Florists in Daun Germany

Once-a-decade Dutch flower show

While trying to get a handle on all there is to see at Floriade is daunting, there are five broad divisions.To the right of the entrance is the “Green Engine,” which includes Villa Flora, the indoor part of the exhibition, showcasing “classic, modern, trendy and extreme” tastes.Straight ahead of the entrance is “Environment,” which, among other things includes a competition on office gardens and some of the expo’s more commercial exhibits. One is a rather practical idea: Admire a particular garden layout and think it might look good in your own back yard? Nearby shops are selling combination packages of bulbs or seeds to help you try to replicate it.To the left of the entrance is the World Show Stage, which contains many of the national displays, as well as live performances in the late afternoon, and into the night on weekends. It’s also one end of the aerial gondola.On the other end of the gondola, far right of the entrance, is the “Relax and Heal” zone, where the structures are white, the tea is mint and the cuisine is mostly Asian.And farthest opposite the entrance is “Education and Innovation,” which has greenhouse displays including tropical plants from Asia and other equatorial regions, as well as the expo’s largest displays for children.Individual contributors fund their own displays, often with the help of local businesses eager to show off their country’s best.Germany’s neighboring province of North Rhine-Westphalia has funded a wooden structure of sloping angles, reminiscent of recent Scandinavian architectural designs, placed near the expo’s entrance. Its highly crafted display conceals miniature manicured gardens, unexpected vistas, and beanbags for visitors to relax on.Perhaps with a nod to Europe’s economic crisis, a Greek garden is simplicity itself: a grove of gnarled olive trees planted in rocky soil.If you’ve heard of the Netherlands’ 17th-century tulip bulb mania, you may enjoy seeing firsthand what all the excitement was about: Some of the strains have been kept alive and pure by aficionados, and are on display.In World Show, some countries’ displays – for instance Italy’s – are located on a promenade along a man-made lake where kiosks sell snacks and offer spots to relax in the sun or shade.There’s a children’s program in which youngsters lead their parents on a hunt through the grounds, giving adults a chance to take in the displays as the kids seek information to win a prize.There are also playgrounds and buildings for children, notably the House of Flavor, where kids can play interactive games. One display involves a Jack-and-the-Beanstalk plant with a tube of water stretching high up in the sky: Kids can operate a pump, sending a bubble of air floating upward.Elsewhere kids can help fry vegetables with the help of staff cooks; another room lets them sit in the driver’s seat of a tractor as footage of fields being plowed rolls by.One of the Innovation restaurants serves food featuring produce grown on the premises, including strawberries in at least a dozen varieties. White asparagus, a regional specialty, is grown in a crypt-like structure with a wonderfully creepy text above the door (so far only in German and Dutch):“Here lies buried the white queen, yet she should not at all be mourned, for such is her life’s desire and end.”...http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=319AEA2B7F1441EAB7BBF1F8D1E5B5B4&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.ocregister.com%2f2012%2f06%2f03%2fonce-a-decade-dutch-flower-show%2f&c=17584215842846703823&mkt=en-us

Former White House Floral Designer Making Visit to Chehalis - Centralia Chronicle

She is currently finishing up her second book, “A White House Christmas,” which details the daunting task of decorating dozens of trees. The Blue Room Tree alone included around 3,500 ornaments and thousands of lights. It was a year-long process to plan for the next Christmas, Dowling said. “I thought it would be fun for people to see the thought process and what goes into creating something that is so well known,” she said. “People see the end result, but they may not know what goes on behind the scenes.” The book should be available for purchase this fall. Dowling will be at Book’n’ Brush, 518 N. Market Blvd., Chehalis, from 1 to 3 p.m. on Sunday for a book signing to wrap up her Pacific Northwest tour after making stops in Seattle and Portland. ...http://www.chronline.com/news/former-white-house-floral-designer-making-visit-to-chehalis/article_4e6a5050-626f-11e7-946a-e353fbbb151e.html

Who is Peter Altmaier and why does he matter? - The Economist (blog)

