PR shines at the Munich Tourism Office

June 21, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
Isabella Schopp gives a presentation on the Munich Tourism Office (photo by Katie Pflug )

Isabella Schopp gives a presentation on the Munich Tourism Office
(photo by Katie Pflug )

by Katie Pflug

Isabella Schopp, who works in public relations for the Munich Tourism Office, really knows her facts about the third biggest city in Germany and was not shy to share them with Point Park University’s International Media class.

Munich, known as the “all around city,” is home to 1.4 million people.  That number seems like nothing compared to the 12.4 million visitors Munich achieved in 2012, which was a record year.  The United States of America, Italy, Arabia, The United Kingdom and Russia are among the countries with the leading amount of tourists that visit each year, Schopp said.

It also has the second largest number of universities, right after Berlin. Munich has 104,000 students in 15 universities, Schopp said.

Founded in 1158, Munich is now the center of science and economy.  High tech industries like BMW, EADS, and The Linde Groupe all call Munich home. Google, Siemens and Microsoft are also some of the leading I&C companies in Munich.  Munich is now the second largest city for broadcasting companies, right after New York City.

But, Munich has much more to offer than just being a great business hub.  Munich is full of culture, castles, history, churches, shopping, beer gardens, all set in an amazing location.

There are 63 museums in Munich, along with 100 theaters, two operas and three orchestras.  The Nymphenburgh Palace and Royal Residence are some of the castles in the area that are a must see while visiting Munich.  Right outside of Munich there are also the castles Neuschwantstein and Linderhof.  Castles are large part of Bavarian culture and a beautiful way to explore the history of the area.

Munich is a very green city with many parks.  As well as the many parks throughout Munich, 80 percent of locals own a bike, Schopp said.  The beer gardens also make many people want to be outside, she said.  In this particular part of Germany, visitors are able to bring their own food to the beer gardens.  That is something that is not permitted in the northern part of Germany.  Beer gardens have been around 200 years and are some of the main attractions for visitors.

Munich is a very busy city for events.  During February there was the Munich Creative Business Week.  In May there was the Long Night of Music.  Coming in June there will be the City Foundation Festival, celebrating 855 years of Munich.  Later in June, Munich will be hosting the Summer X-Games, Schopp said.  Of course in late September into early October there will be Oktoberfest, which marked its 200th anniversary in 2010.  Then in the end of November all the way until Christmas Eve, the Christmas Market will be available to residents and tourists.

The Munich Tourism Board’s general manager is Geraldine Knudson.  There are five different departments of the Munich Tourism Office: Marketing, Convention Bureau, Tourist Information, International Media and Public Relations.

The International Media is the branch of the office that Schopp is involved with, having previously served as a tour guide. She and her colleagues are responsible for the press kits, online image database, footage, the international newsletter, press trip assistance, film and photo permits, interviews. and research assistance.

Working in the International Travel Media section of the Munich Tourism Office are five colleagues and a trainee.

The Munich Tourism Office has professional photographers on staff, but sometimes it will buy photos from other journalists, Schopp said.  The in-house photographers are responsible for the photo archives.

The Munich Tourism Office plays a big role in educating journalists and others about what Munich has to offer, she explained.  And although Schopp will visit London and Paris to meet some of them and pitch Munich travel stories,  “The journalists come to us for stories, not vice versa.” It also plays a huge role in organizing events such as Oktoberfest and the Christmas Market in Marienplatz.

The Munich Tourism Office works with the Germany National Tourist Board, which she said is its most important partner, the Bavaria Tourism Marketing GmbH, Magic Cities Germany and the Munich Airport to do its support work.

Journalists from Toronto Star, Budget Star, and Irish Times have all used the Munich Tourism Office for their resources.  When the journalists check into the hotels they have a press kit waiting for them, Schopp said, and the Point Park students each received a scaled-down one as a sample. The press kit includes Munich Facts and Figures, a city map, a Munich City Guide, Munich Events, and Photo Services papers.

The press kits the Point Park group also had paperwork giving students and faculty permission to write, photograph and film within the city, something that is standard procedure for the Tourism Board to do for groups.

