Germany – Looking through the front window of a quaint country cottage nestled in the Bavarian hillside is a busy workshop where every surface is occupied some straight and flat while others curve to a point Every wall is garnished with photos of friendly faces The floor is littered with wood shavings of varying size and width each falling from a work post following a precise stroke of a mallet on a chisel Each shelf in the workshop is lined with figurines all carved with care and now crowding around The renowned craftsman who calls this German cottage home has long been sought out to curate personalized pieces for customers inside and outside of the country International awards that hang in his shop display his excellence His tales of travels to Portugal and the United States are told cheerfully his greatest accomplishment is working with the “Quiet Professionals” he holds in the highest regard Sebastian Demmel has spent a lifetime cultivating a bond with U.S and that could explain why two awards he received stand above the rest; the title of Honorary Green Beret from U.S and being embraced as an Honorary Original during the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) 70th Anniversary Ball in 2022 it's really one of the biggest things in my life.. it's like a dream,” said Demmel of receiving his awards from the Special Forces community Demmel has chiseled his way into the hearts of SOF with his hand carved creations for over 50 years He estimates more than 5,000 soldier's homes or offices are adorned with his work Embodying the SOF core values of excellence Demmel’s pieces are revered in the special operations community and are affectionately known as “Demmels.” a proud owner of several “Demmels,” said only a handful of people are embraced as Honorary Originals of 10th Group “We wanted to honor the Demmels and the lasting relationship we have,” said Dorsh “Christiane may be more in touch with the American women than I am with their husbands.” Creating masterpieces is just a part of Demmel’s purpose In almost every nook and cranny of his shop are pictures of him with friends who commission his art He never misses a chance to open his home to American Soldiers “You can tell he really cherishes the relationship with the 10th Group,” said Dorsh “The Demmel’s are some of the greatest people I've had the opportunity to know.” The relationships and recognition are a reflection of the time and hard work the Demmels have spent with the Special Forces community A fact that leaves Sebastian beaming as he admires the numerous photos and treasures illustrating decades of friendship enshrined in his workshop Join us at the Akustika Fair at the Nuremberg Exhibition Centre from April 4-6 Meet The Strad team at stand F08 and pick up a free copy of the magazine The Strad Directory Jobs which includes €10,000 and future concert opportunities Read more news stories here the prize winners of the 1st International String Quartet Competition Bad Tölz were announced Five string quartets performed over two days of competition performances The Susanne and Christoph Kessler Grand Prize went to the Chaos Quartet The quartet also received a Henle Urtext Prize worth €2,500 and will also be invited to a European concert tour next season by the Berlin concert agency Hampl The Chaos Quartet will also perform at the Tölzer Prizewinner Festival in January 2024 Comprising violinists Susanne Schäffer and Eszter Kruchió violist Sara Marzadori and cellist Bas Jongen the Chaos Quartet has won prizes at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich and the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition The Chaos Quartet has been mentored by Johannes Meissl and has completed a postgraduate course at the Fiesole School of Music with the Casals Quartet plus a Henle Urtext prize of €1,500 went to the Affinity Quartet The Abeo Quartet took the KLANGERLEBNIS third prize worth €3,000 and a €1,000 Henle Urtext prize while the Erinys Quartet won the Esterhazy-Sonderpreis for best Haydn interpretation plus and invitation to perform at Schloss Esterhazy The jury was chaired by Günter Pichler, founding member and leader of the Alban Berg Quartet and professor of chamber music at the Universities of Vienna and comprised Gustav Frielinghaus, Andrea Hampl, Volker Jacobsen, Helena Poggio, František Souček and Antti Tikkanen Read: ‘A perfect balance between competition and festival’ - Postcard from Bordeaux Quartet