Norwegian Cruise Lineannounced this week a plan to build one, maybe two more new ships, their biggest yet, on the heels of their two Project Breakaway ships that are still under construction. Citing the buzz among cruise travelers and travel professionals in Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Getaway as reason enough to build the 163,000 ton ships, the cruise line is as confident as ever.
“Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Getaway have garnered significant attention in the marketplace with their innovative design, rich stateroom mix and world-class amenities,” said Norwegian President and CEO Kevin Sheehan in a Seatrade Insider report.
Indeed, Norwegian has had a laser focus on the deployment of their next ships. Dedicating Norwegian Breakaway to year-round service from New York City, the cruise line brought on board pop artist Peter Max to paint the ships hull with the New York skyline. About a month ago, Norwegian announced the Godmothers of Norwegian Breakaway, the New York City Rockettes. Sister ship Norwegian Getaway will sail year-round from Miami in 2014 and a close tie to Miami and South Florida is expected there as well.
Norwegian’s new Breakaway Plus ships to be delivered in 2015 and 2017 if an option for a second ship is triggered put two more giant ships in service, these weighing in at 163,000 tons, carrying about 4,200 passengers. The ships will be built at Meyer Werft’s Papenburg, Germany shipyard and financed by a German bank.
“Building on that momentum, along with Meyer Werft’s expertise and efficiency in the design and construction process, we are extending the excitement and anticipation with a new, larger edition Breakaway Plus-class ship to further distinguish the Norwegian brand,’ said Sheehan.
At a price tag of €700m (getting close to $1billion each), Breakaway Plus will host a continuation of the signature Norwegian Cruise Line Freestyle Cruising guest experience and focus on technical and sustainable environmental advances as well.
As the leaves turn to orange, then red, then brown, before disappearing entirely, memories of lazy summer days tend to slip further and further away. Today’s Photo of the Day, taken by Flickr user Trish Hartmann in Plön, Germany, captures the essence of late summer perfectly. The foliage is bright green, and the water reflects the sunlight. You’ll want to keep this shot on file for the depths of winter.
Do you have any photos that evoke summer and warmth? Upload your shots to the Gadling Flickr Pool and your image could be selected as our Photo of the Day.
Historic European churches and cathedrals are high on many travelers’ to-see lists. People admire the soaring vaulted ceilings and richly colored stained glass windows. Look closer, though, and you’ll see things you weren’t expecting.
Like this lovely lady at the Romanesque church of Saint Mary and Saint David in Kilpeck, Herefordshire, England, shown here courtesy Wikimedia Commons. Yes, she’s doing exactly what it looks like she’s doing. And she’s not the only one. Sculptures of naked ladies spreading it for all to see decorate numerous churches. Most are in Ireland and smaller numbers can be found in England and continental Europe.
They’re called Sheela-na-gigs and nobody has any idea what they mean. It’s uncertain when they were made as the churches they’re found on date from several centuries and some Sheela-na-gigs appear to have been reused from earlier buildings.
So why were they put in churches? Some people like to see them as pagan survivals, although that fails to explain why church authorities would permit them in churches. A bit of support for this comes from the Royal Navy, of all things. An 18th century Navy ship was named Sheela-na-gig and in the ship’s listing the name is explained as a “female sprite.” Other researchers think they’re symbols of the sinful nature of women. While this is possible, it fails to explain why the women aren’t being shown in Hell or being punished by devils, as is typical of didactic church art.
%Gallery-167773%Another mystery is the Green Man. This is a face surrounded by leaves and buds. Sometimes greenery is coming out of the Green Man’s mouth. At first glance it appears to be a very pagan symbol. Indeed, a similar type of leafy face was common in Roman art but died out when Classical art died. The Green Man reappeared in church art in the 11th century. He became hugely popular in Victorian Britain, which celebrated both nature and Classical art.
