Berlin / DE. (igw) Such a lot to experience and enjoy: the 76th International Green Week Berlin (IGW) is preparing to welcome over 400’000 visitors from 21 to 30 January. In its 85th year the world´s largest consumer show for agriculture, food and horticulture has compiled an especially full programme to suit every age group, for gourmets and epicures, for those hungering for new experiences or thirsting for action, and in fact for everyone who is keen to undertake a culinary world tour and to remain active. But be advised: anyone responding to the advertising slogan of this year´s Green Week, «Experience diversity», will have to be prepared to do some walking. There are some 1’600 exhibitors in 26 halls, occupying an area of 115’000 square metres, and to visit them all would mean walking a distance of some eight kilometres. This would involve taking about 11,600 paces (assuming each step measures 0,69 metres – outdoors the figure is between 0,71 and 0,75 metres). Visitors are recommended to allow three whole days at the fair in order to experience everything and obtain all the information available from the worlds of agriculture, food and horticulture. For this reason it is advisable to purchase an unlimited admission ticket.
Here are eleven suggested tours, giving some idea of what can be seen and experienced, sampled and purchased. Please note: these are not bookable, guided tours but are simply intended to suggest ways in which visitors can experience the Green Week on their own.
Tour 01: The Culinary World Tour
Duration: one full day at the fair; distance: 6,8 kilometres
The food has been prepared and the table has been laid: carefully selected foods from every continent, fine wines from the world´s leading regions, and unusual delicacies from faraway places are all available at the world´s largest event for gourmets and epicures. Included on the menu at the International Green Week 2011 are specialities from more than 50 countries on every continent. For example, if you start your tour in Hall 7, you will find a small selection from the 100’000 specialities on show at the Green Week in the following sequence:
For the first time visitors will be able to sample some mouth-watering delicacies from Afghanistan (Hall 7.2) such as saffron from Herat and pomegranates from Kandahar. After an interval of ten years the kingdom of Morocco (Hall 7.2a) will again be represented with a combined stand. This will be an opportunity for visitors to immerse themselves in all its oriental scents and colours. The national stand will be in the form of a souk, representing the market quarter of an Arab town with its narrow alleyways and small shops. Meat dishes made from various types of sheep, spices such as saffron, juicy clementines, and the finest olive and argan oils will be available here. The USA (Hall 7.2) is featuring ice cream, sundaes, milk shakes, muffins, brownies, cakes, candies, treats and many different types of frozen cocktails. Canada (Hall 7.2c) invites visitors to try bison jerky and «Firewater» (whisky with maple syrup). Rwanda (Hall 8.2) is celebrating its debut at the IGW with gemsbok and antelope meat on skewers. Norway (Hall 8.2) is presenting a wide range of products, including meat from Lofoten lamb, hams made from mutton, hot-smoked char, hand-peeled shrimps and Norwegian cheeses such as Jarlsberg, Snofrisk and Ridder, as well as Geiranger chocolate with goats´ cheese and strawberries. For the first time visitors to the Green Week will be able to sample curry cake from Thailand (Hall 8.2), a speciality consisting of sweet pastry filled with potatoes, curry, carrots, onions and pepper. Austria (Hall 15.1) has been serving up treats to its guests at the Green Week for 50 years. In 2011 gourmets will be attracted by Austrian mountain cheeses as well as bacon from the Tyrol and sausages from the Alpine republic. Ecuador (Hall 18) returns to the Green Week after an absence of 20 years, with Andean legumes such as choco (a type of lupin seed) and various cereals including quinoa and amaranth. On the Peru stand (Hall 18) visitors to will find something completely different: cocktails and refreshing drinks made with blue maize, suggesting a culinary experiment.
Tour 02: An epicurean tour of Germany´s regions
Duration: one full day at the fair; distance: 5,0 kilometres
The Green Week is the ideal place to learn about the tastes and flavours of Germany´s regions, and the States´ Hall – Germany provides the perfect introduction, in Hall 20, where 13 of the federal states await connoisseurs of fine food and beverages. Visitors to the States´ Hall will be able to see for themselves what a variety of food and drink is available from all over Germany, on the stands of the individual states of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, Hessen, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, and on the combined stand of the states of Lower Saxony and Bremen. Products range from well-seasoned soup made with freshly caught sea fish from the Hanseatic city of Bremen to traditional specialities made using potatoes from the Luneburg Heath in Lower Saxony, and various tasty cheeses from Bavaria, all of which can be sampled by visitors.