Competition Read: Festival review: Heidelberg String Quartet Festival Read: String quartet prizes awarded at ARD International Music Competition In The Best of Technique you’ll discover the top playing tips of the world’s leading string players and teachers It’s packed full of exercises for students plus examples from the standard repertoire to show you how to integrate the technique into your playing The Strad’s Masterclass series brings together the finest string players with some of the greatest string works ever written Masterclass has been an invaluable aid to aspiring soloists, chamber musicians and string teachers since the 1990s This year’s calendar celebrates the top instruments played by members of the Australian Chamber Orchestra Australian String Quartet and some of the country’s greatest soloists Ten ensembles will compete for the chance to win the top prize package at this year’s competition from 25 to 31 August Austrian and Australian violinists took home the senior and junior category prizes respectively Macintyre Taback succeeds Brian Gadbow as the ensemble’s new cellist The violinist has been appointed artistic director of Clarion Concerts which provides chamber music concerts and experiences in New York’s Hudson Valley The Astatine Trio and Novo Quartet join the scheme from 2025–2027 The 1690 instrument is one of less than a dozen surviving violas by the master luthier  Site powered by Webvision Cloud 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 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 Christmas is acknowledged has having a certain ‘strangeness’ to it a dark aspect to balance the light,” notes Ross Lockhart “It’s mostly in America that those weirdnesses are downplayed or ignored has been polished and buffed and given a nice “And we’re doing it,” adds Assistant Manager and Events Specialist Ray Lawrason teeth and a very long tongue – would seem to be more at home during Halloween celebrations than at Christmas time But Lawrason and Lockhart plan to educate locals about what has been a mostly under-the-radar holiday tradition the two monster-fiction fans have been mischievously organizing the bookstore’s first-ever Krampusnacht celebration to what we think of as the modern day Christmas and it all revolves around the mythic figure of the Krampus Krampus is basically the second half of the St Nick gives candy and treats to the good children the Krampus comes and finds the children who are not good “It’s the old carrot-and-the-stick,” adds Lockhart it’s not what comes out of it that matters According to a folk tradition that dates back to the 14th and 15th century in many parts of Europe he puts all bad children in his sack and carries them away Such creepy folktales have resulted in a number of odd traditions in certain countries Some people give “Krampus cards” at the holidays “Greetings from Krampus,” a reminder to stay good or else Many countries have elaborate Krampusnacht parades – sometimes called “Krampus walks” - in which crowds gather to watch people dressed like the Krampus it’s only recently begun to hit the zeitgeist some villages and cities have been holding Krampus parades for centuries,” says Lawrason “The Krampus has recently become extremely popular in America as you can see by all the books about Krampus that are now available.” the Krampus has become an adorable little troublemaker It’s definitely pushed its way into American culture.” Christmas around the world has plenty of dark and somewhat bizarre traditions Nativity scenes often include an odd additional character known as “The Caganer,” which translates “He’s basically a little guy in a red cap who poops in the Nativity scene,” says Lockhart people try sneak the little guy into their manger scenes He’s another reminder of the dark side of Christmas a way of saying that for everything that is good there is something or someone out there getting ready to take a crap right in the middle of it So there’s a spiritual side to the Crapper grew out of the fact that Christmas is a time when the days are getting shorter it’s going to be a hard winter till the sun returns So it’s no surprise that so many scary traditions have risen up out of Christmas and the Solstice and wintertime.” Copperfield’s Krampusnacht celebration will include a brief presentation by Lockhart and Lawrason on the various Krampus traditions and folklore with perhaps a reading from some of the books on the subject There will be light refreshments – “Appropriately chosen for Krampusnacht,” says Lawrason with a wicked grin – and general fun and games “We’re hoping some people come in costume,” Lawrason adds “If anyone’s had a Krampus outfit in their wardrobe but hasn’t had a good opportunity to put it on Asked how the idea of organizing a Krampusnacht party came to be we’re fans of weird traditions in general,” he says so we mentioned a few months back that it would be fun to do an event that focused on Krampus Do it.’ We hope it will become an annual thing and maybe someday we can include a traditional Krampus walk as well.” “Can you imagine dozens of people in Krampus outfits parading down Kentucky street?” laughs Lawrason Von: Veronika Ahn-Tauchnitz A team of volunteers and his family found the 32-year-old saturday morning at the foot of the Achselköpfe ridge.","url":"https://www.merkur.de/lokales/bad-toelz/lenggries-ort28977/missing-canadian-hiker-jeff-freiheit-found-dead-10159955.html"};c&&a.navigator.canShare(d)&&(c.style.display="",c.addEventListener("click",b=>{b.preventDefault(),a.setTimeout(function(){a.navigator.share(d)},0)}))}})(window,document); The missing Canadian hiker Jeff Freiheit is dead A team of volunteers and his family found the 32-year-old saturday morning at the foot of the Achselköpfe ridge Lenggries - A short video taken on the morning of the 2nd of August in front of the Brauneck Panorama Restaurant was the last sign of life for Jeff Freiheit who was traveling alone on the "Traumpfad" - Fernwanderweg from Munich to Venice lost somewhere between Tölzer and Tutzinger Hütte Mountain Rescue and police searched for days for the 32-year-old from Brandon / Manitoba It was them who found Jeff’s body on Saturday The volunteer search was structured by Susanne Williams The 48-year-old wilderness guide has been living in Jachenau for seven years she heard about the missing person through a friend and decided to volunteer to help the family along with many others For her it was "a matter of the heart," she emphasizes nine volunteers - including the mother of missing a Canadian police officer - met near the Vorderer Scharnitzalm the circular search began at 11:20 in the dense mountain pine field on the south side of the Achselköpfe ridge "Kathy saw his shoe a short time later and then his backpack," says Susanne Williams The recovery was carried out with the help of a police helicopter two mountain guides of the Alpine Task Force of the police and members of the Lenggrieser Mountain Rescue Team According to the current state of the investigation on the way to the Tutzinger hut "may have strayed from the planned path and had fallen between 60 to 100 meters to his death" said Jürgen Thalmeier press officer of the police headquarters Upper Bavaria South There are currently no indications of a third-party interference an investigation at the Institute for Legal Medicine in Munich is necessary for the accurate identification of the dead In the backpack also found at the scene of the accident was the Canadian passport of Jeff Freiheit had a great desire on Sunday to thank all the helpers who supported the family in the search She is filled with "overwhelming gratitude to all who have been part of this sad journey," she writes in the specially-founded Facebook group "Volunteers searching for Jeff Freiheit," which has more than 500 members Susanne Williams also emphasizes how overwhelming the great volunteer work of many volunteers was "It was an absolute honor for me to work with them." She would also like to thank the operators of the Vorderer Scharnitzalm and the Bichleralm It is also important to Susanne Williams that there is no criticism of the work of the mountain rescue team you do not understand how difficult a search for missing people is She explains the procedure: There are different phases - In the first 72 hours after a missing person's report it is conceivable to find the missing person still alive The mountain rescue service - here in Germany a volunteer service - seeks in this phase with as many helpers as possible from a large area That's exactly what happened after the missing person report on 10th August For days they searched between Brauneck and Benediktenwand Up to 60 active people were on duty - along with dogs is about shrinking the general search area," explains the 48-year-old In this phase the mountain rescue team also helped search efforts focused on the north