There are many different types of journalists that would find writing about Munich exciting as well as on-topic with their publication.  Munich’s target market is really anyone because of the vast amount of things to do and a lot of families find that Munich is the perfect place to go because of that.

Visitors looking to stay in Munich will find no shortage of hotel rooms.  There are around 300,000 hotel rooms in the city of Munich itself.

Schopp has been working at the Munich Tourism Office for three years and said she loves being in direct contact with the journalists.

More information is available on the city at the Munich Tourism Office’s website at www.meuchen.de or via email at travel.media@muenchen.de.

Filed Under: Katie Pflug, Media · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Advertising and the presses at Süddeutsche Zeitung

June 21, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
Printing Presses at Süddeutsche Zeitung

Printing presses at Süddeutsche Zeitung
(photo by Alexa Blanchard)

by Alexa Blanchard

In the world of advertising, he who generates the most profit is king. But for Süddeutsche Zeitung, a quality national newspaper located in southern Germany, innovation is the key to success.

Generating revenue through ad space is extremely important for a print newspaper, as the only other source for money-making relies on subscriptions. But with the universal decline in print, how do papers like Süddeutsche Zeitung keep their advertisers buying space? How do they keep their readers coming back for more?

Michael  Stengl, the product manager of advertisements, was eager to showcase Süddeutsche Zeitung’s unique advertising methods to Point Park University’s International Media class. The group of Pittsburgh students was comprised of communications majors of all varieties, including advertising and journalism majors. For most, this exclusive inside look at the functionality of a newspaper and their advertisements is especially relevant.

BMW, or Bavarian Motor Works, purchases a lot of ad space from Süddeutsche Zeitung. Stengl demonstrated some of the work that has put together to show of BMW’s luxury vehicles.

“We wondered, ‘how can we reach our audience with bigger, poster-sized images?’” Stengl inquired, citing the effectiveness of large billboard images that are exposed to the public.

He ended his rhetorical question by turning a page in his demonstration newspaper and revealing a true poster-sized image of a new BMW model, an ad that spanned across two newspaper pages. It was truly larger than life, compared to the commonplace ads that typically take up one quarter of a page to one half to a full page at most. Two entire pages for one ad are brilliant and unheard of in most U.S. newspapers except for the largest, such as The New York Times.

Alexa Blanchard and Johnie Freiwald check out a special advertisement in the pages of Munich's Sueddeutsche Zeitung. (Helen Fallon photograph)

Alexa Blanchard and Johnie Freiwald check out a special advertisement in the pages of Munich’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
(photo by Helen Fallon)

Stengl passed around several other innovative advertising techniques that Süddeutsche Zeitung has employed, including a scented ad and a multi-sensory ad.

“We published this [multi-sensory] ad for BMW and our competitors called us and said ‘What have you done? This is brililiant,’” Stengl added.

The multi-sensory ad in question details driving a BMW from a chauffer’s perspective. The open road ahead is glossed with UV detailing, and the dashboard of the car actually feels like how a real dashboard would. Readers can touch the steering wheel and feel the texture of leather underneath their fingers, and the sleeves of the chauffer are outlined with cloth. This ad is multi-sensory because readers use not only their eyes, but also their sense of touch. Perhaps they even have a smell.

It encourages the reader to stop and take a moment to interact with an advertisement, something that had never been done before. More than anything, it makes the reader remember. Many will never forget that this two-page spread with a tangible leather steering wheel was an ad for BMW, and that they saw it – felt it – in Süddeutsche Zeitung. This is the kind of interactivity, innovation and notoriety that the paper is going for, Stengl said.

Presses at Süddeutsche Zeitung

Presses at Süddeutsche Zeitung
(photo by Alexa Blanchard)

Still reeling from the never-before-seen advertising, the Point Park students were then treated to yet another inside look across the street at Süddeutsche Zeitung’s printing presses. The printing process, which begins at 6 o’clock each evening, is a mammoth undertaking with an innumerable amount of moving parts, employees and equipment working around the clock to get the job right and ready for delivery.

The presses, spanning multiples floors and reaching far and wide, print the broadsheet newspaper at breakneck speed and push their respective paper sections onto conveyor belts where they are mechanically assembled and frequently checked for color. If the color, layout, or printing angle is incorrect then those batches of papers will be trashed and the process corrected. Advertising inserts – a huge source of revenue for the paper – are automatically inserted. The presses are so automated that mailers and inserters are no longer employed, and a small staff of printers is needed, which saves the company money.

