This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. In his teens, May was kicked out of school for stealing candles; his autobiography claims that he merely wanted to give his sister scraps of candle wax as a Christmas present. He was later fired from a teaching job for stealing a pocket watch. May spent six weeks in jail, his reputation further damaged by rumors of an affair with a married woman. May’s prose is less purple, and less populated with good cowboys, than the writing of Zane Grey, the famous American author of Wild West stories. May’s work has a chatty, as-told-to narrative voice, and a wit reminiscent, at times, of another American, Mark Twain. Yet, for all their echoes of setting and voice, May’s stories read as distinctively German, not only because of their occasional greenhorn errors. (The Apache and Kiowa were allies and not enemies, for example.) “Whatever the economy is doing, it’s doing it without me.”Copy link to cartoonCopy link to cartoonLink copied A number of German and Austrian towns have Karl May festivals, but the festival in Bad Segeberg is the largest, the most magnificently staged, and probably the most financially successful. It began in 1952, a year after the Wagner festival was revived in Bayreuth. Thienel is from Bad Segeberg, but for many years she lived and worked in Munich and Berlin. When friends asked her if she planned on returning, she would joke, “I’ll come back if a Karl May job shows up.” Then it did, and she returned. “The first show cost just fifty thousand Deutsche marks to put on”—then about twelve thousand dollars—“and it was done with local actors and local livestock and local housewives sewing the costumes.” Today, the budget is about 3.9 million euros. In the West German Karl May movies of the sixties, the French actor Pierre Brice played Winnetou, and the American actor Lex Barker played Old Shatterhand; the movies were filmed in Croatia. Brice also played the Bad Segeberg festival for a number of years; then the Winnetou of the East German films, Gojko Mitić, a Serb, played the part. Thienel said that Native American actors had performed in the festival, but it was hard to find people willing to be away from home for the whole season. “Any history of physical activity in your family?”Copy link to cartoonCopy link to cartoonLink copied “The G.D.R. allowed some Karl May books to be printed again,” he went on. “I imagine they needed the money. They printed two hundred and fifty thousand copies; I think it was ‘The Treasure of Silver Lake.’ They sold out in something like a day. My father was lucky in that he was working at a factory, and there was a factory bookstore, and he knew the woman there; so I had ‘The Treasure of Silver Lake’ under my Christmas tree in, let’s see, I think it was 1982.” I asked Köhler how old he was, meaning how old he was when he got the book. “I was born a hundred years and one week after the death of Winnetou,” he said. Back at Villa Shatterhand, Köhler introduced me to René Wagner, the director of the museum, who has been there since 1985. Wagner, an honorary citizen of Tombstone, Arizona, took off his cowboy hat to sit down and talk with me. He showed me the building plans for a new visitor center. They had recently had a great event with Sitting Bull’s great-grandson, he said, attended by more than three hundred people. I asked Wagner if he had a favorite exhibit or event from all his years. “Today the relationship is complicated,” Wagner said. “We have a man here who is an expert at making Native American flutes. Native Americans in the United States buy them. He went there to teach people how to make them. But it can make people angry if a German hobbyist sells his work in a Native American craft fair. They say it’s not genuine, and maybe in a sense that is right. The relationship was more simple during the G.D.R.” I asked Wagner if he thought May might again become as popular with young people as he had been for his generation. “There will be another peak,” Wagner said. “Maybe this time with his late books. They are probably the most well-written—the fantasy books.” These are stranger, sadder, and less popular stories. They take place on the warring planet of Sitara. Sitara can be reached, the novels explain, by travelling from Earth three months to the Sun and then another three months further—which sounds a lot like a round trip. In 1908, when he was sixty-six, May at last made some of the travels that he had claimed already to have made. He didn’t make it out West, but he did visit upstate New York. He met Indians at a reservation near Niagara Falls. On his return, May wrote the last volume of his Winnetou series. In it, Old Shatterhand helps plan a monument for the murdered Winnetou. As Americans, we tend to find the German infatuation with Native Americans campy and naïve. But the comfort of Karl May fans with May’s historical inaccuracies surely comes in part from their confident knowledge of the actual history. Whereas we know almost nothing. We do not proclaim our innocence; we do not feel we are on trial. ♦ The 5-year Titolas old and the 6-year old Hirtenglanz were the winners of the Bundeschampionate qualification classes held at the regional show in Bad Segeberg This Holstein based qualifier brought out a modest field of competitors with 13 horses in total Susanne Krohn and the Hanoverian stallion Titolas (by Totilas x Stedinger) were the high scoring pair in the 5-year old division with a total of 7.5 The black stlalion for 7 for walk and trot 8.5 for canter and 7.5 for submission and general impression Lena Stegemann and the Hanoverian mare Deidre (by Damon Hill x Davignon) placed second with 7.4 7 for submission and 7.5 for general impression In the small 6-year old division Christina Ellendt aced the M-level dressage horse class on the Trakehner gelding Hirtenglanz (by All Inclusive x Lord Luciano) The pair scored a winning 7.7 after earning 8s for walk canter and submission and 7.5 for general impression Kristina Heuer and the Hanoverian mare Florentine (by Floriscount x Alabaster) were second with 7.5 Photo © Stephan Bischoff Results - 2017 Bundeschampionate Qualifier - Bad Segeberg Related LinkEurodressage Coverage of the 2017 Bundeschampionate Stalls for Rent at Durondeau Dressage in Peer, Belgium Exceptionally Well Located