side of the Achselköpfe ridge The helpers roped off this area here to be able to search under the dense mountain pine cover Since there were no further concrete indications of the whereabouts of the Canadian the official search was temporarily suspended The mountain rescue team continued to support the family's private efforts and advised the volunteer team a map with "no-go areas" was drawn up to include areas that were potentially hazardous for rescuers to look in The team led by Susanne Williams shrunk the search area even more by searching on foot by helicopter and by drone the areas of Vorderriß and Birkkarspitze In the third phase began the “most obvious” search Meaning "From the place where there was the last sign of life you go the way that the missing has taken" - and "with the eyes and the feet of a flat country," clarifies Williams For each job an categorical assessment (high Would a fall result in serious / fatal injuries The group moved its focus to the south side of the Achselköpfe ridge on Saturday Susanne Williams discovered broken branches at one point - It was here in this fall-line from the ridge that the body of Jeff was found we decided to publish the text also in English Dieser Inhalt"+t(a)+"kann aufgrund Ihrer Datenschutz-Einstellungen nicht geladen werden #29293a);margin:auto;margin-top:32px;max-width:calc(640px + (2 * 12px));padding:0 12px;}@media screen and (min-width: 768px){.css-9uetne{margin-top:72px;}}.css-1lgqo8v{color:var(--sz-basic-text-color-primary 17:09 Uhr.css-rhp0z0{color:var(--sz-basic-border-color-secondary #c0c1c6);display:inline-block;margin:0 12px;}|.css-13l0r79{display:inline-block;}Lesezeit: 3 Min .css-y4bre2{display:block;height:auto;width:100%;}.js .css-y4bre2{cursor:pointer;}.css-1hdpxq{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;background-color:rgb(255 #fff);display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;height:inherit;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;-webkit-transform:translateY(100%);-moz-transform:translateY(100%);-ms-transform:translateY(100%);transform:translateY(100%);-webkit-transition:-webkit-transform 600ms cubic-bezier(0.23 1);transition:transform 600ms cubic-bezier(0.23 #fff);padding:8px 12px 0;color:var(--sz-basic-text-color-primary #29293a);font-family:'SZSansDigital','Neue Helvetica','Helvetica',sans-serif;font-size:0.875rem;line-height:1.5;}.css-1vyk908 p{display:inline;}.css-1vyk908 small{color:var(--sz-basic-text-color-secondary #71737f);}.css-1vyk908 small{display:block;}.css-1vyk908 a{border-bottom:1px solid var(--sz-basic-text-color-primary #29293a);color:var(--sz-basic-text-color-primary #29293a);padding-bottom:2px;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;-webkit-transition:border-bottom 150ms ease-in-out;transition:border-bottom 150ms ease-in-out;}.css-1vyk908 a:focus,.css-1vyk908 a:hover{border-bottom-color:transparent;}Die Surfanlage zählte zu den beliebtesten Attraktionen des Alpamare Seit Anfang September hat das Spaßbad nun geschlossen das in die Geschichte der Stadt eingehen wird Rettung bringen soll eine neue Ausrichtung auf einen Gast der Erholung sucht und etwas für seine Gesundheit tut aber über den Becken und den Liegewiesen hing Wehmut in der warmen Luft wie er einst beim Baden seine Frau kennen gelernt hatte dass sie sich hier stets an bestimmten Wochentagen getroffen hatten als das bundesweit bekannte Spaßbad "Alpamare" für immer seine Pforten schloss wird als festes Datum in die Tölzer Annalen eingehen Der Stadt wird das Alpamare erst einmal fehlen Sein Name war eine Werbemarke wie sonst allenfalls der Tölzer Knabenchor der Eishockeyverein oder die TV-Serie "Der Bulle von Tölz" Eine halbe Million Gäste lockte das 1970 eröffnete Erlebnisbad mit seinen Rutschen Jod- und Mineralwasserbecken in seinen besten Zeiten an Aber die waren schon seit Anfang des Jahrtausends vorbei Seither zeichnete sich immer deutlicher ab attraktiveren Konkurrenten wie der Therme Erding nicht mithalten konnte Die Besucherzahl des Alpamare schnurrte auf zuletzt etwa 164 000 Gäste herunter die sich wie urzeitliche Schlangen um sich selbst winden Wer durch die geschlossenen Glastüren in die Liegehalle schaut sieht noch ein paar verlassene Pflanzkübel herumstehen Das Alpamare ist ein Sinnbild für den Wandel Die Stadt schwebt zwischen dem Gestern und dem Morgen: Was früher einmal war ohne dass sich Touristiker und Gastgeber großartig anstrengen mussten Ob die Neue Tölzer Hotelkultur