All of this must be done in a matter of hours to satisfy the demand of the paper, which has one of the highest circulations in Germany with over 1.1 million daily readers, not including its international demand. The presses generate about 36,000 papers per hour, according to Stengl, and run all night until pickup in the morning.

All of this combined for what Stengl sees as a bright future for Süddeutsche Zeitung, which experienced extreme financial difficulty in the economic fallout in 2007-2008 and placed it on the brink of bankruptcy. Printing a quality newspaper and publishing books and other projects have set the paper on a sound financial course, as well as reaching out with new technological ventures.

And the paper remembers its near collapse as it moves forward. “Print has a future,” Stengl said. “But it must be interesting [to current and future readers].”

Filed Under: Alexa Blanchard, Media · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Eating in Berlin – Guten Appetit!

June 21, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
Germans frequently add beer and pretzels to meals (photo by Katie Pflug)

Germans frequently add beer and pretzels to meals
(photo by Katie Pflug)

by Sara Tallerico

Germany is renowned for its heavy, substantial regional food. Local cuisine is strongly influenced by past immigration, but the dishes are much more simplified. Berliners prefer their foods to be filling rather than over-fussy.  Cooking in Berlin is simple and down-to-earth, and the meals are hearty and satisfying.

Berliners begin their day with a typical breakfast of cold meats, cheeses, fresh fruit and an array of rolls and bread.  Some accompany their meal with orange juice, apple juice, coffee or hot tea, others with beer.  Time with friends and family is valued much more.  Breakfast is a time for relaxation, and they want to maximize every minute they have together.

Traditionally, Germans eat their main meal during the day between 12and 2 p.m. This meal is usually a warm, hearty dish.  At Maximilians, a restaurant with a cozy brewery atmosphere, the waiter suggested some of the Point Park students experience a typical Berlin lunch, meatballs.  He said they were a “very traditional and popular dish in Berlin.”  The meatballs were exactly what diners would expect when thinking of a German dish.  They were hearty, satisfying, warm and delicious. The dish consisted of two large meatballs served with mashed potatoes and carrots. Berlin meatballs are a perfect example of the three major staple foods in Germany: meat, potatoes and vegetables.

Germans enjoy their evening meal later on in the day, usually between 7 and 8 p.m. This meal is similar to a typical German lunch, hearty and warm. However, the portion size is usually smaller.

A protein-packed meal in Munich with a variety of sausage, potatoes, pretzels, and sauerkraut. (photo by Richelle Szypulski)

A protein-packed meal in Munich with a variety of meat, potatoes, pretzels, and sauerkraut.
(photo by Richelle Szypulski)

A favorite dinner in Berlin members of the Point Park group tried was Käsespätzle, otherwise known as cheese spaetzle.  Spaetzle is an egg noodle that is extremely popular in all parts of Germany. Germans prepare this traditional pasta in a plethora of ways. However, cheese spaetzle seems to be the most desired in this country. The dish is typically served with a generous portion of spaetzle with melted cheese and topped with fried onions. Recent Point Park University graduate Richelle Szypulski described the dish as “similar to gnocchi pasta, but delicious in a melt-in-your-mouth way.”

Point Park students and faculty had a variety of group dinners during their time in Germany, reflective of the different food in the cities and Salzburg. Main courses for the dinners were Turkey with creamed mushrooms and herb rice, fresh pork wiener schnitzel with potato-radish salad in Berlin; Munich white sausage, rostbratwurst, meat loaf, sauerkraut, potatoes and pretzel, and jagerschnitzel (grilled pork loin with mushrooms, vegetables and pasta in Munich; and pan-fried breaded chicken with potato-cucumber salad in Salzburg. And the group experienced the traditional German breakfast at hotels in Berlin and Munich during the trip, complete with scrambled eggs and sausage, of course, as well as bacon. And it was included in the room charges, which was wonderfuland helped students’ expenses.

photo

Favorite German desserts consist of fruit and Quark cheesecake.
(photo by Johnie Freiwald)

Now time for the best part: dessert in Berlin.  After a filling dinner, Germans usually make sure they save room for a delicate treat.  A very favored dessert is cheesecake, although some of the group dinners included apple strudel, chocolate mousse and raspberry yogurt cream cake.  German cheesecake is typically made with Quark cheese.  For variety, berries such as raspberries or blueberries can be added.  It truly is the perfect ending to a delicious meal.

