Category: Culture

Who will bear the German flag in the Winter Olympics?

Nordic-combined skier Eric Frenzel has been chosen as Germany’s flagbearer for the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics on Friday.

© dpa / picture alliance

Frenzel was selected for the honor by the German Olympic Sports Association, which held a poll on its website. When Frenzel found out he was nominated to be in the top 5, he said “I feel honored and it is a certain recognition for our sport and me individually.” (Source: DPA)

© dpa / picture alliance

The 29-year-old athlete won the Olympic gold medal in the 10km individual normal hill at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. He also won a bronze medal in the 2010 Olympics and a silver medal in the 2009 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships.

Frenzel will carry the German flag during the opening ceremony tomorrow, becoming an “enduring symbol of (Germany’s) national values and indeed of Olympic ideals” and “an inspiration for future generations.”

Germany’s Tallest Mountain Opens New Cable Car

After two years of construction, a world record-breaking cableway has opened in the Bavarian Alps: the new Zugspitze cable car.

This cable car takes passengers up Germany’s tallest mountain, the Zugspitze, located near the quaint Bavarian town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Although there was already a cable car in place before its completion, the new cable car is much more efficient, bringing up to 580 people per hour up the mountain, 30 minutes faster than before. The cable car system has the tallest steel tower in the world, the longest cableway span and the highest elevation difference. It’s no wonder that this cablecar system even made its way into US news this week!

For those who have visited southern Germany for skiing or snowboarding, you’ve surely heard about the Zugspitze – Germany’s tallest mountain at 9,718 feet. The mountain is a popular destination for skiing and snowboarding in the wintertime. For the more adventurous types, it is even home to its very own igloo village, consisting of 20 hotel snow houses in the winter. A true winter wonderland!

But whether you’re skiing on the Zugspitze or celebrating the holidays with family in the US, we would like to take a moment to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a joyful holiday weekend!

View to Garmisch Partenkirchen from the mountain Zugspitze in Bavaria, Germany in the summer

Nicole Glass

Editor, The Week in Germany