mit dem Gesundheitskonzept dem geplanten Spa "Natura Tölz" und dem heuer fast fertig gestellten Vitalzentrum im Kurviertel greifen Immerhin hat die Kurstadt eine Vision davon wie es weitergehen soll - das können nicht alle Städte im Landkreis von sich behaupten 2015 stellte sich zumindest eines heraus: Die Ausrichtung auf den Gast der Erholung sucht und zugleich etwas für seine Gesundheit tut auch wenn ihm die Krankenkasse nichts dazu zahlt Das Herzstück bilden das neue Wellnessbad an der Bockschützstraße und die zwei geplanten Hotels der Vier- und Drei-Sterne-Kategorie an der Arzbacher Straße In drei Sitzungen des Stadtrats präsentieren die österreichischen Projektentwickler von der Firma Redserve ihre Studien ob sich Bad Tölz für so ein Spa überhaupt eignet All diese Fragen beantworten sie mit einem klaren Ja die das Bad mit seinen fünf Themensaunen nach den chinesischen Elementen Feuer wird in den ersten Jahren Geld zuschießen müssen Dem Stadtrat bleibt in der Sondersitzung im November dennoch kaum etwas anderes übrig als sein Plazet für beide Projekte zu geben Daran ändern auch die vorsichtigeren Prognosen der Bäder-Expertin Sylvia Glückert nichts die um eine zweite Meinung gebeten worden war: Sie rechnet mit nur 106 000 statt 122 00 Besuchern im Jahr sie zieht auch das Einzugsgebiet für das Wellnessbad enger Daran ändern auch die Zweifel der Bürgern beim Dialog-Forum im Kurhaus nichts: Das Spa werde niemals so viele Gäste anlocken das stellte der Investor von der Firma Arcus klar Und ohne beides sieht die touristische Zukunft für Bad Tölz düster aus die Kurdirektorin Brita Hohenreiter vorlegt Das Jahr 2015 brachte einen herrlichen Sommer wie lange nicht und demzufolge auch mehr Besucher in die Kurstadt Dennoch gingen die Übernachtungen leicht zurück Anders ausgedrückt: Die Leute quartieren sich immer seltener in Tölz ein fotografieren Stadtmuseum und Winzerer-Denkmal Diesem Trend zum Kurzaufenthalt muss die Stadt etwas entgegensetzen wenn sie auf der Tourismus-Landkarte nicht ganz verblassen möchte Ihr Ziel: Der Gesundheitsgast soll wieder ein oder zwei Wochen bleiben Dieser Einbau scheiterte schon 2014 an völlig unterschiedlichen Positionen der Stadt und der Jod AG Im Rathaus setzte man danach nicht mehr auf ein Spa im Spaßbad Familien sollen ins Hallenbad auf der Flinthöhe gehen das 2015 ausgebaut wurde und nun den Namen "Hoamat" trägt Der kurvt seit September einmal pro Woche nach Bad Wörishofen Die meisten Fahrgäste buchen überraschenderweise nicht die Therme Sie fahren lieber zum Wellnessbad ins Allgäu In anspruchsvollen Berufsfeldern im Stellenmarkt der SZ. .css-5x0u19{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}Gutscheine.css-pcxqtt{border:0;clip:rect(0 0 0 0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;white-space:nowrap;width:1px;}: Von: Veronika Ahn-Tauchnitz Canadian hiker Jeff Freiheit disappeared on August 2 in Brauneck What motivates people to help total strangers a story full of love and about people who were willing to give something without expecting anything in return took special care of the weaker and made sure that nobody was excluded but he didn't care if someone grinned about it Jeff was very attached to his mother from an early age She was 19 and he was 23 when he first asked her out he had planned a special adventure: Crossing the Alps on the dream trail Munich-Venice The 32-year-old had already conquered Kilimanjaro and reached Mount Everest Base Camp For although the Freiheits were complete strangers hundreds of people decided in the days after the disappearance to help the family in their search for the 32-year-old Some were on the phone to find out if anyone had seen the Canadian in one of the mountain lodges Others hung search posters between here and Venice or distributed the search on social networks took over driving services to bring Selena and Kathy Freiheit to Jachenau or translated the communication with the authorities The actions were coordinated by the Facebook group "Volunteers searching for Jeff Freiheit" which his sister Amanda and her husband Nick Devigne had created together with Rich Manfield Manfield later made small English-language videos to keep friends in Canada who were following the missing persons search up to date When the mountain rescue service could no longer search because there was simply no further indication of the whereabouts of the 32-year-old the "volunteers" also stepped in here Martina Lachmuth