Borussia Dortmund Blueprint Enables Them to Attract Europe's Best Young Talent

They are still teenagers, but Ousmane Dembele and Christian Pulisic are already key pieces for Dortmund.TF-Images/Getty Images Andy BrassellFeatured ColumnistMarch 8, 2017

On Wednesday, Borussia Dortmund will enter into the biggest match of their season so far, and one which will go a long way toward defining the relative success of their season. There is little margin for error as they receive Benfica for the return leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, backed by the famous Yellow Wall but lacking the safety net of an away goal in hand.

They will not, however, stray too far from their principles. The task of supporting 25-goal Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will most likely fall to a pair of teenagers, the 19-year-old Ousmane Dembele and Christian Pulisic, who is still 18. There are few clubs who would embrace such a strategy for a crucial sellout match to be played in front of 65,000-plus.

Then again, Dortmund are not just any club, and the pair are not just any teenagers. If the club's commercial department has shaped BVB's public image around the motto of Echte Liebe ("real love"), drawing heavily on the passion of the Westfalen atmosphere, then the football side of the operation has carved its own, complementary niche of outlook in attracting the brightest young talent from across Europe to create a squad for the future.

In the last two transfer windows alone, Dortmund have signed five players 22 years old and under for transfer fees adding up to an estimated €40 million. Three of the those (the last of which was the January arrival of Swedish sensation Alexander Isak) were teenagers.

At most other top-level clubs, this might be seen as a cynical stockpiling of potential stars of the future to keep them from the clutches of competitors and as future transfer-market collateral. The big difference is that at Dortmund they're not kept parked on the drive for show. They play.

Let's look at last summer's arrivals. Dembele has already become a cornerstone of BVB's attack. Raphael Guerreiro, a relative veteran at 23, has been held up by a couple of minor injuries, but he is also regarded as important to the first team already and is almost always a starter when fit.

Emre Mor, at 19 and having arrived from Danish football, has already received five starts. The 20-year-old midfielder Mikel Merino, who has made two Bundesliga starts, is regarded as important enough to the immediate future that Dortmund have kept him around the first team despite his lack of match action. It was clearly felt that he is best where he is, continuing to learn the ropes.

Merino's case is an interesting one. Many other clubs would loan him out to get him game time, experience and—maybe with a view to cashing in if the right offer came up—visibility. Yet BVB believe obviously he is in the perfect place to improve already.

Mikel Merino has stayed at Dortmund to continue his integration into the squad's methods.TF-Images/Getty Images

Part of that is with an eye to the future, of course. Julian Weigl, a relative veteran at 21 but who signed from 1860 Munich at 19, is surely coveted among a clutch of Europe's biggest clubs. Even if he signed an extended deal to 2021 before Christmas, as per Bundesliga.com, it could be that one day, Merino may well get the call to replace him.  

Stocking up in terms of real depth of talent is the best insurance policy for this sort of future occurrence that Dortmund could have. That opportunity to shine at the top level is important in attracting the best—after they have been spotted by head of scouting Sven Mislintat, who uncovered players including Robert Lewandowski and Shinji Kagawa—but so is the possibility of making that step up to elite level after a while. 

This is nothing new with Dortmund, of course, where the perception is just as important as the detail of the reality when it comes to attracting players.

Jurgen Klopp's successful teams, and their success in grabbing worldwide media attention, clearly enhanced Dortmund's reputation as a go-to destination—and the image of his teams was an overwhelmingly youthful one. Seven of the starters in the 2013 Champions League final defeat to Bayern Munich were 24 and under, with four more of the same age bracket—led by Nuri Sahin—on the bench.

In the first of Klopp's two title-winning seasons, 2010-11, his most-used outfield players in the Bundesliga included Mats Hummels (who was 21 when the season began), Kevin Grosskreutz (22), Sahin (22), Sven Bender (19) and Mario Gotze (18).

Germany's ability to develop players of the highest technical level has risen stratospherically over the last 15 years, as noted in Raphael Honigstein's book Das Reboot, for one.

At Dortmund, the desire to do so is even more intense, with the use of the pioneering Footbonaut, which arrived in Klopp's reign. A good example of its use was detailed by Goal.com here last October. It was administered, until recently, by Pulisic's father Mark, who has just left his job as an academy coach there.

"Kids want change," said Pulisic senior. "Kids like things to be different." He might have been talking about the Footbonaut, but that principle is just as applicable to Dortmund as a whole. The opportunity is the carrot at the end of the line, but the attention to detail is what maintains focus on a day-to-day basis.

