Water rules!

Merry meetings instead of earnest encounters

Talking of Germany, most MICE planners wouldn’t automatically think of water themes. But why not? We have Störtebeker the pirate and the river Spree, Kiel Week and the Wadden Sea, the Western Pomeranian lagoon area, and Lake Constance. More than 23,000 km² of sea waterways alone shape the landscape between the North and Baltic Sea, and even the suspension railway in Wuppertal only became world-famous when the young elephant lady Tuffi jumped out to take a swim in the river Wupper on 21st July 1950.

Tuffi unfortunately scratched her bottom during her leap but for more harmless and no less spectacular choices you can turn to the variety of meeting options on and around the water between the Rhine, Main and Mittellandkanal. For sporty teambuilding, for example, Arosa on Lake Scharmützelsee offers contests in several aquatic disciplines. In a lunch break with a difference the Park Inn in Neu-Papenburg invites attendees to ride a pedal boat on a side arm of the Turmkanal. An exclusive champagne reception on a historical three-master is organised by the team of Hamburg-based Nord Event GmbH and if you want to offer your customers or staff a unique experience, you can applaud them when they receive their punting diploma on the river Neckar. (http://www.rezidor.de/; http://www.nord-event.de/; http://www.tuebingen-info.de/).

A meeting in The Floating Experience, Germany’s one and only floating event and convention centre, was even extravagant enough to attract the Pentagon top brass. Small wonder then that, since the launching of the light-filled event pontoon at Mercure Hotel Hamburg City in May 2008, global players like Audi, Ernst & Young, MLP, Baiersdorf, Shell and Europcar have queued up to embark (http://www.thefloatingexperience.de/).

In brief: Any kind of event will go swimmingly in Germany. Be it for teambuilding, staff motivation or training purposes, an incentive or inspiring meeting with potential customers; whether you want to stage an event by the sea, on a lake or river or in a big city.

Here are a few ideas from the bubbling event cauldron of water destination Germany:

A SEA of events between the Baltic and Lake Constance

Adventurers can expect a sea of excitement particularly in the Baltic region. Meeting hotels like the Radisson Rostock, Yachthafenresidenz Hohe Düne or Kempinski Grand Hotel Heiligendamm offer both first-rate conditions for quiet meetings and an abundance of leisure options and holiday-inspired social programmes around Mecklenburg and Warnemünde Bay – from horse-riding on the beach through gala dinners in historic stables or beach buggy races to balloon tours or stagecoach rides. “With us you can do everything apart from climbing mountains and skiing,” With this promise the Kempinski boss won the contract for the G8 summit in spring 2007 up north in Heiligendamm.

The Baltic region is brimming over with options for very special events, not only on land but also at sea. For example, Yachthafenresidenz Hohe Düne invites you to leave your everyday cares on land and meet in the captain’s room of the three-mast schooner Santa Barbara Anna to develop new ideas. On a three-hour teambuilding trip the schooner will take passengers back to the swashbuckling era – with tugs-of-war, shanty singing and nerve-racking mast-climbing on a rough windy sea. Or how about kite surfing, dragon boat building followed by a regatta or speed sailing on the Illbruck - a yacht that won the Volvo Ocean Race? After that you can enjoy true Hanseatic cuisine in the Shark Bar or Der Butt gourmet restaurant (http://www.yhd.de/; http://www.rezidor.com/; http://www.kempinski-heiligendamm.de/).

From the ice they are freed, the LAKES and RIVERS

Sport & SPA Resort Arosa Scharmützelsee and Yacht Academy Axel Schmidt specialise in corporate incentives around the largest lake in the federal state of Brandenburg. “In our incentive programmes it’s all about offering attendees a special water sport experience. The focus is on social and emotional goals like fun in the group, teambuilding, motivation through competition, enjoying nature together.“

Yachting, canoeing and other water sports enthusiasts – be they beginners or pros – are spoilt for choice between programmes like a relaxing pedal boat or fleet ride (three hours, max. 80 people), a canoe knot competition and a “come closer” tour, where you switch canoes several times from two to three to ten-seaters and even to a – if desired self-built – raft for up to 60 passengers. Teams are encouraged to take part in these competitions (http://www.yaas-segeln.de/, http://www.a-rosa.de/).