Once again, we’re stuck for an explanation. Pagan symbol or co-opted Classical decoration? Perhaps a fertility symbol celebrating the abundance of spring in what was still a predominantly agricultural society? Like with the Sheela-na-gigs, the Church didn’t leave records as to why they appear in a religious building.
The motive behind another odd bit of church art is all too clear – the Judensau, or “Jew’s sow.” In this scene a large sow is being suckled by a number of Jews, identifiable by the conical hats they were forced by law to wear. Another Jew is shown lifting up the sow’s tail to lick its rear. Often a Semitic-looking Devil stands by watching in approval. This disgusting bit of anti-Semitism first appeared in medieval Germany and remained a popular church “decoration” for several hundred years. The image seems to be limited to German-speaking areas and is found on churches and cathedrals and occasionally secular buildings.
The Stadtkirche in Wittenberg has a famous example on the exterior wall, clearly visible from the street. Martin Luther mentioned it in one of his anti-Semitic writings: “Here on our church in Wittenberg a sow is sculpted in stone. Young pigs and Jews lie suckling under her. Behind the sow a rabbi is bent over the sow, lifting up her right leg, holding her tail high and looking intensely under her tail and into her Talmud, as though he were reading something acute or extraordinary, which is certainly where they get their Shemhamphoras.” In the last line, Luther is talking about the Hebrew term for the ineffable name of God, thus insulting their beliefs as well as their dignity.
In modern times a memorial plaque was put beneath it acknowledging that six million Jews were killed “under the sign of the Cross.”
Police in Italy have arrested a man for impersonating a pilot and fooling the crew and ground staff into letting him into the cockpit of a European flight, the BBC reports.
A man managed to pose as a pilot using a uniform and fake ID and fly in the cockpit of an Air Dolomiti flight from Munich to Turin on April 6. Reportedly he flew as a “third pilot” and did not touch the controls.
Police, who have not revealed the man’s name, say he is jobless. They are now investigating his motives. They’re also checking to see if he managed to become a “crew member” of any other flights. He was arrested at Turin airport and was found to be in possession of uniforms similar to those worn by pilots but lacking an airline logo, a fake ID and fake flight manuals.
The man used the alias Andrea Sirlo and even created a Facebook page for himself with fake flight attendants as friends.
The website Myflightbook lists Andrew Sirlo as the pilot on a Munich-Turin flight on October 23, 2011.
I love Oktoberfest season. Just as the summer heat disappears, men in lederhosen with feathered hats take to the streets, and I can sample all the Oktoberfest beers that arrive in my favorite beer stores. (This year my favorite is the Otter Creek Oktoberfest, which is brewed with real Vermont maple syrup.) Munich’s Oktoberfest starts on Saturday and in the coming weeks, there will be Oktoberfest celebrations in cities and towns all over the U.S. and wherever there are ethnic German communities around the world.
But none are quite like the original Oktoberfest in Munich, which hosted nearly 7 million visitors last year with nary a Budweiser or Miler Lite in sight. To get a better idea of what the original Oktoberfest in Munich is all about, we talked to Isabella Schopp, from the City of Munich Tourism Bureau.
Why is it called Oktoberfest if it starts in September?
It used to be in October in the first years but as the weather was always very rainy, grey and sometimes there was even snow, some of the Munich caterers decided that the Oktoberfest should already end on the first weekend of October. It has started in September since 1872.
The Oktoberfest celebration in Munich is the most famous one but are there others all over Germany?
Almost every city and village in Germany has its own folk festival with beer tents and fun rides, which takes one to two weeks each year. They are not called “Oktoberfest” but have their own names and cannot be compared to the Oktoberfest, as they are much smaller and less well known.
What are the origins of the celebration in Munich?
The Munich Oktoberfest, the largest folk festival in the world, has its origin in the wedding ceremony of Crown Prince Ludwig – later King Ludwig I. of Bavaria – with Princess Therese of Sachsen-Hildburghausen in the year 1810.
