When you set out on your journey to Ithaca, pray that the road is long, full of adventure, full of knowledge.

- Constantine Peter Cavafy -

EcoVillage at Ithaca: Pioneering a Sustainable Culturefrom Amazon.com

In 2007, National Geographic conducted a survey of 111 island communities throughout the world. The Faroe Islands ranked as the most unspoiled island destination on the planet.

I remember reading about this on board of a flight with Atlantic Airways, while heading for the Faroes in May 2008. I was reminded once again about its pristine condition while reading this article Tread carefully on the pristine landscape of the Faroe Islands on metronews.

The article also mentioned the town of Gjógv, 67 kms from the capital of Tórshavn. In Gjógv, traditional dishes, such as the ones made with pilot whale meat, will soon be history.

A bit of Faroese paradise in Gjógv

The Faroe Islands, only accessible by plane or ship, are the most untouched destination I have ever been to. 75,000 sheep grace the islands compared to a population of about 50,000 Faroese.

The capital city of Tórshavn around 8:30 p.m. in May

For more about life on the islands, I also conducted an interview with my longtime Faroese friend, Mariann, before my trip.

To see the complete list of destinations rated by National Geographic Center for Sustainable Destinations, which conducted this fourth annual Destination Scorecard survey (aided by George Washington University), visit National Geographic.

In 1950, six students built six sculptures in Odori Park in Sapporo, which marked the beginning of the annual Snow Festival. The festival, in its 61st year, chose the Frauenkirche in Dresden to be replicated in snow for this year’s festival.

In October 2009, a delegation of officials visited Dresden to study the church’s architecture. After having built a wooden replica, the task force got started on their chore of working in subzero temperatures and long nights. The snow festival runs from 05 Feb – 11 Feb 2010, and on 12 February it will get demolished after having been viewed by 2 million visitors.

Nothing unusual so far, but when Japan uses its military to work on civil projects, it strikes a different tone in Germany. 150 members, male and female, part of the communication unit, are rebuilding the Frauenkirche in snow, which has attracted the attention of the German media.

The Japanese military commander calls working in icy temperatures Abhärtungstraining (inurement practice).  In Japanese terms, this kind of work requiring endurance, is always greeted with がんばってね ! (Try hard!) and when we lived in Japan, we heard this on many occasions.

The German Tagesschau has a three minute video clip and photo gallery on its website about the Japanese soldiers rebuilding a 28-meter German church out of snow.

Germany’s surprise reaction is twofold; Germans have a hard time imagining using soldiers for civic art and subjecting its people to so-called inhumane working conditions.

The Japanese are very good in regards to thinking out-of-the box. Where else could you get married with three different religious ceremonies all performed in one day? Some Japanese women replace their long desired family addition with a puppy and parade it around in a stroller. Some grown women wear girly socks and braids, young women like to do cosplay, or last year’s trend of some men wearing bras for comfort. Others are shy and reserved in regular life, but a real talent on stage or a hit at the Karaoke bar.

The Japanese know how to reinvent themselves. In spite of spatial boundaries, the Japanese mind knows few limits when it comes to accepting new trends and modifying traditions in new ways.

Perception of good and bad working conditions differ greatly in both countries. This shows in the number of days and hours most Japanese are supposed to be at their workplace (work efficiency is be another story). Endurance is a valuable trait and needs to be taught early on.

When we lived in Japan, we had to get accustomed to seeing kindergartners walking around in shirts and shorts on cold winter mornings. The first time I saw this parade of half-naked little kids, the overcuddled German part of me was shocked at first. But I have come to see its benefits, especially since having returned to the land of the Strumpfhosenpolizei, which is at the opposite end of the cold endurance spectrum.

If you go to war, pray once; if you go on a sea journey, pray twice; but pray three times, if you are going to be married.

- Russian Proverb -

Russian Proverbs & Sayings from Amazon.com

Last week, I had the opportunity to meet our local Camp King historian, Manfred Kopp, at the neighborhood church café. At the moment, the café’s basement houses all the Camp King documents he has been collecting over the years.

In 2005, I have been told, the City of Oberursel decided to gather all documents related to Camp King with the intent to make the collection available to the public at some point in the future.

The former Mountain Lodge on Camp King has been chosen as the designated location where the archives shall be kept. This project is supposed to be completed sometime this year.

Camp King historian and archivist, Manfred Kopp

Again, most locals do not realize the overall importance of Camp King in its history making. Initially a Siedlungshof (settlement teaching farms), then a camp for the German Air Force to interrogate American and British prisoners of war, until American Intelligence took over.

We are fortunate to have the historian, Manfred Kopp, to have taken such a big interest in Camp King’s history. Without him, more and more information would be lost within the next few years. Not many Zeitzeugen (contemporary witnesses) are left to tell us their stories.

For his efforts in restoring and archiving local history, he had been awarded the Saalburgpreis (Saalburg Award) 2008. He closed his acceptance speech with this quotation: „Nicht die Asche wollen wir bewahren, sondern die Glut weitergeben.“ (We are here not to conserve the ashes, but to pass on the embers).

Thanks, Mr. Kopp.

Edit: Initially, I had mistakenly written that Nazis interrogated the POWs. The interrogators were not Nazis. My apologies.