Travels

The european union views china’s continuing involvement in the balkans with growing concern.

China has long been able to present itself as a state that is supposedly only pursuing economic interests with its investments, said EU enlargement commissioner johannes hahn on thursday evening at the 12th EU summit in berlin. European media summit in lech, austria. "The opposite is the case," said hahn. China wants to make its model salon-worthy in europe.

The fundamental choice is between dictatorship and democracy, between a social market economy and turbo-capitalism. In the case of the balkans, the union must meet the challenge of china with adequate responses. "We need to take a close look at the acquisition of potentially strategically relevant companies by the chinese," hahn said on the sidelines of the media meeting organized by the association of the foreign press. Chinese money is being used to build power plants, highways and bridges in the six western balkan countries.

Every gram pays! After all, the backpack has to be carried for a week. The change of clothes is therefore spared, the sleeping bag is checked to see if a lighter model is available, and the small snapshot camera has to suffice instead of the large camera. All understandable – but then this: pastor markus merz voluntarily packs a thick book that weighs a good kilogram! But it is a very special book – created for a very special path and a very special undertaking.

On easter sunday it starts again: markus merz continues his way to jerusalem, which he started in 2010. The fourth stage starts in bratislava, slovakia, and ends in budapest, the capital of hungary.

A guest book, only the other way round
This time the pastor of the coburg moriz church will be accompanied by eight coburgers – and by the thick pilgrim book, which was made for him and given to him by the coburg bookbinder bernd rudolf fritz. Many beautiful entries are already in it, and markus merz is already curious which new ones will be added in the next days. "It's like a guest book – only the other way around", declares the parish priest. "Wherever we are guests or make a stop, we ask the hosts for an entry." This book already tells us a lot about the people markus merz has met. He was very moved by the entry of a woman: "pray for my friend – she is waiting for a heart." A year later, this woman spontaneously joined the pilgrimage group for a day and reported that the transplant had been performed in the meantime and that her friend was full of courage to live again.

The german travel industry grew slightly despite a turbulent year. Sales of package tours and building-block tours rose in the past tourism year (to 31 december). October 2019) by two percent according to initial calculations.

Final figures are expected in february, according to the german travel association (DRV) at its annual meeting in hamburg. The tourism industry had to struggle this year with the insolvencies of thomas cook and the airline germania. According to the federal statistical office, tourism in germany continues to boom and is aiming for its tenth record year in succession.

The preliminary DRV data is based on evaluations by the market research company TDA. The survey covered vacations booked in traditional travel agencies, on tour operators’ websites and on online portals focusing on package tours.