However, regional specialities will not only be served in the States´ Hall. Eight individual states will be staging their own displays too, where gourmets can sample the items on show to their heart´s content. Brandenburg will be offering tempting treats in Hall 21a, Thuringia will delight visitors with its authentic cuisine in Hall 22a, Schleswig-Holstein invites visitors to sample its products in Hall 22a, Bavaria extends a welcome in Hall 22b, Saxony-Anhalt is presenting its culinary diversity in Hall 23b, the wide range of items from Mecklenburg-West Pomerania is available in Hall 5.2b, Saxony will be attracting visitors to Hall 5.2a and will also be in Hall 5.2a with its own particular delicacies.
There will also be plenty to discover, sample and enjoy at the various Product Markets: the ProBier hall (Hall 12), devoted to Beer, and shared with «Meat and Sausages», and Experiencing Fish, which this year features the largest-ever fish finger as well as more than 60 varieties of fish, crustaceans and molluscs, all of which can be sampled in Hall 14. The Green Week will also present some 1’000 fine wines at the Gallery of German Wines and Sparkling Wines (Halls 22a and 22b) and in the selection from around the world at the Wine Culinarium (Hall 13/14), while beer-loving visitors will also be welcomed to the ProBier Market in Hall 12. To everyone with an interest in sustainability the Bio Market in Hall 6.2a offers a wide choice of products as well as a Fair Trade section, where the emphasis will be on chocolate. Using the slogan «Power for life» companies and associations from the German food industry are staging an informative and entertaining show entitled «Quality and Confidence», showing how the quality of products can be safeguarded, and the benefits of an «Epicurean tour of Germany´s regions».
Tour 03: A Close Up on Agriculture
Duration: one full day at the fair; distance: 2,5 kilometres
Six halls devoted exclusively to agriculture: nowadays modern, sustainable agriculture implies a lot more than just picking fruit and milking cows. The Farm Experience in Hall 3.2 offers some fascinating insights into the processes involved in manufacturing food, all the way from the field and livestock shed to the retail counter. The «nature.tec – Special Show for Renewable Raw Materials» show is concerned with the subjects of «Biogas», «Biofuels», «Heating with Wood», «Forests and Wood», and «Building with Renewable Raw Materials». For the first time a separate section is devoted to «Organic Materials» (Hall 4.2). Once again the Livestock Hall, No. 25, serves as the shop window for animal breeding in Germany, and this year the emphasis is on the «»National Stallion Show for Sport Ponies» (21 to 23 January) and the «3rd National Uckermärker Beef Cattle Show«» (28 to 29 January). For anyone with a particular interest in the natural world the section entitled «Experience Nature – Hunting and Fishing» (Hall 26a) presents a forest biotope with various game, activities such as an angling competition and large aquariums containing examples of the fish found in German waters. Taking as its slogan «A better future by improving the quality of life – sustainable, innovative and diverse», the special show by the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection in Hall 23a contains a wealth of information about the future potential and innovativeness of agriculture and rural areas, together with the benefits that this brings to the quality of life. One of the main components is of course a wide range of high quality food products obtained from agriculture and horticulture. Biodiversity in agriculture and climate protection are other important topics. The combined show at the «Village of your Dreams» (Hall 21b) offers everything that visitors in search of a breath of country air could wish to find: the most attractive villages, the most inviting holiday regions and the most fascinating highlights.
Tour 04: The Animal Programme
Duration: four hours, distance: 1;5 kilometres
The Animal Programme covers four halls and begins with the 5’000 pets and other animals for the home at the «Pet Experience» in Hall 1.2. Many cats and dogs can be found here from the leading associations, as well as Tarantulas, snakes and mantises which visitors can handle, as well as the giant African bullfrog, one of the world´s largest frogs. The cries of parrots, the squeaking of rats and a busy, exciting programme on the stage await visitors to this section.