Equestrian Facility in Wellington, Florida Well-built Equestrian Estate With Multiple Business Opportunities in Sweden Stable Units for Rent at Lotje Schoots' Equestrian Center in Houten (NED) For Rent: Several Apartments and Stable Wing at High-End Equestrian Facility Stable Wing Available at Reiterhof Wensing on Dutch/German border Real Estate: Well-Appointed Country House with Extensive Equestrian Facility in the U.K. Rémi Blot 2011-12 (Freshman): Schmidtke had a tremendous freshman season for the Aggies She became the second swimmer in school history to compete at the NCAA Championships Schmidtke finished in 56th place (1:48.99) in the 200 free 57th place (50:37) in the 100 free and 61st place (23.07) in the 50 free at the national meet She qualified after winning the 200 free at the 2012 WAC Championships with a school-record performance of 1:46.38 Schmidtke also posted runner-up honors in the 50 free (22.82) and 100 free (49.28) with program-record times at the WAC meet She earned WAC Freshman of the Year honors after her performance at the conference meet Schmidtke was also a member of the 400-free (3:23.63) 800-free (7:22.47) and 200-medley (1:41.48) relays that set school records at the WAC meet Schmidtke won the 50 free and 100 free at North Texas (Oct She won the 50 free and was a member of the winning 400-medley relay in the home opener against Northern Colorado (Oct She was named the WAC Swimmer of the Week (Nov 22) after helping the Aggies to a third-place finish at the Houston Invitational (Nov Schmidtke set three school records in the 100 free 200 free and 400-free relay that she later broke at the WAC meet she swept the sprint freestyle with victories in the 50 free 100 free and 200 free along with a win in the 200-medley relay Schmidtke also won the 200 free at New Mexico (Feb High School: Schmidtke joined the Crimson and White from Bad Segeberg fourth in the 200 free and fifth in the 100 fly in her age group Personal: She is the daughter of Michael and Carola Schmidtke and was born in Bad Oldesloe Copyright © 2025 New Mexico State University Athletics / All Rights Reserved Thanks for visiting The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here Actor Helmut Zierl has entered into his third marriage at the age of 70 The actor had never planned to marry again Helmut Zierl (70) has already had two marriages has three sons and is already a grandfather If you had asked him a few months ago whether he wanted to get married again the actor married social education worker Sabrina Böcker (40) at a registry office in Trittau in Schleswig-Holstein How did it come about that Helmut Zierl said yes again after all The actor couldn't stop gushing about his wife to Bild: "She doesn't want to change me or re-educate me like I used to The two have been in a long-distance relationship for some time as Zierl lives near Hamburg and his wife in Hanover Even if the distance remains for the time being because it showed him one thing: In all this time Sabrina has traveled around the world about three and a half times to see me at my home in Lütjensee That's when I said to myself: With this woman - it must be true love Sabrina Böcker will now be working from home more often and can therefore spend more time with her husband Helmut Zierl feels comfortable in the presence of his wife as he revealed in an interview with the Munich newspaper 'Abendzeitung': "A woman who is almost 30 years younger has to come along so that you can finally live harmoniously They would mainly see each other at the weekends but would really enjoy their time together They had planned island hopping in the South Seas for their honeymoon Selected articles are optimized with the help of an AI assistant The blue News AI is still learning and is constantly being developed further The Probst of the Lutheran Churches of Bad Segeberg and welcoming to my wife and me during our visit to Germany He invited me to preach the first sermon I delivered in Germany in 2014 in the historic Marien Cathedral in Bad Segeberg he invited me to preach at the end of my visit Havemann’s friendship and authority created a protective and comforting bracket around our extended stays in Germany paled against the anger and sadness caused by the horrific attacks on Paris Pundits are telling us to accustom ourselves to this new reality of dozens of people mercilessly murdered by savage forces in the name of religion Havemann requested I preach - long before the Paris event - was the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah Our rabbinic sages probably could not have imagined the magnitude of the attack on Paris They had no concept of mass coordinated assaults on innocent civilians in sports stadiums and theaters with submachine guns and other weapons of mass destruction But because the Torah tells us that Sodom and Gomorrah were so wicked that The Eternal One destroyed them our sages’ fertile minds gave us graphic pictures of how depraved those societies were they would lop of his legs at the point where he or she would fit Another Midrash tells of one of Lot’s daughters who violated a law of the city against feeding the poor and Lot’s daughter cried out to the Eternal One to save her from the punishment of being burned alive for her offense (Pike d’Rabbi Eliezer 25; Bereshit Rabbah 49:6) There was also a law in Sodom against welcoming guests into one’s home the Torah tells us that Lot violated this law by not only welcoming guests but also protecting them from the assault of an angry mob outside wanted to betray her husband to the authorities of Sodom She went to neighbors to borrow salt because her husband wanted to offer a tasty meal to her guests that Lot’s wife was eventually turned into a pillar of salt the depravity of Sodom parallels the depravity of those who attacked Paris Our tradition forbids us to abandon hope that things can be better It is for that reason that Israel’s national anthem is called Another story - which I first heard from Ambassador Rabbi David Saperstein when he spoke at Temple Isaiah, MD Once there was a man who travelled to Sodom every day asking the people there to repent their evil ways and to change But every day he would return with the same message of repentance When he returned home his wife and family chided him Don’t you know those people