Filed Under: Culture, Sara Tallerico · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ketchum-Pleon’s full-service agency aims to please

June 21, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

ketchum1by Andrea Karsesnick

Exactly 90 years ago, Ketchum was founded in Pittsburgh. Today, Ketchum, which is now is a subsidiary of the Omnicom Group, is one of the world’s leading PR agencies with offices across the globe, including Germany.

It joined Omnicom in 1996 and then merged with Pleon in 2009, which is based in Dusseldorf. Ketchum covers five global practice areas: brand marketing, corporate communications, healthcare, food and nutrition, and technology, according to its website. Pleon is the largest PR agency in Europe with 39 offices; it is also the third largest company in Germany.

Ketchum Pleon in Germany as a whole has 335 consultants, marketers and creative staff members. There are 37 media relations experts, 30 editors, 20 social media experts and one research center. There are more than 3,400 Ketchum employees worldwide.

According to the staff members who met with Point Park students, Ketchum Pleon Munich is a full-service agency. It is comprised of 60 people: Fifteen people handle health care, with clients such as Bayer; 15 associates handle change, with clients such as Zeiss and Siemens; and 20 people on the corporate team handle BMW, Kodak and Dell. All together Ketchum Pleon Munich has 42 clients.

Ketchum works with a number of well-known brands such as Snapple, Barbie, Special Olympics, and Häagen-Dazs.

Ketchum works with a number of well-known brands such as Snapple, Barbie, Special Olympics, and Häagen-Dazs.

Ketchum Pleon employs many research methods, according to Diana Dorenbeck, a consultant and media relations expert and Markus Ruether, business director and expert in corporate and financial communications. The agency enlists different research companies to perform market research. Methods include internal research by conducting questionnaires within the agency, street questionnaires and additional market research by calling random phone numbers and polling citizens. Phone calls are also made to journalists to find out what they think of different companies, they told the students. Ketchum Pleon Munich seldom uses focus groups.

Ketchum Pleon Munich puts a heavy focus social media. Of the Internet users in Germany, 76 percent are registered on social media. Social media in Germany is mostly Facebook, as Twitter is not that important, according to

Christopher Langner, director of digital and media communications.

That doesn’t mean that the agency doesn’t try some Web-based creative methods to help clients. He showed the students an example of an animated video for Lefax, an anti-flatulence drug produced in Germany that needed to reach a younger demographic, consumers 30-49. Check out the link: http://www.ketchumperspectives.com/issues/digital-social-media/case-studies/farting-to-stardom-germany.

According to Ketchum’s online magazine Perspectives, the video went viral, attracting 32,000 views on YouTube and capturing the attention of the mainstream media, which inspired thousands of consumes to actually begin engaging in conversation about flatulence online and reaching Lefax’s goal of generating buzz about the product.

The Ketchum staff members also shared their media tips for success in Germany. The top tip: “We’re the home to the Brothers Grimm. Pitch a story, not a product.” Following any PR campaign, Ketchum Pleon Munich must analyze and evaluate the results.  Analytics and metrics are very expensive and more often than not, clients do not want to pay for that, Langner said. Ketchum can easily measure how many media mentions a campaign received in comparison to competitors. Analytics on social media are done by Facebook, which can be seen by the administrator of a brand page. This is vital to measuring the impact a company has on the public through the use of social media. With this, a company can tailor the messages it sends to target audiences.

Filed Under: Andrea Karsesnick, Media · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Stay in the east or flee to the west?

June 21, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
Checkpoint Charlie Museum

Checkpoint Charlie Museum

by Katie Pflug

Checkpoint Charlie was once a main crossing point between East and West Berlin and the Berlin Wall, but today it is a main historical attraction in Berlin, Germany.

The Checkpoint Charlie Museum may look like an old-fashioned home, but it is filled to the brim with historical remembrance of East and West Berlin.