In the last two years, Tuchel has been integral to those methods. "He is a very special coach, who attaches great importance to tactics," Gotze said during the club's training camp this winter, as per ESPN FC. He also noted Tuchel's intense coaching during the games themselves, which Gotze said was "something I have never seen before."

Mario Gotze has been impressed by Thomas Tuchel's intensive work with the club's youngest players.TF-Images/Getty Images

So even since Gotze's first BVB spell, things have developed apace. His transfer to Bayern Munich in 2013, and Lewandowski's later move south, hardened resolve to find a workable alternative strategy, as a reminder that BVB can't quite compete financially. Getting the talent early makes perfect sense.

Whether Tuchel will be around to preside over it much longer is open to debate, with talks planned on his future with CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke at the end of the season. Tuchel's relationship with Mislintat has reportedly fizzled to non-existent, according to multiple reports cited by ESPN FC.

The coach has been open that much of the recruitment goes on without him, led by Watzke and sporting director Michael Zorc, on Mislintat's recommendations. "I found out very late that we signed him," he said of January's signing of Isak, per the Mirror. "I was told about the transfer last week and when he was introduced to me," he continued, though he did add that "the signing made 100 per cent sense for BVB."

Whether Tuchel stays or goes, that strategy will remain the same. Quite how far it can take them—and how quickly these young players are ready to seize gala occasions by the horns—will become clearer against Benfica. That they have the chance to will surely attract the cream of the next generation, home and abroad.

Source: Borussia Dortmund Blueprint Enables Them to Attract Europe's Best Young Talent

Norwegian adds new European destination from T.F. Green Airport

Norwegian Air Shuttle announced Tuesday that it will begin service from T.F. Green Airport to Bergen, Norway, beginning in July.

The airline will also fly between Bergen and Stewart International Airport in Orange County, New York.

"We are pleased to launch these two new routes from New York and Rhode Island to Bergen so that thousands of Americans and Norwegians can fly cheaply and comfortably between the east coast of the United States and the west coast of Norway," Thomas Ramdahl, chief commercial officer at Norwegian, said in a new release.

Norwegian says it will operate the Bergen routes with the new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.

Norwegian said its new Scandinavian routes will operate during the summer and are available for purchase on its website. Fares start as low as $89 one-way, including taxes. Flights will operate twice weekly from Providence on Tuesdays and Saturdays beginning on July 1.

Norwegian previously announced service from T.F. Green Airport to Scotland would begin in June and service to Ireland and Northern Ireland would launch in July.

Source: Norwegian adds new European destination from T.F. Green Airport

U.S. to Europe for $100? Enter the Battle of the Atlantic Airlines

Norwegian Air wants to break into America, but the old lions of flying are fighting back. The bargain comes at a price though, namely comfort.

LONDON—Flying the Atlantic between America and Europe shouldn't be the big deal it still seems to be, but an aura lingers. It was the first great leap made as aviation began to shrink the globe, and some of that heritage clings to the imagination. The reality is, however, that most of the world is now served by a network of routes involving longer distances, some much longer and far more exotic.

But history confers an advantage to the airlines that pioneered flying the pond and we, the passengers, end up paying for that. Almost 80 percent of transatlantic traffic is controlled by Delta, United, and American, together with their European partners like British Airways, Iberia, Virgin Atlantic, and Alitalia. They would like to keep it that way, but there is a new competitor in the game.

Norwegian Air International, regardless of its name, is based in Ireland. And what's really interesting about their strategy is not just that it aims to bring budget prices to every flight but that it may finally break the grip of the idea that there's always a premium to be paid simply because an airline has been flying across the Atlantic since the 1950s.

The role played by Ireland in this is pivotal. The three major American carriers, American, Delta, and United, who have fought to keep Norwegian out of U.S. air space (so far unsuccessfully), have claimed that by registering the airline in Ireland rather than Norway allows Norwegian to take advantage of Ireland's far lower corporate taxes, as well as copying the low wages model of Europe's largest budget airline, Ryanair, an Irish enterprise. Naturally, the unions working for those U.S. airlines are supporting that same attack.

That may all be true, but Norwegian is smarter than that. They are exploiting Ireland's geographical advantage as a gateway destination for Europe. Flying between North America and Ireland cuts at least an hour off the flight time to U.K. airports and at least two hours off flight times to European capitals. On the faster eastbound flights that means only five hours, similar to flying between the two coasts in America and a difference that shows up in less fatigue and jet lag.