will never change and become like you?” “Perhaps those people will never change and become like me But I must go down there - day after day - so that God forbid even in the face of wickedness that defies description We must continue to dream of and work - each in our own small ways - to bring nearer the day of which the prophets dreamed when “They shall not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain for the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Eternal One as the sea bed is covered by water" (Isaiah 11:9) "and all shall sit under their vines and under their fig trees with none to make them afraid.” (Micah 4:4) Min in Biblical Interpretation from Vanderbilt Divinity School named him its “Distinguished Alumnus of the Year.” plan and build for national and international clients in the public and private sectors with offices in Hamburg interdisciplinary employees and many years of experience it offers architecturally and functionally sustainable solutions for a wide variety of building tasks in Germany and abroad In addition to residential and commercial buildings the firm’s focus includes the planning of hotels office complexes and industrial facilities as well as conversions and revitalisations in listed buildings TCHOBAN VOSS Architekten has always taken on all architectural services up to and including general planning TCHOBAN VOSS Architekten is member of the Bund Deutscher Architektinnen und Architekten BDA (Association of German Architects) the Förderverein Bundesstiftung Baukultur e.V as well as of the European Architects Network (EAN) Archive Offices For International Jazz Day readers share their stories about what impact jazz music has had on their lives ‘I can still hear those twenty minutes of music forty years later’“I was a military brat, having moved 18 times before my 21st birthday. But during one of our longer stays in Washington DC, my parents took my younger sister and I to see Dorothy Donegan at the Blues Alley in Georgetown and I felt very grown up for an eleven-year-old We got to meet Dorothy briefly between sets and I remember her being very kind to a child who had enjoyed her music She started her set with When the Saints Go Marching In but the centrepiece was a long jazz take on The Lady is a Tramp I can still hear those twenty minutes of music forty years later and Mom was not going to let us off school the next day Both my parents are in their early 80s and still love jazz music.” - Fabrisse ter Brugghe Cara and her sister Dana with their parents approximately one year before seeing Dorothy Donegan Photograph: Fabrisse ter Brugghe‘The atmosphere was jumping’“I was lucky enough to see Miles Davis closing the 1988 Banlieues Bleus jazz festival in Saint-Denis under a marquee erected on a square in the town centre the crowd and band enthusiastic and it was a memorable concert I wasn’t living in Saint-Denis at the time but my then girlfriend sounded me out about the concert and got tickets I’ve been an avid Miles Davis fan since the late 1960s when I first heard Miles Runs the Voodoo Down My favourite album would have to be Kind of Blue by Miles though Joni Mitchell’s The Hissing of Summer Lawns and Frank Zappa’s jazz trilogy would run it close.”I was also lucky to be present at Miles’s last ever concert in the UK at the Festival Hall in July 1991.” - Steve Parry Oscar Peterson and Art Blakey on my cassette tapes and drumming along in my bedroom Oscar Peterson’s Starportrait is my favourite jazz album I studied classical percussion at The Royal Northern College of Music but I loved my drum set even more and wanted to absorb and learn more about the world of jazz Whilst at college I was lucky to spend a week with Ed Thigpen of the The Oscar Peterson Trio I got to look after Ed for the week at our halls of residence chatting and drinking red wine in his room My favourite story was Ed telling me about his first encounter with the great Ella Fitzgerald She said to him; “ I don’t care if you can play the drums I care if you can play the music” She asked Ed to put his sticks down and made him sing all of Bye Bye Blackbird He sang the song and played lightly over his drums using only his hands to which Ella said; “thats perfect now you can play your drums.” He also showed me some cool brush tricks and we listened to some albums in his room as I wasn’t really enjoying the classical world not many kids get to be as privileged as you at a place like this so make the most of it.” Which of course I did If it wasn’t for Ed Thigpen I wouldn’t have become the jazz drummer I am today.” - Joe ‘JC’ Caddy ‘I have been fortunate to perform with some great musicians over the years.’ Joe ‘JC ‘ Caddy performing Photograph: Joe ‘JC ‘ Caddy‘I regret not having the bottle to say hello’“As a 16-year-old in the late 1960s I used to frequent local jazz clubs with my mother and father A special treat after trips to Manchester’s Free Trades Hall to see the likes of the Adderleys John Dankworth and Dave Brubeck was to visit Club 43 I saw several members of the various big bands but also in the late 1960s a gig by my hero We got in early and so grabbed a front row table It must have been obvious to Griffin that I was really into his music grabbing a glass with several fingers of bourbon I immediately froze and spent a very long five bars in abject terror willing that he both did and didn’t say anything to me To this day I regret not having the bottle to say hello and pass on my regard for his music At his funeral my brother put together a great CD We went in to Ella Fitzgerald singing Lucky Old So and So He went into the fire with Sinatra’s Young at Heart playing and we all left the service to Count Basie’s Splanky.” - Neil Wellman Christmas 1956 with me and the trumpet on the right and brother Glen with the sax on the left Unfortunately neither of us ended up playing any instruments Photograph: Neil Wellman‘I had no idea that an off-tempo 13th was an act of radicalism’“At St Louis University High School American Literature was a mandatory class for juniors I had grown a little frustrated with our reading often feeling behind other students who offered much better criticism and understanding than I could For our final project I asked my teacher Steve Missey if I could do something creative that helped define or shape American literature Trumpet virtuoso Dizzy Gillespie often played the jester but he showed his serious side in this portrait taken at Ronnie Scott’s in London in 1973 Photograph: RichardDerwent/GuardianWitnessAs a student passionate about social justice I felt unsure of a genre I often associated with stuffiness and old people I discovered a world of political dissent in the form of music I had no idea that playing an off-tempo 13th could be an act of radicalism challenging the powers-that-be Thelonious Monk had an incredible ability to play piano in a way others couldn’t Hitting those notes demonstrated a few things; his ability and his rejection of musical standards he felt white producers tried to place on artists of colour Studying and listening to jazz opened me to aspects of American history that I would have never encountered otherwise.” - Ken Homan ‘No ordinary Joe.’ Joe Albany (1924-1988) was one of the best early bop pianists Photograph: RichardDerwent/GuardianWitness‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’“My parents always exposed us kids to all kinds of music Through A Charlie Brown Christmas children like me were exposed to “new” jazz My Grandfather gave me a cassette recorder with tapes including Ella I’ve been helplessly hooked ever since!” - Julie C “I met Joe Albany in his room at a central London hotel in 1973 A jazz-loving friend had asked me to take photographs while he wrote about Joe for an Irish news magazine but I’m ashamed to confess I’d never heard of Joe at that point Joe was trying to make a comeback after years of drug and alcohol abuse He boarded a flight to England in December 1972 with no work permit or means of support but stayed to do some undercover gigs at pubs in Kent You had to marvel at his energy and sheer inventiveness At our London meeting he did play a little on the grand piano in his room but I sensed something muted and sad about him.” - Richard Derwent They not only performed but also gave masterclass workshops that were incredibly special People of all abilities were able to learn more technique from these great masters of jazz They were very easy to talk to especially when we talked about how important the workshops would be to get locals feeling connected to the music My fondest memory is when they told us where they thought their music came from. Who would have known that early country music was a key influence? Passing their knowledge onto the local community here in Bristol, a world city full of diversity, felt like a privilege.” - Colin Moody Thursday night Jazz at Club Deluxe on Haight San Francisco Photograph: Nigel Westall‘With the Hammond organ up front I was in heaven’“My Dad introduced me to jazz What really opened my ears to jazz was an old Dudley Moore Trio LP he had on the legendary MFP label Thus my jazz leanings were often keyboard led; Gene Harris Jimmy McGriff as well as Brother Jack McDuff & Jimmy Smith hence the trip to the atmospheric jazz club Club Deluxe on Haight Playing were the Thursday B3 Band and with the Hammond organ up front I was in heaven!” - Nigel Westall To encourage thoughtful and respectful conversations first and last names will appear with each submission to CBC/Radio-Canada's online communities (except in children and youth-oriented communities) By submitting a comment, you accept that CBC has the right to reproduce and publish that comment in whole or in part, in any manner CBC chooses. Please note that CBC does not endorse the opinions expressed in comments. Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines We reserve the right to close comments at any time Submission Policy The TimesAs the nights lengthen and a hint of chill returns to the evenings the German nomenklatura descend on the Bavarian city of Bayreuth and watch Europe’s pre-eminent classical musicians shrieking and walloping their way through the works of Richard Wagner The less high-minded or masochistic go instead to Bad Segeberg and climb up a limestone mountain riddled with medieval salt mines I consider Stefanie Steinberg’s “Joseph Brothers Bowing Before Him” a masterpiece I hung it with pride in my office for 25 years She is also the subject of a magnificent exhibition conceived and curated by Pastor Ursula Sieg of Bad Segeberg The exhibit is about Stefanie’s life and travels from Breslau In this week’s Torah portion, parashat Mikeitz Joseph rises from the dungeon to become second in command of all Egypt During a famine many come to Joseph to buy food; his brothers are among them years after they threw him into a pit and sold him as a slave When Stefanie Steinberg heard that my wife Vickie and I planned to work in Germany for 10 weeks in 2014 she said But after she saw that students were studying her life and her journeys and after she heard their voice messages expressing their appreciation to her Germany once did unspeakable evil to the Jews Joseph tested his brothers until he knew their repentance was sincere Germany has sincerely shown its desire as a nation to ask forgiveness and make restitution for the horrors they inflicted on our people but resolve we can shape a better future for our children grandchildren and all the generations to come I recently had the privilege of preaching at a church in Neumünster named after the great Protestant theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer Bonhoeffer was a brilliant student who turned away from a promising career as a professor of theology to instead live the teachings of Jesus’ life among everyday people as a pastor He actively opposed Hitler even before he took office and through all 12 years of his reign Opportunities to escape Hitler came to Bonhoeffer from prestigious institutions in New York and London Bonhoeffer could not resist the call to return to Germany The Nazis executed Dietrich Bonhoeffer at the Flossenbürg concentration camp shortly before the end of the war “To be silent in the face of evil is to be complicit in evil.” Three wonderful pastors ably lead the Dietrich-Bonhoeffer-Kirchengemeinde each of whom I see as being very worthy of leading a church that bears Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s name Pastorin Ulrike Wohlfahrt led the service with warmth and inspiring respect of the Jewish roots of Christianity “We have so much to gain by listening to and learning