Located near Potsdamer Platz, the Checkpoint Charlie Museum was erected in 1962 by freedom-fighter founder and director Dr. Rainer Hildebrandt. The museum started as a two and a half room apartment display that held history about the Berlin Wall. On June 14, 1962, the museum reopened in Friedrichstrasse in what used to be a block of flats, at the Checkpoint Charlie border crossing. Today it displays objects that helped escapees flee the East, exhibits to learn more about the history of the Berlin Wall and stories of escapees, according to its website.

Today the museum is run by Hildebrandt’s widow, Alexandra Hildebrandt, who, since the death of her husband in 2004, has expanded the museum to include more exhibitions about human rights and freedom.

The  permanent exhibition dates back to the museum’s first days, just after the building of the Berlin Wall, and charts the lifespan of the world’s supposedly most secure border system, according to its website. Here visitors can see original boards created by Hildebrandt in the 1960s, who worked with journalists, escape organizers and protesters to put together a compact and clear outline of the background to the wall’s creation, as well as other key events in East Germany’s history, such as the June 17, 1953, uprisings.

Katie Pflug and Michelle Graessle stop for a photo of the American sector exit sign.

Katie Pflug and Michelle Graessle stop for a photo of the American sector exit sign.
(photo by Connor Mulvaney)

After viewing the first room, visitors walk up a staircase that has children’s paintings all the way up to the top of the stairs. Each of the paintings explains the separation between East and West Germany and how children wish they could all be friends.  The paintings and drawings add a child’s perceptive to the museum, which gives visitors another great way to think about how the Berlin Wall affected so many people’s lives.

Throughout the whole museum there are many displays that shows objects that helped East Berliners escape to the west. From suitcases and heaters to escape cars, hot air balloons, homemade mini-submarines and deceptively hollow surfboards are just a few of the items that people used to escape. Reading the stories left many visitors looking shocked.

The museum displays a homemade airplane that was used as an escape method. The only part of the plane that was not homemade was the engine, which was taken out of a car.

The museum also has on exhibit other work describing human rights violations around the world and a permanent NATO exhibition.

Point Park students found the Checkpoint Charlie Museum a great way to learn more about what was happening while the wall was up in Berlin. The museum is heavy on reading, student visitors said, but each and every display is worth taking the time to read and understand.

The museum is open every day of the year from 9 a.m. until 10 p.m., including festivals such as Christmas and Easter and other bank holidays. Admission charges are 12.50 euros for adults, 8.50 euros for groups of 20 or more, and 9.50 for students and 6.50 for ages 7-18. Children up to 6 are free. Guided tours are available.

Filed Under: Culture, Katie Pflug · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

Rehabilitating the Reichstag

June 21, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
The Reichstag building boasts historical architecture and a powerful message: Dem Deustchen Volke

The Reichstag building boasts historical architecture and a powerful message: Dem Deustchen Volke

by Alexa Blanchard

The International Media class from Point Park University continued its tour of Berlin, Germany, with an evening visit to a government building known as the Reichstag.

The Reichstag building, which has undergone decades of change and reform, initially began as the headquarters of the German empire’s parliament (also called diet or Reichstag) in 1894. According to berlin.de, The Parliament was controlled by several different entities, beginning first with the German empire, followed by the Weimar Republic, and finally in the 1930s fell under Nazi control.

The Nazi Reichstag abandoned the building in 1933 after a devastating fire that destroyed most the building and was never repaired until the fall of the Berlin Wall. Since architect Norman Foster led the reconstruction effort that was completed in 1999, the Reichstag building is used once again as a government entity by the Bundestag, the modern-day term for German parliament.

From the front, the Reichstag building is huge and intimidating with its historical architecture. The pillars and statues keeping watch over the city are reminiscent of the Parthenon of Greece. The building exudes an image of grace and authority over its subjects, powerful to behold. Above the pillars on the architrave is carved a short yet meaningful phrase: Dem Deutschen Volke, or, to the German people.

The dome at the Reichstag

The dome at the Reichstag

Attached to the back of the Reichstag building is a massive dome that attracts hundreds of tourists every day. Audio guides are available for use while visitors stroll along the terrace outside of the dome and take in the breathtaking Berlin skyline.

