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Paul (USA)
Before Paul went to Austria he was very nervous. He thought that his German wasn't good enough.
Paul said that he met a lot of interesting people and he learned things which he had never learned in books or German lessons.
He added that he was very shocked when he saw a lot of young people with alcohol.

Flora (Ireland)
Flora said that she was looking forward to see the Austrian way of life. She said that she met a lot of interesting people. Flora added that the lifestyle in Ireland is different than the lifestyle in Austria. She said that the law in Austria wasn't very strict. For example, take smoking in public places is forbidden in Ireland.

Press Review

I have just read an article at the homepage of "austriantimes.at" and it talks about "The Herminator".

I thought you might be interested because austrian ski ace Hermann Maier retired from skiing.

Basically what it says is that Hermann Maier announced his retirement on Tuesday. He said that surgery on his right knee was the main reason. Maier had knee surgery after the World Cup season in March and began training last week. "I'm healthy now and that's the way I want to live on," he added.
His career nearly ended when he had a motorcycle accident eight years ago. At his comeback he won the overall and super-G World Cup titles in 2004.

What fascinated me most is the fact that he won the overall and super-G World Cup titles after his accident.

I think he is a real ski legend.

Vocabulary

retire (Karriere beenden) - Hermann Maier retires from skiing.
surgery (Operation) - Maier need a surgery on his knee because he was injured.
announce (verkünden) - You announce something when you say it to the public.



http://austriantimes.at/news/Sports/2009-10-13/17197/Hermann_Maier_retires_from_competitive_skiing___

Cultural Capital Linz gets more tourists

I have just read an article at the homepage of "Austrian Times" and it talks about the Cultural Capital Linz.

I thought you might be interested because Linz gets more tourists and it is very important for Austria.

Basically what it says is that more visitors have come to Linz since it was named as one of two "European Cultural Capitals" this year. Tourism director Georg Steiner said that tourist overnight stays in Linz have risen by 9,9 per cent year on year. There had been increases for Italian tourists, for the Dutch, Swiss, Czechs, Belgians, Spaniards and for the Hungarian.
As of the end of July 1.255 million people had attended 7,700 events in Linz.
The other European Cultural Capital this year is Vilnius in Lithuania.

What surprised me most is the fact that a lot of people from other countries come to Austria to visit the Cultural Capital Linz.

I think this is very important for Austria.



Words:
year on year (von Jahr zu Jahr; "Vorjahresvergleich") - The polution is increasing year on year.
European Cultural Capital (europäische Kulturhauptstadt) - Linz is one of the two European Cultural Capitals.

http://austriantimes.at/news/Business/2009-09-17/16466/Cultural_Capital_Linz_gets_more_tourists

Press Review

I have just read an article at the homepage of "Austrian Times" and it talks about a new route of British Airways.

I thought you might be interested because summertime is near and some people want to spend their holiday in England or in Austria.

Basically what it says is that British Airways wants to serve Innsbruck and Gatwick. There will be five more flights between Gatwick and Innsbruck a week.

I think it is a good idea, because people can travel easily to England or Austria. In my view it is very good for tourism in Austria.

Press Review

I have just read an article in austriantimes.at and it talks about the European Parliament (EP) election.

I thought you might be interested, because it talks about the SPÖ disaster in EP election.

Basically what it says is that the Social Democratic Party was the biggest loser in EP election. The SPÖ won 23.9 per cent of the vote, down from 33.3 per cent in 2004.
This is the party's worst result since 1945.

The People’s Party (ÖVP) won first place since the party headed by Finance Minister Josef Pröll. This Party only had 3 per cent less than in 2004.

"EU rebel" Hans-Peter Martin came third with 17.9 per cent. The former SPÖ front runner won 14 per cent.

The Freedom Party (FPÖ) won the double per cent of the vote than at the EP election in 2004.

The Greens only made 9.4 per cent of the vote.


What surprised me most is the fact that HP Martin won 14 per cent.

PRESS REVIEW

I have just read an article in Andreas Hinterkörner’s blog mybloghinterkoerner.blogspot.com and it talks about St. Patrick’s Day.

I thought you might be interested because St. Patrick’s Day is a feast day in a lot of countries.

Basically what it says is that St. Patrick was taken away from home from Irish raiders when he was 16 years old. St. Patrick lived there for six years and then he escaped and returned to Wales. After entering the church he returned to Ireland to became a missionary. In the eighth century he became the patron of Ireland.

What fascinated me most was the fact that this isn't only celebrated in Ireland.

What I like about the article is very easy to understand.

St. Patrick’s Day

Today is St. Patrick's Day. St. Patrick's Day is a irish feast day which celebrates St. Patrick, one of the patron saints of Ireland. When he was about sixteen he was captured by Irish raiders and taken from his native Wales as a slave to Ireland, where he lived for six years before escaping and returning to his family. After entering the church, he later returned to Ireland as a missionary in the north and west of the island, but little is known about the places where he worked and no link can be made between Patrick and any church. By the eighth century he become the patron saint of Ireland.

The St. Patrick's Day is a national holiday of Ireland. It is a bank holiday in the Republic of Ireland and Montserrat in Canada, Great Britain, Australia, the United States and New Zealand, it is widely celebrated but is not an official holiday.

At these day people wear green clothes, shamrocks, eat Irish food and drink Irish beer (Guinness, Kilkenny) or Irish Whiskey during the day.

Some videos of an Irish Band (Flogging Molly):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcEEAjGtAkY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plfVQV-klZo

Dress codes

My opinion


In many schools students wear school uniforms. I think that isn't a good solution.
In my view all students should be allowed to spend their money on clothes they want.

Many students work evenings and weekends in a bar or somewhere else just to buy new clothes. I wouldn't spend all my money on clothes, but everybody should do what he or she wants.

I think, everybody should be allowed to decide for herself or himself what kind of clothes he or she wants and to wear them when and where he or she wants. In my opinion they are a form of free expression.
I 'm very glad that we are allowed to wear the clothes we want at our school ....

Book Report

I'm reading the Book "Blood Sport" by Dick Francis. I chose this book because it is very interesting and exciting.

In the following text I would like to give you a little preview of what the book is about. I hope you will like it and decide to read the book "Blood Sport".

This book is about killers and murders.....and so on. I can recommend the book and the target group is almost everybody.

So buy or borrow the book "Blood Sport" and read it, it is really good...

My community

Pabneukirchen

Pabneukirchen is a small community near Perg. It has about 2000 inhabitants.

In Pabneukirchen there are some restaurants and a pub. My friends and I are very often in this pub on friday or saturday evening. Sometimes there is a event in another restaurant. I think, this is very important for the young people in Pabneukirchen.

We also have a shop, but you can buy there only the most important things which you need in the household. In Pabneukirchen there are a kindergarden, a primary school and a secondary modern school...

You can also do a lot of sports in my community. We have a footballground, two tennis places, a beachvolleyballground and an open air swimming pool next to it.

Pabneukirchen is a big tourist community. People come here and want to see our old castle called "Ruine Klingenberg" or our "Holzwelten".

What I like most of all in my community is that everybody knows everybody because Pabneukirchen is not very big. Moreover I love doing sports in this small village.