from each other.” It was a privilege to be there Pastor Tobias Gottesleben came to a Simchat Torah service we hosted this year in Bad Segeberg and he hosted a study evening at which I spoke a few weeks ago he was visiting the church’s mission community in the Congo Pastorin Isabel Frey-Ranck organizes and coordinates the church’s sacred mission of helping the waves of refugees that have come to Neumünster from Syria and several other countries acclimate to their new home Near the church is a center that welcomes and processes thousands of refugees from tyranny in Syria and several other countries to welcome these Islamic and Christian refugees as my cousins through Abraham I noted that Christians often ask me what I think of Jesus My answer: It depends on what his followers make of him as has been the case far too often over the past 2,000 years Jesus’s name is invoked as justification for persecuting Jews – forcing us to convert exiling and killing us – then Jesus does not rate high with me Jews will never see Jesus as God or as an object of worship as Christians do But when Jesus is the inspiration to feed the hungry and do the things I see so many churches in Germany do today in his name Jesus’s example is the impetus to sacrifice position and even his life to oppose the scourge of Nazism On display in the church that bears Bonhoeffer’s name was an exhibit about my wife Vickie’s 94-year-old mother, Stefanie Steinberg, who fled Germany as a 14-year-old refugee in 1936 “Though she experienced difficult times,” I said Cafe Spindel is a quaint café in the center of Bad Segeberg Germany that used to house a wool-processing factory Because it was an unseasonably warm and sunny late summer day when I visited the food was delicious – and then I looked up and noticed the tall chimney attached to the old wool factory I shuddered as Israel’s Nobel Prize-winning poet Nelly Sachs’ famous poem came into mind: The impulse to run out of the courtyard was strong but the atmosphere of friendship and the goal of reconciliation I will never be free of the evocative stimuli that bring Holocaust reflections in their wake has done so much to try to atone for the horrors of The Shoah That does not mean—nor should it—that we shall ever be free of our memories But can we be free of the anger and antipathy they evoke By coming to Germany to teach and speak in synagogues and churches for 10 weeks my wife Vickie and I testify that our answer is but the effort that went into preparing for our trip makes it easier I can only imagine the hours of time and energy that Pastor Pommerening’s wife Their hospitality was so kind and genuine that it made me believe we shall win this struggle every time there is a reminder of the horrors of the past Each year during the Days of Awe – the days between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur– we examine our actions of the past year with a close eye on our shortcomings and the things we regret A crucial part of the process is to go to the people we have wronged and ask for their forgiveness. Without these steps, our prayers for forgiveness that we say on Yom Kippur are meaningless when we sincerely approach someone we have insulted or hurt and ask them to forgive us but I have made the decision to heed and apply this teaching to our people’s greatest horror Germany has asked our forgiveness so many times and in so many ways I will not – we should not – ever forget the horror of the Shoah But just as I ask those I have wronged to forgive me I feel the obligation – even in this case – to forgive Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. After failing to lure the animal using food firefighters descended narrow well to bring it safely back out I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice An enormous eagle owl trapped down a well in northern Germany has been rescued after a local man heard frantic hooting coming from the deep hole in the town of Bad Sedeberg and alerted the police The 40m-deep (131 foot) well is all that remains of an ancient castle in the town and the narrow shaft was too small for the owl to fly out of After initially trying to lure the animal out with food attached to a rope a rescue team ultimately consisting of 20 people assembled to retrieve the stricken owl As well as the narrowness and depth of the well, lack of oxygen was also a problem. The team of 12 firefighters six voluntary technical personnel and two conservationists from a local bat rescue centre lowered a probe down the shaft to measure oxygen content and found there was little left to breathe Using powerful torches and a telescope to locate the owl the teams then pumped oxygen down into the right part of the well to keep the owl alive until it could be pulled out Meanwhile the rescue teams assembled a structure over the well from which they could suspend a firefighter who was then lowered into the well wearing breathing apparatus the animal was packed into a bag and the pair were then winched back up The huge bird was removed from the bag at the surface and handed over to the bat sanctuary The rescue operation lasted three and a half hours On Monday Noctalis said the owl was weakened but was recovering well and they planned to release it this week A huge network of limestone caves in the area, only discovered in 1913, are home to large numbers of bats and a species of beetle known only to live in this location. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies new video loaded: Native Fantasy: Germany’s Indian Heroes transcriptBackbars0:00/13:29-13:29transcript In what green groups are calling a "groundbreaking" ruling the decision could force the EU to strengthen its already near-zero tolerance policy on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) some 500m from a test field for a modified maize crop developed by Monsanto - one of only two GM crops authorised as safe to be cultivated in Europe - claimed their honey had been "contaminated" by pollen from the plant The European court of justice found in their favour a ruling that should offer grounds for the beekeepers to claim compensation in a German court But the court's finding also potentially threatens recent EU legislation, introduced in July this year, that permits traces of GMOs in animal feed without a safety review. Mute Schimpf, food campaigner for Friends of the Earth Europe, said that the ruling "would confirm that existing laws allowing traces of unauthorised GM contamination are insufficient and would need revising." French Green MEP José Bové, an ex-farmer well-known for his destruction of a McDonald's franchise in the south of France and the uprooting of GM crops in Brazil, said that the only protection farmers can have is for a complete ban on GMOs in Europe. "Beekeepers are powerless to prevent the contamination of their honey by GM pollen, as farmers are for their crops, and thus powerless to prevent the tainting of the foodstuffs they produce and the integrity of their product. "The only sure way to prevent this is by precluding the cultivation of GMOs." Greenpeace, describing the traces of pollen in the honey as "genetic pollution" said that Monsanto and the Bavarian state should be held liable for the beekeepers' losses as a result of their product having to be labelled as containing GMOs. However, agricultural specialists criticised the ruling, saying that the decision has no grounding in science. Guy Poppy, the director of the centre for biological sciences at the University of Southampton, told the Guardian: "There is no safety issue. This honey is as safe as any other." The corn in question is genetically engineered to produce an insecticide that naturally occurs in the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (BT). The production of this toxin protects the maize plants from European corn borer larvae. "The Monsanto maize is genetically modified to produce the BT protein. But this same protein actually has been regularly used for years as a spray even by organic farmers," he added. "The consequences of these sorts of ruling is that new methods of plant breeding, whether GM or other forms that are developed, could be thrown out of potential use, making it impossible to innovate." Vivian Moses, professor of biotechnology at the University of London and the chairwoman of Cropgen, an advisory group on GM foods, said: "These beekeepers believe that there is a sensitivity among consumers of the presence of GM material, that the honey containing GM loses quality. They are just protecting their economic interest. "But scientifically this doesn't add up to anything, as the crop has been judged as safe for human consumption." In response to the ruling, the European commission will in two weeks discuss the issue of GMOs and honey with EU member states. According to Brussels, it is likely that the decision will have an impact on the honey into the EU as Europe does not itself produce sufficient quantities for the size of the market. The bloc produces 200,000 tonnes per year and must import an additional 140,000 tonnes. Argentina and China, both GM-friendly countries and the two biggest importers of honey into the EU, are likely to be affected in particular, the commission warned. "The honey is not dangerous. There is no health risk from honey in the EU," insisted EU consumer protection spokesman, Frédéric Vincent, worried that shoppers might stop buying honey as a result of the news. "It's an important ruling from the court. I can't say at this point whether we need to change any laws," he added. "The contamination is done by the bees themselves. We can't put GPS tracking on the bees." Bad Segeberg is small town all the way in northern Germany, 60 kilometres (37 miles) from Hamburg The cave was discovered in 1913 and has since fascinated visitors from across the world But tourists are not the only ones who feel drawn to the underground world – more than 25,000 bats use the sheltered system to hibernate each winter import PrebidBidService from "/v1/js/PrebidBidService.js"; import AmazonBidService from "/v1/js/AmazonBidService.js"; window.addEventListener('intersecting',async (e) => { const element = document.querySelector('[data-id="in_article_1"]'); const slot = element.getAttribute('id'); if(e.detail.slotName !== slot) { return; } let promises = []; if(window.canRunPrebid) { const prebidService = new PrebidBidService(); promises.push(prebidService.requestPrebidBids(null [slot])); } if(window.canRunAmazon) { const amazonService = new AmazonBidService(); promises.push(amazonService.fetchBids(null [slot])); } if(promises?.length) { await Promise.all(promises).then(() => { googletag.pubads().refresh([window.addSlot[slot]]); }); } else { googletag.pubads().refresh([window.addSlot[slot]]); } }); Devil's Cave The Teufelshöhle, or Devil’s Cave, is found in Pottenstein, a good one-hour drive north of Nuremberg Over a period of nearly three million years faults and rainwater have created a 3 kilometre (1.9 mile)-long maze of delicate and vast dripstone caves the underground attraction draws tourists to the site but the unearthed skeletons of the now-extinct cave bears proves that the large mammals inhabited the caved some 25,000 years ago © Jens Pommerenke Underground lakes, bizarre rock formations and a maze of 380 tunnels traverse the Kluterhöhle cave system. Fossilised remains of shells, corals and sponges plaster the rocky walls and bear witness to the time when a reef covered the region near Dortmund Themed tours highlight various aspects of the cave Adventurers should look into the ‘XX-Treme tour’ which guides guests through narrow passageways and pitch-black caverns Sign up to our newsletter to save up to $800 on our unique trips See privacy policy Schellenberg Ice Cave I Courtesy of Berchtesgadener Land Tourismus At the southwestern tip of Germany, near the Austrian border, the Schellenberg ice cave grants views into the permanently frozen underground of the Berchtesgaden Alps The fascinating cave is open to the public though visiting is reserved for those who undertake several hours of hiking up to an altitude of 1,000 metres (3,281 feet) but with the warming temperatures in spring the meltwater runs off and congeals to bizarre ice formations The cave can only be explored as part of a guided tour between May and October Kubach Crystal Cave I Courtesy of GEOPARK Westerwald-Lahn-Taunus This cave is the only one of its kind in Germany and wows walls adorned with glistening crystals that shine in myriad colours Tours take visitors underground and into the 30 metre (98 feet)-high cave that has been carved into the 350 million-year-old limestone by natural processes import PrebidBidService from "/v1/js/PrebidBidService.js"; import AmazonBidService from "/v1/js/AmazonBidService.js"; window.addEventListener('intersecting',async (e) => { const element = document.querySelector('[data-id="in_article_2"]'); const slot = element.getAttribute('id'); if(e.detail.slotName !