Once inside the dome, the audio guide will begin explaining the history of the building as visitors walk along a ramp that spirals along the edge of the wall to the top of the dome, culminating in a sky view that rests the weary traveler.

The audio guide not only explains the history of the Reichstag building and the dome but also stops the visitor on the ramp to point out several key points of Berlin, such as the television tower. Many of these buildings are historical elements that are related to the Reichstag building, but most are new buildings that had to be built or rebuilt following the devastation of World War II.

The bottom floor of the dome boasts a central element that holds the entire building together. A collection of black and white photographs with detailed captions in several languages are showcased around the middle point of the dome.

These photos outline the integral points of the Reichstag’s history, including the days when it was burned and unusable. Some of the most powerful images were taken during the final days of the Berlin Wall as students sat on top of the Wall in front of the Reichstag while the police force watched them from the ground.

The interior of the dome is perfect for audio walking tours.

The interior of the dome is perfect for audio walking tours.

Some of the images are also a bit startling and strange to think about from the perspective now. A photo from 1930 reads: “The NSDPA parliamentary group leaves the auditorium; only Joseph Goebbels remains as an observer.”

So, by this time the Nazi party had taken control. How eerie to still have NSDPA artifacts still on display in a government building. As with many painful things in Germany, the reason for the rebuilt Reichstag and the dome is most likely to serve as reminders to never forget, to never let things get as bad as they once were.

The roof terrace and dome of the Reichstag Building are open from 8 a.m. to midnight daily (last admission: at 10 p.m.)  Admission is free, but advance registration is

required. The online registration form can be found at http://visite.bundestag.de. It is closed from Dec. 24-31 and other dates for cleaning. It also closes at times for security reasons when the government is in session.

Filed Under: Alexa Blanchard, Culture · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A castle fit for a King

June 21, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
Neuschwanstein is nestled in the hills of Hohenschwangau, Bavaria (photo by Katie Pflug)

Neuschwanstein is nestled in the hills of Hohenschwangau, Bavaria
(photo by Katie Pflug)

by Andrea Karsesnick

One hundred and seventy-two days.

That’s how long King Ludwig II lived in Neuschwanstein Castle, a tall, white picturesque structure sitting high in the mountains of Hohenschwangau, Bavaria, Germany. The castle was the inspiration of Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty castle, and it has been featured prominently in many films and German tourism videos.

King Ludwig was born on Aug. 25, 1845, in Bavaria in Schloss Nymphenburg. He began his reign as king in 1864 at the age of 18. He claimed to have accepted the throne too quickly and regretted it.

Ludwig II lived in a fantasy world. He wanted to believe in a “holy kingdom,” where each ruler was chosen by the divine right theory of kingship. In reality, Ludwig II was a constitutional monarch with duties.

He was a recluse, who secluded himself in his castle away from everyone and did not tend to his duties as king. The castle was never completed, although he moved into in 1884. In 1885, banks threatened to take away his property, and Ludwig II developed political enemies. He was arrested and interned in the Berg Castle in 1886. Ludwig II died of mysterious circumstances, an apparent drowning, on June 13 that year in Lake Starnberg. He died alongside his psychiatrist who had diagnosed him as insane.

He started to build it on the ruins of another castle.  The construction of Neuschwanstein started in the summer of 1868 and was ready for Ludwig II to move in in the end of 1884, according to the castle’s official website. He only lived in the castle for a short period before his death. He only saw this home as a construction site.

Neuschwanstein was Ludwig II’s escape from reality. It was his dream world modeled on the Middle Ages. The paintings on the walls were done by seven different unknown artists from the academy in Munich. Famous artists did not want to work for Ludwig II because there would be little room for creativity in the artwork as Ludwig II had all of the ideas. Nonetheless, the paintings are extremely intricate and ornate.

The castle from ground level.

The castle is a 30-minute uphill walk.
(photo by Johnie Freiwald)

Ludwig II did not want anybody to share his luxurious castle with anyone. However, the castle was open to the public seven weeks after his death. Today, roughly 1.4 million people visit the castle each year and there are nearly 8,000 visitors each day.