That's not just a geographical expedient. Ireland isn't simply a country to pass through on your way to somewhere else. It's one of Europe's most engaging destinations that has become as sophisticated as any in delivering high quality hotels and restaurants, not to mention its natural appeal to golfers, fishermen, and equestrians. Both Cork and Shannon airports are close to places of gob-smacking beauty. Moreover, many Americans have Irish lineage.

A major part of the lock that the American and European legacy airlines have on North Atlantic routes is their control of the gates at the major hubs. London's Heathrow, for example, normally operating at 99 percent of its capacity, has no gates available for airline newcomers even if they were ready to pay that airport's stiff fees.

Like all other budget airlines, Norwegian has worked around this lockout by using airports where gates are available. Since 2014 Norwegian has been flying to the United States out of London's Gatwick airport, where the gates were to be had and the airport fees are lower than at Heathrow. They serve New York, Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Oakland.

As well as undercutting British Airways on long-haul fares from Gatwick, Norwegian flies only Boeing 787 Dreamliners, an airplane that regular long-haul passengers prefer because of its superior cabin environment, particularly noticeable in the way it diminishes the effects of jet lag. These flights include premium economy class with round-trip fares of around $1,120 that are attracting business class passengers.

But at peak summer times the price difference between Norwegian and other airlines flying out of Gatwick has been marginal. Norwegian passengers have to pay extra for pre-chosen seats, food, and baggage and when that is added to the peak time price it more or less matches what you pay on an airline where those things are free—on some dates checked by online bookers Virgin Atlantic from Heathrow was actually cheaper.

The new routes to Ireland this summer are different. They are based on a more utilitarian model, offering bare bones fares without any extras for as little as $100 eastbound and $200 westbound (a difference explained by higher European airport fees). They will fly into Belfast (Northern Ireland), Dublin, Shannon, and Cork. (There are also flights to Edinburgh.) And they are different in another way that you will feel with your butt.

They won't have the cabin comforts of the twin-aisle Dreamliner. Instead, passengers will find the familiar narrow tube of the ubiquitous Boeing 737, albeit a new iteration called the 737Max. The Max could well stand for maximum profits, minimum room. The dimensions of the 737's cabin, and critically its width, were fixed when the airplane was designed in 1968, and even though a kind of trompe l'loeil remodeling of the cabin, including easier to use luggage bins and other details have improved the look the seats remain very tight and a serious challenge for anyone weighing more than 180 pounds.

But Norwegian's biggest gamble is their choice of departure airports—Stewart in New York (at least 90 minutes north of Manhattan); Bradley International at Hartford in Connecticut; and T.F. Green airport at Providence, Rhode Island. There are inherent virtues in each of these airports. Given their potential capacity, they are under-used. Time spent going through security should be a breeze compared to the New York and New Jersey experience. And for people who don't actually live in New York, or Boston, getting out of town is not a hurdle.

But reverse the view: Europeans flying into these airports face costly rides to reach the major tourist destinations. This is a familiar gambit of budget airlines, the destination that isn't: Ryanair, for example, once listed Frankfurt as a destination, whereas the actual airport they used was 75 miles from Frankfurt. There is a virtue in off-center airports if they have a natural local market, like Westchester, New York, and of those selected by Norwegian Bradley already has good services to other airports in the U.S. The test will be whether Europeans feel happy about being off-center when they land.

Norwegian's strategy is the creation of Bjorn Kjos, a 70-year-old former fighter pilot, the airline's chief executive. He is following a long line of airline chiefs who have tried to break the stranglehold of the legacy airlines. These include Richard Branson, who had to overcome a long and dirty war with British Airways before Virgin Atlantic was accepted as a distinctive brand, eventually building its market on style rather than cheaper fares, and Freddie Laker, who launched his Skytrain no-frills transatlantic airline in 1977 after several years of vicious opposition from other airlines. His opponents never relented, and after several years Laker went bankrupt, a true visionary who more than any other had really proved the model for budget airlines.

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But the first to challenge the regime of tightly-rigged fares over the Atlantic was actually an American aviation legend, Juan Trippe, the creator and czar of Pan Am.

When passenger flights over the pond resumed after World War II the fares and even the number of seats were dictated by a body representing all international airlines, the International Air Transport Association, IATA. It was at that time a cartel dominated by Europeans who insisted that the air travel business model should be based on it being a naturally elitist privilege, and people who wanted to cross the Atlantic cheaply should go steerage in one of the ocean liners.

Trippe introduced the first tourist class fare from New York to London, cutting the round-trip price by more than half, to $275, but the British closed their airports to Pan Am flights with tourist seats, forcing him to land in Shannon. Thwarted in Europe, Trippe brought the same value to flights between New York and San Juan, Puerto Rico, where the one-way fare was $75 and the flights were packed.