In search of more animals, visitors will come to the Farm Experience in Hall 3.2, representing a modern farmyard, with a cowshed containing 20 dairy cows, a sty with 25 weaners, as well as hen and turkey chicks. Making a first appearance at this show will be a bull from the Neustadt an der Aisch A.I. Association. The trail continues to the 5’000 square metre Hall 25, the Livestock Hall, which will feature the finest examples of all kinds of farm animals. Four breeds of sports ponies, representing the German Riding Pony, New Forest Pony, Connemara Pony and Welsh Pony, will be appearing in the main show ring at the 3rd. FN National Stallion Show – Sports Ponies (21 to 23 January). The newest breed of beef cattle, the massive Uckermärker, will be demonstrating its robust characteristics at the 3rd National Pedigree Breeds Show (28 to 29 January). Also included in the display is a breed of cattle that is facing extinction, the Limpurger Rind, which is the oldest existing breed from Württemberg. In Hall 26a the show entitled «Experiencing nature – hunting and fishing» will present some genuine mouflon and reindeer. This is the place for anyone who wants to know whether wild pigs are really bristly to the touch, or how sharp a fox´s teeth are. The tour to see the animals concludes with a whole range of different creatures such as pheasants, fallow deer and mouflon, reindeer and a 15’000 litre giant aquarium with fish from German waters, including eels, pike, catfish, carp, trout and char.
Tour 05: The Families Programme
Duration: one full day at the fair; distance: two to six kilometres
The programme which has been drawn up specially for the entire family can, if so desired, be spread out over an entire day, in which case it would include all the elements of the Animal Programme (Tour 4). Presentations by the German food industry to promote a healthy and balanced diet combined with enjoyment will again form the main focus of «Power for Life». This attractive exhibition for the whole family in Hall 1.2 promises a mixture of entertainment, information and activities. Advice and ideas for a healthy, varied and tasty diet for the entire family are being provided daily on the stage and in the various cookery shows. Extensive programmes for families are also being offered by the Farm Experience (Hall 3.2) and the special BMELV show in Hall 23a. And if parents want to spend some time without their little ones they can leave them in capable hands at the «MeKi» child care centre in Hall 3.2. In particular the Sundays (23 and 30 January) are the recommended days for family visits. And children under six will be admitted free of charge. The family ticket (maximum two adults and maximum three children under 14) costs 26 EUR.
Tour 06: The Schools Programme «The Trade Fair Experience«»
Duration: two to four hours; distance: 1,0 kilometres
Over the past twelve years the Schools Programme of the International Green Week has been attended by more than 300’000 pupils from Berlin and Brandenburg, and it has provided them with practically based instruction on many aspects of nutrition, agriculture and horticulture. In 2011 the main themes will be «Health and Nutrition», «Agriculture and Nature» and «Training and Careers». This tour is exclusively for school parties, which can visit individual items on the programme by prior arrangement.
In Hall 1.2b the Federation of German Food and Drink Industries (BVE) and the German Federation for Food Law and Food Science (BLL) are staging a show entitled «Quality and Confidence» specially for young visitors. In Hall 23a the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Consumer Protection (BMELV) is presenting a diverse programme that will appeal to visitors of all ages. For example, assisted by Cook the Cat, schoolchildren can obtain an aid nutrition certificate, or use the schools´ laboratory to carry out fascinating experiments into fruit and vegetables, under expert supervision. The Farm Experience in Hall 3.2 provides some realistic insights into modern, sustainable agriculture and food industries.
Visitors can walk around in Hall 25, the large Livestock Hall, housing cattle, horses, donkeys, pigs and sheep. One of the highlights each day will be «The Livestock Hall Awakes», when a class of schoolchildren will be given a guided tour, for a close-up look at the animals. The extensive aquarium show organised by the German Pet Trade and Industry Association (ZZF) in Hall 1.2a will be well worth a visit. and will feature biotopes as well as a tank simulating an African river bed and a New Guinea aquarium with dazzling rainbow fish. The Bio Market in Hall 6.2 is also staging an extensive programme for schools. The leading organic cook Bernd Trum will delight pupils with fresh breakfast snacks, and afterwards trainers will show them how to keep fit and stay that way. The Cocoa Course from the Fair Trade Forum will acquaint schoolchildren with the cultivation of the cocoa bean and provides an entertaining way of enabling them to experience a day in the life of cocoa farmers. A series of school gardens (around Hall 9) will be used to acquaint primary school pupils with simple, basic gardening techniques and they can also make up their own «mini-garden» which they can take home with them.