The Point Park University group’s tour guide cited her favorite part of the elaborate castle.  Saura Samgabote, who has led tours there for seven years, says, “I love the details in the paintings. Every day I notice something I did not the day before.”

The decorated walls of Neuschwanstein were based on and inspired by the works of Richard Wagner, who was a good friend of Ludwig II. The paintings were inspired by his operas and medieval legends. There were three main figures on the walls of Neuschwanstein: Tannhaeuser, the swan knight Lohengrin and the Grail King Parzival.

Another theme used throughout the interior walls was religion. Ludwig II’s throne room was overseen by whom he saw as the highest king, Jesus. Ludwig II believed kingship to be “by the grace of God.”

The swan is also seen many times within the castle. Ludwig had a large swan statue and even door handles were modeled to form swan necks. The swan followed the religious theme as they are the Christian symbol of purity.

A basic ticket to the castle costs 12 euros. The visiting hours of the castle are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. April to 15 October. From Oct. 16 to March, the hours are shortened to 10 a.m-4 p.m. Tickets need to be purchased in advance, and visitors can only enter the castle’s rooms by guided tour. The castle is closed Dec. 24-25 and Jan. 1.

Visitors have to purchase tickets at the Ticketcenter Hohenschwangau in the village of Hohenschwangau below the castle. From Munich, tourists need to take a train and then a bus to the castle; it’s a very steep 30-minute walk to the castle from the village, although a bus and horse carriages are available.

Filed Under: Andrea Karsesnick, Culture · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Alexa’s Blog – Day 12 – Farewell

May 23, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

Today is our final day, travel day. Our flight to Paris went smoothly and even arrived a little early. Now, we are in the Chaux-de-Gaulle Airport waiting for our 2:00 pm flight back home to good old Pittsburgh. I’m sad to leave Europe but at the same time I’m ready to be home and dig in to summer. This weekend is going to be a blur; I’m taking a Megabus to State College early on Friday morning, where one of my parents or my brothers will pick me up and make the hour-long journey back to Watsontown, PA. Then, on Saturday relatives will be in town, on Sunday I have my final shift at work, Monday is Labor Day festivities, and on Tuesday I start my internship. Whew.

This trip has far exceeded my expectations and opened my eyes to a new way to look at media and culture. There were a lot of odd things I didn’t expect from Germany, like the fact that you have to pay to use a lot of the bathrooms, the lack of trashcans and ice, and the abundance of sparkling water. It’s a funny thing.

I’m so happy I had the opportunity to travel and hopefully I’ll have similar chances in the future. I’ll always remember our crazy Point Park adventures in Deutschland. Auf Wiedersehen!

Filed Under: Alexa Blanchard, Blogs · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

Alexa’s Blog – Day 11

May 22, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

The following events transpired on 5/22/13.

Sadly, today is our last day in Munich. We depart bright and early tomorrow morning for the airport to go back to Pittsburgh.

But, just because it was our last day doesn’t mean it wasn’t busy. We started off by heading to Ketchum Pleon, an ad agency, for the morning and listening to an overview on Ketchum and their work. I had never been to an advertising agency before so I wasn’t really sure how one would operate, though I had an idea of what it was like. It must be so empowering to have a huge number of talented, created minds housed together under one company like that. They had some very funny content that I could appreciate as well as a lot of work that was extremely compelling.

After visiting Ketchum, we came back to the hotel for a bit to grab lunch and a quick nap before boarding the train yet again to visit Suddeutsche Zeitung, a southern German newspaper. I feel like we spend most of our time on public transportation!

Suddeutsche Zeitung already had expectations to live up to after we heard how much they compete with Axel Springer for awards and honors. They talked to us about their history as well as the transition from print to online. The showed us some of their ads, which were so interesting and creative. There was one tactic they used called multi-sensory ads in which some elements of the ad are UV coated or have a certain texture that feels like something else. For instance, the multi-sensory ad they showed us was form BMW and showed the front of the car and the road ahead from the driver’s perspective. The dashboard of the car and the driver’s coat all had textures reminiscent of the real deal.

