German Rivers

Hi,

I just created a new page about our German Rivers.

No, I did not explain all of our German Rivers, but the longest 4 of them. I tell a bit about the Rhine (best of all), the Elbe, the Danube, and the Weser.

You know, we have also hundreds of thousands of lakes and seas in Germany. But I did not go in details about them, because it is to hard to decide which are the best ;-))

Anyway, go to my new page about German Rivers and see some nice pictures. If you would like to get to know more, just sign up for my Special Report and you'll get'em all ;-)

Enjoy your trips!

Marcus

The Truth About Youth Hostels

The Truth About Hostels

How youth hostels provide the magic power to surprise almost everybody. Here is the little known (yet true) story of the origin of hostels.

In August 1909 the German teacher Richard Schirrmann had been caught in a violent thunderstorm on an eight day migration with his pupils and found accommodation in a barn by a farmer.

While the pupils were sleeping, Schirrmann was laying awake the whole night.

The thought attacked him suddenly, “One would have to create places, at which move-joyful young people and pupils receive a safe and inexpensive overnight stay”.

He published this idea for the first time in 1910 in an essay about “Voksschuelerherbergen” ("elementary school pupil lodgings"),

"…also the boys and girls of the common man must practice fresh merry moving as counterweight for the room stool time of their school years... how do I imagine now appropriate and sufficient lodgings for the enormous army of the elementary school pupils?... each city and nearly each village has an elementary school, which almost waits in holidays with empty areas for it, into a sleep and a dining hall for move-merry children to be transformed. Two classrooms are sufficient, one for boys, one for girls. The banks are set partly one above the other. That gives free area for the list of 15 beds. ... each camp place consists of a tautly with straw plugged bag and cushion, 2 sheets and a blanket... each child is stopped to bring its camp place back in order finely neat... "

After publication of this essay in the "Koelnische Zeitung” (Cologne Newspaper) numerous money and gift contributions in kind and support offers came from whole Germany.

In 1912 the first youth hostel was opened in the Altenia Castle, Germany

The first youth hostel was arranged according to Schirrmann’s plans:

...read more about my recently published article on my page about the truth about youth hostels.

Additionally, I have created another page about the origin of youth hostels.

Warmly,

Marcus