Even if planners opt for a supposedly non-aquatic federal state such as Saxony they will not be left in low water. Quite the opposite: The world’s oldest and biggest paddle steamer fleet is not found on the Mississippi but in Saxon Switzerland, where it tours one of Europe’s most beautiful river landscapes - the Dresden Elbe Valley, a UNESCO world heritage site since 2004 (http://www.saechsische-dampfschifffahrt.de/).

Trade fair city Leipzig welcomes MICE planners with a variety of offerings that is unparalleled even in Germany. The city alone boasts rivers and streams with a total length of just under 180 km. Hence Leipzig Tourismus und Marketing GmbH offers everything from motorboat or canoe tours from Plagwitz to Clara Zetkin Park to a touch of Italy: On an original Venetian gondola guests can glide down the Elster Canal with a singing gondolier (http://www.ltm-leipzig.de/; http://www.da-vito-leipzig.de/).

Even for a trip to the Amazon organisers don’t have to book a ticket to Brazil. “Amazonien“ is the title of the 360-degree panorama painting that will attract you to the fascinating world of the rainforest since March 28 2009: Against the fascinating background of trees that soar to the heavens, lianas that seem suspended in the air, bathed in green twilight and with concerts by thousands of animals, any event in Leipzig’s historical gasometer is sure to be a success. (http://www.panometer.de/).

In addition the “gateway to the east” offers countless lakes where you can relax and swim in the south of the city. Currently under construction, Leipzig’s Neuseenland lake district will offer around 70 km² of water for events like the Seven Lakes Hike on a variety of routes, a quad hike through the future lakes in the former open-cast mines of Zwenkau, Espenhain and Witznitz II or the “Phoenix Tour – from Mining to Lake District“ by bus, where participants can witness the largest landscape transformation in Europe (http://www.7-seen-wanderung.de/).

If you are into fun events like sailing, wind or kite surfing, or prefer diving, inline skating, roller skiing and beach volleyball, you should opt for the lakes of Cospuden, Markkleeberg and Schladitz, as should planners who want to offer clients relaxation in a ”lakeside sauna” or a wild post-convention hacienda party on the north bank of Lake Cospuden.

Uncontested highlights also include the fascination of weightless gliding: wakeboarding across Lake Kulkwitz, noiseless trips in Leipzig’s first solar shuttle, solaria 1, or the twelve-kilometre tour on state-of-the-art electric Segways around Lake Markkleeberg. As Germany’s only artificial white-water complex, Markkleeberg Canoe Park is also perfect both for sporting activities and for the individual needs of all customers. Its restaurant facilities can be flexibly adapted to enable the staging of presentations, trainings or seminars. As a partner of the cutting-edge complex, The Westin Leipzig organises tailor-made meetings, incentives and events such as white-water rafting for groups of two to nine people (http://www.wasserski-leipzig.de/; http://www.tvll.de/; http://www.kanupark-markkleeberg.com/).

MOUNTAINS and more

Organisers of motivation training know that faith can move mountains. But in Germany you will not need to, since the lakes in the Alpine foothills are among the most beautiful in Europe. Meetings on water with views of the mountains are some heart-lifting assets of meeting hotels such as Steigenberger Inselhotel Konstanz, Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Lindau, and Seehotel Überfahrt in Rottach-Egern, just half an hour’s drive from Munich. While Steigenberger Inselhotel, a former 13th century Dominican monastery on a private island near the romantic old town, has one of the best locations on Lake Constance, Hotel Bayerischer Hof sits on the lake promenade of the historical island town of Lindau. “We offer you overwhelming views across the lake to the Austrian and Swiss Alps“. Seehotel Überfahrt at Tegernsee Lake not only satisfies water and mountain enthusiasts. The new chef of Überfahrt gourmet restaurant is Christian Jürgens. After his new start in the Bavarian Alps the seasoned two-star chef is absolutely determined to turn gourmets at Tegernsee Lake into regular customers.
http://www.steigenberger.de/; http://www.bayerischerhof-lindau.de/; http://www.althoffhotels.de/).

