ends "officially" on June 24), the Germans prepare this veggie stalk in dishes from soup to salad. According to German Life magazine the German asparagus craze has resulted in over 1,900 German Web sites devoted to the "vegetable of kings"! The Germans prefer the white variety of Spargel, which is cultivated in various German regions by keeping the stalks covered with earth. - Here's one of the many German Spargel sites:

    Schrobenhausener Spargel (German)

You'll find many more fun/funny and interesting sites under "Fun/Spaß" and the other topics listed on the left of this page under "Subjects." Also see the links below.

Stern - An In-depth Look
Stern is one of Germany's leading weekly illustrated magazines. We examine the periodical's multifacted online version from a language-learning perspective.

Techniques for Using Authentic Language Sources
Tips and suggestions for using the Web to your advantage. Even beginners can do it!

Using the Web to Learn German
A guide to finding good uses on the World Wide Web.

Webhunt 1: Introduction
An online Schnitzeljagd (scavenger hunt).

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