from Penzberg explained her motivation by saying "I thought that it can't be possible that someone is missing here and we shouldn't be looking for him." The 38-year-old together with the Jachenau wilderness guide Susanne Williams (48) brought structure into the search together with his son Nicolas and Jeff's friend Carter Gregory transferred all areas that had already been searched into a map Trevor McConnell (25) and Ashley Lowe (23) became aware of the search through social media I should be doing something," said Lowe One Saturday they left for Lenggries just like Kayla Kuefler (24) from Edmonton/Munich and searched in the area of the Tutzinger Hütte Anne Fuchs (37) also wanted to do something "It can't be that someone gets lost in my 'living room'," the Tölzer thought and drove to Brauneck on the morning of August 25 Just like the Otterfinger Wolfgang Haider (54) the Dietramszeller Klaus Lechner (47) and the Waakirchner Marion Müller (43) she was in the group that finally found Jeff Freiheit I'd want someone to take care of him." he shone a light on the mountain slopes near Vorderriß - in the hope of a reflection and an indication of the whereabouts of the Canadian "I've been lost so many times," said the 44-year-old from Kleinwalsertal That's why he knows what it's like to need help you know you'll never be able make up for it to your own rescuers But I see it as an obligation to give back some of the help you have experienced yourself." But maybe Simmerle has a little bit of it in his genes "My grandfather founded a mountain rescue service," he said Peter Huck started the search at the same time as he did The 51-year-old cycled or hiked on the tracks that Jeff Freiheit could have taken And it doesn't matter if I do it somewhere else or at Brauneck and maybe help coincidence out a bit." Wolfgang Haider put it in a similar way: "Since I am already travelling a lot in the mountains and live in the region it was normal for me to try to help." "Of course," said Huck "the whole thing has once again become a matter of the heart after meeting Jeff's wife and mother personally for the first time When it comes to people you've held in your arms I took it personally," said the 54-year-old from Munich Like Roland Konopac (53) from Neubiberg/Germany she is a member of the Munich Bergwacht (mountain rescue service) whose area of operation also includes Brauneck Konopac never considered giving up: "I said I'd turn over every mountain pine and look into every gap." it was probably a coincidence or perhaps fate that Kathy Freiheit first discovered her son's shoe and then his backpack - only minutes after the volunteers set out on that cloudy Saturday to search "I was in the same place the Wednesday before only five meters away - and I didn't see him," said Robin Simmerle any criticism of the mountain rescue service is completely unfounded "There was nothing on the videos I made of the area either," added Susanne Williams The green backpack looked like leaves from above "It was indistinguishable from its surroundings." The moment it was clear that they had actually found Jeff "can hardly be described," said Klaus Lechner one knew at some point that one would probably no longer find him alive,” Anne Fuchs added that didn't change anything in the unconditional desire to go on It was important to me that his family could take him home with them." The search welded many of the volunteers together "We are a clan," said Susanne Williams "A troop of hearts" - and here she included all helpers - from the searchers the police and the mountain rescue service to the Almleute who allowed access by car "We'll probably go hiking together again," said Anne Fuchs The fact that no one wants to dissolve the Facebook group shows that the search for and fate of the Freiheits had a lasting effect on many Many were in favor of keeping the group alive - in memory of the 32-year-old but also as a reminder of this extraordinary supporting action and the cohesion that has emerged here Nick Devigne just renamed it: The "Volunteers" have now become "Friends of Jeff Freiheit" He was buried on Saturday in his hometown of Brandon Jeff Freiheit leaves a family in Canada that loves him - and many friends in Upper Bavaria Anlässlich des heutigen Kirchweihfestes schmücken heute rot-weiße Fahnen die Tölzer Kirchen Dem Volksmund nach erinnert sie an den sehr kleinen Zöllner Zachäus erinnert Der Legende nach zeriss dabei Zachäus' rote Hose