Tour 07: The Garden Programme
Duration: three hours; distance: 1,5 kilometres
Music and a sea of flowers are the harbingers of spring for visitors to Hall 9, the Floral Hall. For the first time music will be incorporated in the displays to enhance the colours, scents and spring-like atmosphere, with Robert Schumann´s «Spring Symphony», Mozart´s «The Pretend Garden Girl» and Tchaikovsky´s «Waltz of the Flowers». Thus a walk through beautiful floral compositions awaits visitors to the Floral Hall in 2011, who will be able to enjoy a wealth of musically inspired floral arrangements, created by florists and gardeners. Over 10’000 spring flowers (crocuses, narcissus, tulips) and 20’000 flowering plants (roses, amaryllis, lilies, primulas) and beds planted with scented herbs will be used to create a colourful, aromatic concert hall. Children and young people from the Pankow Music School will respond to the symbiosis of school garden and school music and, together with their teachers, will be presenting compositions in, around and about the plants. Only a short walk away from the flower-filled concert hall the local gardeners´ association, Landesverband Berlin der Gartenfreunde, will be presenting allotment gardens as a green miracle in the heart of the city. The many beds filled with flowers, herbs and vegetables have inspired gardeners to come up with new ideas and the idyllic café in the midst of all the greenery invites people to sit and chat. As in previous years a summerhouse is being used to illustrate the history of allotment gardens, and experts will be on hand to give advice and suggestions about the subject of «Garden Management».
«Goldene Königin», «Harzglut» and «Balkonstar» are just some of the tomato varieties available to amateur gardeners at the Green Week. For anyone with green fingers Halls 8.1, 9, 10.1 and 11.1 are bound to provide the ideal plant for the home, balcony or garden. Visitors will be able to discover and buy not only flower bulbs and an incredible choice of seeds but also a wide range of garden accessories. Anyone in search of a swimming pool for the summer has come to the right place, as have those looking for a conservatory for the colder months, or a log cabin as a second home in green surroundings.
Tour 08: The Organic and Eco Programme
Duration: six to nine hours; distance: three to six kilometres
The Bio Market in Hall 6.2a is always a major attraction for visitors to the Green Week. The organic sector is being represented for the 14th time in Berlin, with more than 60 exhibitors occupying 3’000 square metres. One of the new items at the Green Week is organic coffee from various regions in the tropical rain forest. Connoisseurs can sample such rarities as «Sidamo» from Ethiopia, the strong flavour of «Mandheling» from the island of Sumatra, and spicy «Kachalu» from Colombia. The coffee is grown by small farmers and cooperatives, who are assured of fair payment as well as access to education and medical care. Sustainability is also featured in the Fair Trade section, where an exhibition is being staged to show the various stages in the manufacture of chocolate, from the cocoa bean to the end product in its most delicious form. This will be followed by a quiz about chocolate in which those with a sweet tooth can test their knowledge: and you can judge the quality for yourself at the World Shop, which stocks chocolate and cocoa products produced fairly and ecologically, in all their diversity. Visitors can also sample some fine examples of these sweet delights in the «Café Sí», directly opposite the main stage.
The «nature.tec – Special Show for Renewable Raw Materials» show in Hall 4.2 is concerned with the subjects of «Biogas», «Biofuels», «Heating with Wood», «Forests and Wood», and «Building with Renewable Raw Materials». Biotools will be on display for the first time. Plenty of information will also be provided about organic and ecological aspects in various displays such as the Farm Experience (Hall 3.2) and the show by the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection.