The ads they showed us we so engaging and expensive, but that’s how they make their money, other than subscriptions. After showing some other examples of creative advertising, we walked across the street (it was freezing today!) and took a tour of their printing presses. I had never seen anything like that before! Everything is so intricate and complex. How do things not crash and burn here? The process is so streamlined and monitored. I was impressed and mind-boggled by the process that it takes to produce all of these papers for one day. They said that these presses produce 35,000 papers per hour, but they have to keep up with the ridiculous circulation. I couldn’t believe how massive and amazing this place was.

We arrived ravenous for dinner at the Ratskeller in Marienplatz after our very packed day. We devoured our food, sang happy birthday to Johnie, and presented cards to Helen and Arnoud for all of their hard work for us. Now, it is time to pack and get ready for our long journey home tomorrow. Auf Weidersehen, Muchen!

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Alexa’s Blog – Day 10

May 22, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

The following events transpired on 5/21/13.

The day was exciting before it truly began. I went to breakfast early so I could get a quicker start to my day, as I finally had the chance to change my US dollars to euros. We were going to BMW that day and I knew that the only time I could shop for souvenirs would be in the afternoon after we got back. I was very frustrated with the exchange rate, which I knew would be tough. But, I was sickened to learn that my $300 only came out to 200 euros. I will never come to Europe with American cash again.

On our way to BMW, I pushed Carson to the train station in her wheelchair. I gave her my purse to hold because I did not want someone to steal it off of me while I was distracted and using both of my hands to push her. This seemed like a smart idea at the time.

Then it happened. As the train arrived at the station, Arnoud took the reins and pushed Carson’s wheelchair into the train car. But, her wheel got stuck in the gap between the train and the platform and my bag flew out of her lap and down into the abyss. We all looked down in horror to see my poor bag, out of my own hands for safety reasons, nestled on the grown next to the tracks. The door began to close but we managed to pry them open and I jumped inside.

I forced myself to be calm. No need to freak out yet. We took the train up one stop and the rest of the group stayed put while Arnoud and I went back to the previous stop to see if we could save my bag. On the train, we agreed that I would locate where my bag had fallen and he would go look for an attendant to see if we could get an apparatus to retrieve it.

However, as soon as I found my unharmed bag, Arnoud had a different idea. He checked both ways for oncoming trains and dove down onto the tracks, snatched the bag up, and climbed back onto the platform. The other train stationers and I stared in amazement. Arnoud seems to have a particular set of skills. Skills that make him a nightmare for accidents like this.

We got on the next train to head to the next stop where the rest of our group was patiently waiting. Arnoud signaled for them to join us and I relayed the story of how our guide had just gone rogue and nearly sacrificed himself. He explained that it would have taken too long to find an attendant. Despite this adventure, we still managed to make it to BMW on time.

After we arrived at Bavarian Motor Works, we listened to a lecture on their innovative tactics with social media, apps, and their new electric car models. I was surprised that I liked it as much as I did. I thought that it would boring and irrelevant to me since I’m a girl. I don’t know a thing about cars, but I was happily surprised to find everything we talked about to be quite interesting. I loved the variety of apps that they had for finding parking in various cities, finding transportation, booking parking places, etc. It’s so different and effective. It makes me wonder if any American car companies are on their way to be as groundbreaking as BMW.

After enjoying a great (free) lunch we moved on to take a tour of BMW and admire all of the beautiful cars and the rich history starting with manufacturing airplane parts, and eventually motorcycles and automobiles. They even had a model of the electric car concept that they were working on. Unfortunately, it was one of those days where it would rain at the most inconvenient times, i.e. every time we went outside.

We arrived back at our hotel in the afternoon. The train ride back from BMW was much less adrenalized than the morning commute.

I took advantage of my free time and walked down to Marienplatz to do some shopping for my family, and then a group of us took a trip to the Hofbrauhaus in honor of Johnie’s birthday. We drank liters of beer and had a jolly time eating pretzels and staring at strangers. At the Hofbrauhaus, I ended up running into a friend of mine from Pitt who is studying in Munich for a few weeks. Small world!

We came back to the hotel and planned to up to go out somewhere, but I sat on my bed in the room and just crashed. There was no way I was moving. I’m a little annoyed at myself for not going out during our last truly free night in Munich, but I knew my fresh body and mind would thank me in the morning.

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