Merkel chancellorship, Mr Altmaier looms especially large. Peter Tauber, the CDU general secretary widely deemed to have been demoted by Mr Altmaier's new promotion, never daunted people like his new colleague in the Konrad-Adenauer-Haus (the CDU headquarters).Now for a disclaimer: insofar as he is a motor of a more decisive, European, liberal Germany, I tend to think Mr Altmaier is a good thing. In character he is what British politicos call a "cavalier". But whether or not you like him, he matters. As the CDU manifesto-writer, he must answer the question: what is new about Angela Merkel, after 12 years as chancellor? Moreover, while she forged a cease-fire with the CSU over the refugee crisis, Mr Altmaier must now negotiate the peace process; the joint manifesto must balance the Bavarians' demand for an upper limit on arrivals with the chancellor’s opposition to it. He will be a central force in talks after the election on September 24th.While a new “grand coalition” of CDU and SPD seems probable, Mr Altmaier's links to the Greens would suddenly flower if the numbers for a CDU-Green-FDP government materialised (in any case, the Greens are in nine of Germany's 16 state governments.) Winning a fourth term as chancellor would put Mrs Merkel in the danger zone: her two predecessors to achieve this—Konrad Adenauer and Helmut Kohl—collapsed soon afterwards. Whether she gets this chance, and how she handles it, has so much to do with Mr Altmaier. Take him seriously.http://www.economist.com/blogs/kaffeeklatsch/2017/04/most-powerful-man-berlin

Riviera and French News Tuesday 14th February 2017 - Riviera Radio

SPORTFootball - The European Champions League returns tonight with two games. Paris St Germain face Barcelona and Benfica play Borussia Dortmund. For Paris St Germain, tonights home game will be a daunting test of their place in Europe's elite, made more vital by the 600m spent on transfers since 2011. However, manager Unai Emery has only won one out of 23 games against Barcelona. Kick off for both matches is at 8.45 French time.Rugby - Ireland’s Rob Kearney could be ruled out of the remainder of Ireland's Six Nations campaign with an arm injury. The Leinster full-back damaged his bicep towards the end of Saturday's 63-10 win over Italy in Rome. Ireland have declined to comment on the extent of the injury but will issue an update on Friday.Tennis - Great Britain face a potentially tough test in Romania after the draw was made for April's Fed Cup World Group II play-off games. The match will take place on 22nd and 23rd of April, as Britain bids to reach the competition's second tier for the first time since 1993.Awards - The Laureus World Sports Awards take place in Monaco tonight with an array of the globe’s top athletes and celebrities in attendance. Nominatees include Usain Bolt, Andy Murray and Mo Farah for Sportsman of the Year, and Allyson Felix, Angelique Kerber and Laura Kenny for Sportswoman. The Awards take place at the Salle des Etoiles and will be hosted by actor Hugh Grant.UPDATE 07:00Avalanche - Four skiers have died in an avalanche. The accident occurred on Monday morning at the ski resort of Tignes. The avalanche hit an area used by skiers about ten meters from the ski lifts. The victims, three members of the same family and their snowboard instructor were all equipped with an avalanche SOS detector but became buried under 400 meters of snow. A fifth person, a teenager who was with the group at the time is being interviewed by the rescue services.Bomb Scare - A bomb scare has been reported in Nice on the Cours Saleya flower market. The incident occurred on Monday afternoon as National Front leader Marine Le Pen visited the area. Police were informed of the threat which turned out to be an abandoned back pack. Couple found dead in Fayence - A man is his thirties has been taken into police custody following the death of a couple in Fayence on Sunday. The couple in their thirties were found dead in their house on Sunday afternoon. The man who reported the incident to the police was taken into police custody on Monday. The suspect reportedly spent the evening with the couple and has a previous criminal record for drugs.Valentine’s Day - Actors, teachers and musicians are giving a helping hand this Valentine’s Day in Marseille. Through rhyme or music they will be walking the streets of the city to give a helping hand to those wishing to write a love letter to the chosen person. The group wearing cupid wings hope to spread a little love and inspiration with their passionate messages.National Brexit - A leaked EU document has suggested that Brits across the European Union will face a serious fallout due to the UK’s treatment of foreigners after the Brexit vote. According to the docume...http://rivieraradio.mc/news/riviera-and-french-news-tuesday-14th-february-2017