CITIES – COUNTRIES – RIVERS

When it comes to presenting Germany as the ideal destination for “meetings on water”, Germany’s best-known hotel brand must be singled out: Hans-Joachim Gomolla built his first hotel at Timmendorfer Strand in 1969 – and called it “maritim“. Almost 40 years later there is hardly a German metropolis, where you will not find the chain with the motto “accommodation and conference facilities under one roof”. And although Frankfurt, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart, Dresden, Hamburg or Bremen are not by the sea – the rivers Main, Rhine, Spree, Isar, Neckar, Elbe, Alster and Weser offer many possibilities for maritime social programmes of the first water after a conference, meeting or congress.

For example, Berlin-based Maritim proArte offers maritime delicacies to accompany the production of the black comedy Fisch zu viert which concerns a “deplorable affair from the year 1885“. Maritim Hotel Berlin, the largest congress hotel at Potsdamer Platz, invites you on a “n(ost)algic Go Trabbi Go” tour along the river Spree, while Maritim Berghotel Braunlage organises “Hunt for Red Compass”, Germany’s only spy rally through the Harz Mountains. Of course, the members of the legendary Secret Service have to build rafts and steer a canoe, be experienced archers and clay pigeon shooters, engage in wild kart chases with enemy agents and overcome ravines and mountains (http://www.maritim.de/).

But other hosts also like to go maritime: The Westin Grand Berlin stages sparkling midnight pool parties in its spa area – with Hawaiian island flair, Caribbean cuisine and Sylt beach chic; the Rhine-Main-Hallen in Wiesbaden invite you to a mineral water tasting from one of the 26 hot Roman springs in the city centre; Park Inn Papenburg will take ocean liner fans on a tour of the world-famous Meyer shipyard and from September one of the world’s most cutting-edge multipurpose arenas, the new O2 World located between Berlin’s Ostbahnhof station and Warsaw Bridge will await sports, concert, conference and party guests with a landing stage of its own (www.westin.com/berlin; http://www.rhine-main-hallen.de/; http://www.rezidor.de/; http://www.02-world.de/).

If you still associate Germany with eisbein (ham hock) and sauerkraut, a gourmet punting night trip in Stuttgart, water tasting session overlooking the Alster in Hamburg’s old-established Atlantic Hotel, and views of Cologne’s famous cathedral from your deck chair at Cologne Beach Club will soon set you right. (http://www.tuebingen-info.de/; http://www.kempinski.atlantic.de/; http://www.koelnkongress.de/).

Parts of Cologne Beach Club can even be booked exclusively with deck chairs, sun sails, showers and catering for trendy get-together parties or corporate events; an event that is a real highlight especially if booked for Kölner Lichter, one of the biggest fireworks displays – with music! – on the banks of the Rhine (http://www.koelner-lichter.de/).

Germans love chilling out on the beach anyway – especially as a breather from a hectic working day in the city. Small wonder then that the number of beach clubs has mushroomed over the past few years, be it in Hamburg or Cologne, Frankfurt or Berlin. So, if you book the legendary Berlin bridge tour past the capital’s major attractions like the government district and museum island – preferably accompanied by the kitchen teams of the Hyatt or Maritim – you should not miss out on a visit to a beach club (http://www.hyatt.de/; http://www.maritim.de/).

By the way, a boat tour on the Spree, Rhine, Main, Mosel, Danube and co. is obligatory for any event that is not by the sea; be it a barge trip through Hamburg’s historical old warehouse district followed by a visit to the Spice Museum, a trip in a water taxi to the landing stage of Seminaris SeeHotel in Potsdam or a conference on board a meeting ship on the Rhine or Main (http://www.nord-event.de/; http://www.seminaris.de/; http://www.k-d.com/; http://www.primus-linie.de/).

In water destination Germany any kind of event will go swimmingly: And that’s a promise!