== slot) { return; } let promises = []; if(window.canRunPrebid) { const prebidService = new PrebidBidService(); promises.push(prebidService.requestPrebidBids(null [slot])); } if(promises?.length) { await Promise.all(promises).then(() => { googletag.pubads().refresh([window.addSlot[slot]]); }); } else { googletag.pubads().refresh([window.addSlot[slot]]); } }); Syrau Dragon's Cave Syrau Dragon's Cave I Courtesy of Drachenhöhle / Andreas Wetzel Drachenhöhle translates to ‘dragon’s cave’ – this cave is made up of mystical rock formations and crystal-clear underground lakes that gleam in a green colour Construction workers discovered the cave by chance in 1928 and it was made accessible to the public a few months later including laser shows which illuminate the spectacular ‘Walhalla’ cavern in the summer months Baumann’s Cave I Courtesy of Tourismusbetrieb der Stadt Oberharz am Brocken / Jan Reichel In the midst of the Harz mountains Baumann’s Cave was opened as Germany’s first show cave in 1646 and has since welcomed millions of visitprs Fascinating forms of stalactites and stalagmites decorate the many caverns and the largest hall has been named after the cave’s most famous visitor the room sees occasional concerts and plays and a stage and seating have been installed for that purpose import PrebidBidService from "/v1/js/PrebidBidService.js"; import AmazonBidService from "/v1/js/AmazonBidService.js"; window.addEventListener('intersecting',async (e) => { const element = document.querySelector('[data-id="in_article_3"]'); const slot = element.getAttribute('id'); if(e.detail.slotName !== slot) { return; } let promises = []; if(window.canRunPrebid) { const prebidService = new PrebidBidService(); promises.push(prebidService.requestPrebidBids(null [slot])); } if(promises?.length) { await Promise.all(promises).then(() => { googletag.pubads().refresh([window.addSlot[slot]]); }); } else { googletag.pubads().refresh([window.addSlot[slot]]); } }); Laichinger Tiefenhöhle Architectural Landmark Laichinger Tiefenhöhle I Courtesy of Höhlen- und Heimatverein Laichingen e.V Visitors have to climb several flights of stairs to descend 55 metres (180 feet) deep into the ground to explore the world of the Laichinger Tiefenhöhle It’s Germany’s only pit cave open to visitors and is made of a complex system of tunnels tours take visitors on a discovery of fossilised reefs and bizarre limestone deposits along the way © Keng666 / Shutterstock Between the 16th and 19th centuries an alum mine drilled into the rock in Saalfeld The mine was eventually abandoned and forgot about until the chambers were rediscovered in 1910 the Saalfeld Fairy Grottoes are known as some of the world’s most colourful caverns and grottos The mineral components of the rock have resulted in formations in all shades of beige red and grey that are reflected by the underground pools of water Art 10 Masterpieces You Can Only See in Munich See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in July See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in October See & Do A Guide to River Cruises in Germany: What to Know Design The Most Beautiful Churches in Berlin See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in September See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in Autumn See & Do Germany's Most Beautiful Abbeys and Monasteries See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in Summer Guides & Tips The Best European Cities to Visit in November See & Do The Best Weekend Trips From Heidelberg Guides & Tips The Best European Cities to Visit in December US: +1 (678) 967 4965 | UK: +44 (0)1630 35000 tripssupport@theculturetrip.com © Copyright 2025 The Culture Trip Ltd the same company blamed for contributing to the worldwide vanishing bee population a leading bee health research organization The leading biotechnology company purchased the large bee research firm last fall amid emerging allegations that the pesticides and genetically modified (GM) corn crops produced by Monsanto could be linked to the mysterious bee disappearances which pollinate $15 billion worth of food annually in the U.S. have been disappearing at an alarming rate over the past decade Entire colonies have been abandoned with no sign of dead bees anywhere near the hive First reported in the United States in 2006 has left beekeepers and scientists perplexed and deeply concerned about the future at least 24 states reported at least one case of CCD Cases of CCD have also been reported in Canada the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reported a 40-50 percent mortality rate among Italian honey bees; however it is not clear how many of Italy’s hives were affected by CCD or other diseases many beekeepers blame an increase in harmful systemic pesticides and genetically modified crops for the sudden losses eight European countries blocked proposals that would allow the cultivation of GM crops on the continent and France imposed a temporary ban on MON810 a genetically modified strain of corn made by Monsanto Agriculture Minister Marek Sawicki of Poland announced earlier this month that the country would impose a complete ban on MON810. Sawicki told the press, “The decree is in the works It introduces a complete ban on the MON810 strain of maize in Poland,” adding that pollen from the genetically modified corn could have a negative impact on bees This is not the first time beekeepers have witnessed an unnatural decline in the honeybee population large-scale disappearance of bees similar to the issues being seen today “Mad bee disease,” as it was commonly called was believed to have caused the death of 40 percent of the bee colonies in France for the increased mortality rate of their hives Unlike older pesticides that are sprayed on top of the crops while bees are not present These systemic pesticides can be particularly harmful because the pesticide becomes a part of the plant’s roots French and Italian studies have shown that imidacloprid pesticides can disorient bees