Special Report: Picturesque lake resort puts Germany back on the map

Sun, 07/05/2009 11:28 AM  |  Lifestyle

Lindau is a small resort island on Lake Constance in Germany's southern state of Bavaria, across the Alps shared with Austria and Switzerland.

Tourists here sit in the sun in picturesque market squares on cobbled streets, surrounded by old, well-preserved beautiful buildings; or whiz by as the locals do on their bikes.

Chirping birds and hourly bells clanging from nearby churches, fresh air and pretty pathways form the surroundings of the annual meeting of Nobel laureates here.

In these long summer days, until 10 p.m. people still enjoy ice cream. Concerts, marionette plays and music festivals are available for those who opt to stay until August.

The event started with a few laureates and researchers in 1951, an initiative by a member of the nobility here, the Count Lennart Bernadotte. His daughter, Bettina Bernadotte, now president of the Council for Nobel Laureate Meetings, says it was "very important" that these meetings were increasingly internationalized, to change the local mentality "that Germany is isolated from the rest of the world".

While international gatherings are today taken for granted, despite the increasing difficulty in raising funds amid an already long list of German sponsors, observers say it was extraordinary that such a meeting featuring foreign laureates first took place shortly after World War II, which led to the stigmatization of Germany.

This year, 23 laureates in chemistry and 580 young researchers in chemistry from all over the world are participating in the gathering, which Bernadotte says will retain the focus on the sciences, including economics.

Organizers say the balance between nationalities, gender and fields of research are now better, with 44 percent of young researchers women. The aim stays the same, she says, mainly the fostering of interaction between young scientists and the Nobel laureates, with "education, connection and inspiration" being the theme.

This year, Indonesia has only one representative, Fritz Simeon from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, though it was earlier reported there would be two students from Indonesia. With the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) now a partner, Indonesian students can hope to gain a better opportunity to meet and talk with the laureates in person.

For those interested in a holiday here, options are to take a flight to either Frankfurt or Zurich, which is just across the lake from here.

The Schengen visa applies for both places; just beware of heavy luggage, which might reduce your holiday fun when having to change railway platforms, up and down the stations.

- JP/Ati Nurbaiti

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.