She Believes Trees Will Save Germany — If She Can Save the Trees - OZY

Klöckner’s thesis, therefore, is simple: Save the forests, and they’ll save Germany. Klöckner as German Wine Queen. Blonde and quick to grin, Klöckner, 46, was born in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate and got into politics early, shortly after her yearlong reign as German Wine Queen, a position that’s sort of like Miss America but for German wine. Before the age of 30, she was a member of the Bundestag for the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Angela Merkel’s ruling party. In 2012, she was elected as one of the deputy chairpersons of the national party. By 2016, she was running for Minister-President (governor) of Rhineland-Palatinate. Articles touted her as a potential successor to Merkel. And then she lost. she has the difficult job of juggling these different interests and keeping everybody happy.Joachim Curtius, professor of geosciences at Goethe University Klöckner’s more conservative than Merkel in some ways, a trait that hasn’t always served her well electorally. Her opposition to Merkel’s open-door asylum policy is widely blamed as a factor in her losing her 2016 race, and as recently as this year, she called for a burqa ban in Germany. Still, while the ultraconservative AfD party has wholeheartedly embraced climate change denial, Klöckner — as minister of food and agriculture — doesn’t have the luxury of ignoring scientific evidence. “The climate change has hit us much faster than expected,” she said at a forest summit last month, and while the scientific community might argue that it was definitely expected, she’s now gearing up for battle against the conditions that are destroying the forests. “Climate change isn’t German; it isn’t going to be solved in Germany. None of the existing policies around the world are up to the scale of the challenge,” says Britta Fri...https://www.ozy.com/provocateurs/she-believes-trees-will-save-germany-if-she-can-save-the-trees/221908/

Germany's second-highest traffic bridge opens - DW (English)

The Hochmoselbrücke, or High Mosel Bridge, stretches 1.7 kilometers (1 mile) across and 160 meters (524 feet) above the Mosel River in western Germany. Within Germany, the new bridge in the Rhineland-Palatinate is second only to the 185-meter-high Kochertal bridge in the southern state of Baden-Württemberg. Read more: World's longest pedestrian suspension bridge opens in Germany's Harz region Authorities expect about 25,000 vehicles a day to cross the bridge that now provides a direct link between the regions of Eifel and Hunsrück. Several hundred people gathered for the bridge's opening on Thursday. Over the weekend, thousands of pedestrians crossed the bridge by foot as part of the opening festivities. "Today is a good day for the Rhineland-Palatinate," said State Premier Malu Dreyer. She added that she was convinced "that the bridge will help advance our economically strong state even further and will strengthen ties between the people in Eifel and Hunsrück." Europe's largest construction project The controversial building project kicked off eight years ago. Some critics argued that the massive bridge would destroy the area's idyllic vineyard landscape, while environmentalists argued it would pollute the ground water. Others spoke out against the cost. The building of the bridge was part of a greater road project that included the construction of an additional 25 kilometers (16 mile...https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-second-highest-traffic-bridge-opens/a-51355455

German teachers fined for treating wasp sting with heated fork - DW (English)

Hesse were fined for causing bodily harm with their questionable home remedy for a student's wasp sting. The incident occurred during a school trip to a youth hostel in the neighboring state of Rhineland-Palatinate in May 2017, when a 14-year-old student was stung by a wasp. In response, a 39-year-old male teacher heated the handle of a fork with a lighter and pressed it on the boy's hand where he'd been stung. After a blister formed, another 40-year-old female teacher cut it open and treated the wound with cream. The student's lawyer said that as a result of the sting, the boy had to wear a protective glove for a considerable period of time. The German daily Bild reported that the boy's hand became infected and that he wasn't able to attend an internship as a result. A district court in Cochem fined the male teacher €2,700 ($3,160) for causing bodily harm. The female teacher was fined €2,500 ($2,900) for both assisting and causing bodily harm to the student. The decision was made last Thursday, a court spokesperson said, adding that the judgement is not yet final, as a timeline for appealing the decision has not yet passed. All about the birds and the bees... As sweet as honey They are the pollination super stars...https://www.dw.com/en/german-teachers-fined-for-treating-wasp-sting-with-heated-fork/a-45505055

Dead gardener left booby traps behind to target his enemies, German police warn - Fox News

Authorities in Germany are warning anyone who may have had a conflict with a recently deceased gardener to be on the lookout, after an apparent set of booby-trapped bombs left one dead and two hurt.Rhineland-Palatinate Police said in a news release that gardener Bernhard Graumann, 59, was found dead in his bed in Mehlinhen, near Kaiserslautern in west Germany, on Friday night.Earlier that day, a 64-year-old doctor in a nearby town was found dead in front of his practice after an explosion. Police believe the bomb may have been in a package that was left in front of the office as part of a "booby trap" which the doctor picked up, triggering the blast.MAN ADMITS KILLING AIRBNB GUEST AT AUSTRALIA HOME OVER UNPAID $149 BILLTwo days later, an "explosive-engineered log" exploded in a wood-burning stove at a home about five miles from where Graumann lived, according to police. A woman and her 4-year-old daughter were injured in that blast. Police in Germany are warning anyone who may have had a conflict with a recently deceased doctor to be on the lookout for booby traps. (iStock)Police said all three had been known to Graumann, who either had a "personal or business" connec...https://www.foxnews.com/world/dead-german-gardener-suspected-of-planting-trail-of-bombs-as-revenge-plot-against-neighbors