so that they do not return home to their colonies Mass demonstrations led to a ban on the pesticide in France maintains that bees are never exposed to lethal levels of the pesticide and that mad bee disease is caused by other factors Despite the ban on Gaucho, bees continue to vanish in France. Beekeepers claim that as one pesticide left the country, it was replaced by a different pesticide manufactured by Syngenta, which has been shown through independent studies to also affect bees’ flight behavior According to the Guardian “Although we take good research very seriously independent authorities in France have closely monitored the use of Cruiser – the product containing thiamethoxam – on more than 1.9 hectares When properly used no cases of bee mortality have been recorded.” Syngenta and Monsanto only conduct brief studies that test for lethal levels of pesticides and do not look at the effects of recurring sub-lethal levels of pesticides on honey bees over a continuous period of time Due to the timing between exposure to the pesticides and the collapse of the colony have had difficulty proving the connection between the two A study released earlier this month by the Harvard School of Public Health added evidence to the hypothesis by recreating CCD in several honeybee hives by giving the bees small doses of imidacloprid “The evidence is clear that imidacloprid is likely the culprit for Colony Collapse Disorder via a very unique mechanism that has not been reported until our study,” said lead author Chensheng (Alex) Lu to mongabay.com The study suggests that bees fed with high-fructose corn syrup are affected by CCD after pollinating corn sprayed with imidacloprid The first case of CCD was reported in 2006 corn began being sprayed with the pesticide Many commercial beekeepers feed their bees with nectar substitutes in exchange for the remaining honey or while transporting them in trucks across country Feeding bees high fructose corn syrup can also be cheaper than other sugars because of the strong corn lobby and government corn subsidies in the United States Monsanto’s decision to buy Beeologics came at a convenient time for the company especially since the research firm is pending approval on a new vaccine for harmful disorders such as CCD that are affecting the bee population Beeologics previously formulated a vaccine called Remebee to address the Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV) that is widely prevalent among bees affected by CCD “The expertise Beeologics has developed will enable Monsanto to further explore the use of biologicals broadly in agriculture,” the company said in a press release “Both companies expect that their combined research could provide farmers with novel approaches to the challenges they face.” It is likely that the price beekeepers pay for these vaccines will increase as a result of this new partnership Beekeepers and other activists are also very concerned about the impact this partnership will have on the validity and objectivity of future CCD research given Monsanto’s interests in the corn and pesticide industries As reported by Natural Society “It appears that when Monsanto cannot answer for their environmental devastation they buy up a company that may potentially be their ‘experts’ in denying any such link between their crops and the bee decline.” riding his home-bred horse Corrieview Owen won the individual bronze medal at the Junior Eventing European Championships in Bad Segeberg produced a personal best score of 42.3 in the dressage then a text-book cross-country round inside the time and added four faults in the showjumping to finish the competition on 46.3 penalties having been reserve for the British Pony Team in 2008 finished in 10th place with Louise Whitehead’s Pick and Mix II And the Brits finished fifth in the team competition from 19-22 August The British Equestrian Federation’s chairman of junior selectors Michael Munden said: “We are very proud of the way in which this squad has worked together as a team throughout the past weeks “Tim was the last rider to jump and with very few clears the pressure was enormous but the squad’s support for him was tremendous.” Don’t miss H&H’s full report from the junior european eventing championships A German children's protection organisation has started a petition to protest against the public sexual promiscuities seen during the German Pride Parade on Christopher Street Day the organisation wants to prohibit these public acts during Christopher Street Day and pleads for regulations to prevent them from happening more than 5000 people have already signed the petition According to Kinderseelerschützer, sexual promiscuity was seen everywhere during the Pride Parade. Men were walking around naked and carrying out sexual acts on the street for the eyes of everyone. That is the image the German influencer Lynn Kirchner from Bad Segeberg paints in her YouTube video Kirchner warns that these happenings occurred on the street leading many children to witness inappropriate things for their age There had been no warnings or age limits for the Parade Also, the German Protestant news agency Idea is very critical on the happenings "This event shows the true colours of the rainbow culture" It criticises that there has barely been debate on "the provocatively acted out sex hype on the street." According to the news agency Christopher Street Day is not a colourful street festival for families with children but "a symbol of male sex." Idea compares encouraging children to go to Christopher Street Day to inviting an exhibitionist into kindergarten The petition is unclear on which acts exactly should be prohibited, LGBT website Queer.de responds to the petition of the children's protection organisation Queer.de mentions several points of critique on the petition the pictures would not have been taken at the last Christopher Street Day in Berlin the organisation does not explicitly deny the acts described by the children's protection organisation it writes that there has been debate on how permissive the Parade should be for a long time MP Christina Baum (AfD) called for a general ban on the event because of its alleged sexualisation Eine Übersicht der weihnachtlichen Aufführungen für die ganze Familie Auf welche Abenteuer sich die Kinder freuen dürfen.