Tour 09: The Shopping Programme
Duration: one full day at the fair; distance: eight kilometres
Welcome to the shoppers´ paradise that is the Green Week. This gourmet´s tour of Germany´s regions and the world features some 1’000 exhibitors who are presenting their delicacies, which can be to be sampled and bought here. There are many indispensable utensils for the preparation of food and beverages, which can turn simple foods into sensational dishes. The Green Week provides a wide overview of what is available in the field of equipment for the home and the kitchen in Halls 6.2, 7.1a, b and c and in Hall 24. Fully equipped kitchens with dishwashers, refrigerators and freezers, ovens, microwaves and coffee makers can also be found here. Visitors from the agricultural sector can order farm machinery here (Hall 26). And in the horticultural section (Halls 8.1, 9 a/c) tree nursery equipment can be purchased, along with flowers and plants, fertilisers and seeds, the entire range of horticultural machinery including hand and power tools, garden sheds, tool sheds and greenhouses, garden and patio equipment, conservatories and pools, including whirlpools.
Tour 10: The Stage and Cookery Show Tour
Duration: two to four hours; distance: 1,0 kilometres
For those who would rather sit than walk around at the Green Week there are plenty of comfortable opportunities to enjoy a wide range of stage and cookery shows. Twenty stages are distributed around the Exhibition Grounds, with round-the-clock games, fun and excitement, as well as musical and artistic performances, hard facts and some curious details too, as well as information and entertainment. The many cookery studios with leading cooks will be providing advice about preparing food, and the pots and pans will be bubbling and steaming at «Power for Life» (Hall 1.2b), the Bio Market Cookery Show (6.2a), the Exhibition and Leisure Centre of the Mark Brandenburg in Hall 26c and the cookery studio of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture in the States Hall – Germany (Hall 20). There will be plenty of infotainment at the Pet Experience show in Hall 1.2a, at the Farm Experience (3.2), nature.tec (4.2), the National Programme for Ecological Cultivation (Hall 6.2a), the Floral Hall (9c), the Village of Your Dreams (21b) and the show by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture (23a), to mention only a few. The many stages featuring Germany´s federal states can always be relied on to provide a fascinating show with a rural accent, as can the combined displays of many different countries such as the partner country Poland (11.2), Ukraine (16), and Russia (2.2).
The largest arena is in the Livestock Hall (25). In these rural surroundings there will be intense excitement in response to such events as the 5th Berlin-Brandenburg Carriage Driving Hall Cup. Musicians and groups of performers in traditional costume will add to the enjoyment, and the public will also be able to enjoy parades of horses and other animals. Just like a stadium the main show ring will be flanked by two rows of viewing stands. Competitions involving equestrian vaulting, the Berlin Chain Saw Champion-ships and Horse Football will add to the entertainment.
Tour 11: The Science Tour for Discoverers of all Ages
Duration: 2,5 hours; distance: 2,0 kilometres
The IGW has a lot more to offer besides culinary delights and the enjoyment of looking at animals. Researchers of every age can also undertake a fascinating tour of discovery and learn about future projects and interesting innovations in all areas of agriculture and the food industry. Hall 2.2 will feature a display by the Scientific Research Institute for Bee Products and apitherapy in the Russian republic of Bashkortostan, focusing on the local honey bees, their lives and their uses. Visitors to the Green Week will find that Hall 4.2, the nature.tec hall, is a veritable researchers´ paradise. Seven of the institutes belonging to the Fraunhofer Society will be presenting their latest achievements and will be providing visitors with some in-depth insights into the world of science. The Farm Experience in Hall 3.2 provides an opportunity for researchers young and old to conduct some fascinating experiments. For example the Federal Ministry of Education and Research is setting up a schools laboratory where, under expert supervision, DNA can be extracted and examined. In the show being organised by the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV) in Hall 23a inquisitive visitors can obtain details about the various topics and conduct experiments too. The Julius Kühn Institute (JKI) offers a concentration of skills in all aspects of plants. In 2011 the focus at the Green Week will be on the wild apple of the Eastern Erzgebirge, one of the characteristic features of the landscape in this region. Visitors can listen to the sounds of different birds and can try to identify them. Plant protection equipment will also be on display, encouraging people to think about the location of trees, thereby helping them to use pesticides more sparingly.
As the Federal Research Centre for Nutrition the Max Rubner Institute is a source of all the important details about this subject. Intensive sensory tests will be carried out to determine, for example. For those in search of even more details about research and science a visit to Hall 9 is recommended. On the stand of the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of Rostock visitors can learn about various study opportunities and find out about new varieties of plants such as the saxifrage «Touran TM Large White», the petunia «Green Circle» and a cucumber which, when cut, gives heart-shaped slices.