How has the celebration changed over the years?
The Oktoberfest still remains the traditional Munich funfair with Munich hospitality and Munich beer. There still are many traditional parts like the parades on the first weekend and some nostalgic rides. However, it has also grown a lot. In the meantime there are 14 large festival halls (“beer tents”), many more rides and games (130 altogether) and the number of visitors has grown a lot.
Tell us a bit about the special Oktoberfest beers that are available during the celebration?
Only those breweries that brew within the city limits are allowed to sell their beer at Oktoberfest. There are, at the moment, six different breweries that provide their own Oktoberfest beers. Only Munich beer from the proven traditional Munich breweries – Augustinerbrauerei, Hacker-Pschorrbrauerei, Löwenbrauerei, Paulanerbrauerei, Spatenbrauerei and Staatliches Hofbräuhaus – which satisfy the Munich purity standards of 1487 and the German purity standards of 1906 may be served.
What does a liter of beer cost?
The price of beer in 2012 is €9.10 – €9.50 per liter.
Other than pretzels what other kind of food is traditionally eaten at Oktoberfest?
The beer is best accompanied by Bavarian delicacies such as radishes, obatzda (specially garnished cream cheese), sausages and roast chicken or spicy fish grilled on a skewer. Another Wiesn specialty is the ox roasted on a spit at the Ochsenbraterei. (The Wiesn is the festival area.)
I know it can be difficult to find a room in Munich during Oktoberfest, any advice for travelers who need a place to stay?
It is advisable to reserve rooms as early as possible. Rooms can be booked via München Tourismus: phone +49 89 23396550 or email gaesteservice.tam@muenchen.de.
There are also some camping sites in and around Munich where visitors with a small budget can stay.
How many people take part in Oktoberfest celebrations in Munich each year?
In 2011, 6.9 million people took part in Oktoberfest celebrations. The number of visitors has risen every year.
Other than drinking beer and oom-pah bands, what else happens during the course of the celebration?
The Oktoberfest is much more than drinking beer.
The festive setting for the opening of the Oktoberfest is the entry of the festival hosts and breweries, which has been the same since 1887. During the ceremonial opening of the fest, the families of the festival arrive in coaches adorned with flowers, along with the bands, waitresses on decorated carriages and magnificent horse drawn carts from the Munich breweries. This procession is led off by the “Münchner Kindl” – Munich’s symbolic figure – on horseback, followed by the festival coach of the Lord Mayor.
The procession of folklore and marksmen groups takes place on the first Sunday of the Oktoberfest. Some 9,000 persons from Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Norway, Poland and Switzerland participate in this seven-kilometer long parade. There are people in historical uniforms, marksmen, folklore groups, local bands and thoroughbred horses. This procession was held for the first time in 1835 on the occasion of the silver wedding anniversary of Ludwig I. and Therese of Bavaria.
A big band open-air concert of all Oktoberfest bands with some 300 musicians takes place on the second Sunday of the festival. For the grand finale of the Oktoberfest on the last Sunday, some 60 marksmen give a farewell salute.
Do locals take off from work to take part in this, or do they show up for work hung over the next morning?
Some locals take off from work to take part in the Oktoberfest but usually locals go to work the next morning, some probably a bit later than usual!
Have there been security issues with people getting too drunk and causing problems in previous years?
The security measures have always been good. But there are always some conflicts between drunken visitors that can be solved quickly by the security people. After some critical reviews of security procedures, the taskforce “Security at the Wiesn,” introduced measures that enabled security at the Wiesn to be steadily increased.
What’s your favorite part about Oktoberfest?
What I like best at the Oktoberfest is the procession of folklore and marksmen groups, which takes place on the first Sunday of the Oktoberfest, as well as the special, happy vibe all over the Oktoberfest grounds, as well as in the beer tents.
[Photos courtesy of The German National Tourist Board]