It was not until 1952 that Trippe's incessant bombardment of IATA forced all the airlines to accept the concept of a tourist fare. That summer Pan Am introduced a round-trip fare of $486 between New York and London. That's the equivalent of $2,200 today, and so it still remained beyond the reach of many travelers, but it was the first step in a revolution, largely pushed by Trippe, to democratize air travel.

And it may well be that Norwegian is the harbinger of another step change in making travel between North America and Europe more accessible. "It's an interesting and challenging move into new terrain" says Craig Jenks, the president of a Airline/Aircraft Projects, an analyst based in New York.

Both the 787 and 737 Max have the latest generation of jet engines. They are between 15 and 20 percent more fuel efficient. The legacy airlines are still flying gas guzzlers across the Atlantic—British Airways, for example, flies 747s that are more than 20 years old. This gives Norwegian an edge that combined with high-density seating (a polite phrase) is a far more competitive business model.

Jenks points out that three European airlines planning to respond to the Norwegian challenge by launching new long-haul budget airlines—IAG (the parent of British Airways and Iberia), Lufthansa, and Air France—will be using older, less efficient airplanes because of long waiting lists for new generation jets.

These days, when an airline chief considers buying a new airplane, he's not actually looking at an airplane, he's looking at a business model. There is none of the romance associated with pioneering the original routes in this calculation. Algorithms dictate optimum capacity for each route and the fares that ensure a profit.

It's a relatively simple equation: what is the most efficient way to fly X number of seats a specific distance? This is calculated down to the last penny. It determines every feature of an airplane as it is designed. It applies whether the airplane is sized to fly the longest transoceanic routes or between North America and Ireland, which in the reality of now is almost like a short bus journey for which the only technical challenge is really how to pack 'em in and sell 'em cheap. Using this formula, can Air Walmart be far behind?

Source: U.S. to Europe for $100? Enter the Battle of the Atlantic Airlines

RANKED: The 7 cheapest holiday destinations in Europe

A meal for two in Turkey will only cost you £13.84.Tatiana Popova/Shutterstock

Airport transfer website Hoppa recently released its annual report on the cheapest and most expensive holiday destinations in the world, revealing the most affordable places in Europe for a vacation.

The average cost of a one night stay per person was analysed in 84 places around the globe to produce the ranking.

The total per person includes the split cost of a hotel room, a meal for two with a shared bottle of wine, a shared 3km taxi journey, as well as a coffee, a cocktail, and a beer each.

Hoppa's report also looked at other features like the cost of a sightseeing bus and key attractions, although they are not included in this ranking.

From the beaches of Greece to Bulgaria's historical landmarks, here are the seven cheapest holiday destinations in Europe in 2017. They are ranked by the average all-in price per person per night, alongside a breakdown of how you'll spend your money in each place.

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Source: RANKED: The 7 cheapest holiday destinations in Europe

Britain is one of worst places in western Europe for asylum seekers

Members of the rightwing nationalist Britain First group protest against immigration in central London. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

Britain is one of the worst destinations for people seeking asylum in western Europe, according to a Guardian analysis of policies, data and reports of the conditions faced by the record recent influx of new arrivals.

At the start of a year-long project with three other newspapers on Europe's refugee crisis, the Guardian has analysed the experience of refugees and asylum seekers in the European Union's big five nations – the UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy – and found the conditions in Britain do not compare well.

Only Italy, on the frontline of hundreds of thousands of people crossing the Mediterranean, fares worse.

The analysis found that Britain takes fewer refugees, offers less generous financial support, provides housing that is often substandard, does not give asylum seekers the right to work, has been known to punish those who volunteer and routinely forces people into destitution and even homelessness when they are granted refugee status due to bureaucratic delays.

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"We know it should be better. We know it could be improved," said Alex Fraser, director of refugee support at the British Red Cross. "Roughly 3% of asylum applications in Europe were lodged in the UK. I don't think we will see a reduction … by making the experience tougher. All it will do is make the experience of people in the system more difficult.

"Given this extraordinary moment we're having in the world at the moment, record numbers of people seeking protection, we should do everything we can to make the experience of people who have been torn apart from their families better than it is today."

The refugee crisis has turned European politics upside down. The number of asylum seekers in Europe has soared over the past 10 years. In that time claims have increased fivefold to more than 1.2m last year, unleashing a populist backlash that could yet affect the outcome of elections in France and Germany this year.

Britain consistently has the lowest approval rates for asylum seeker claims of the five countries.

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"The average grant rate in Europe is 63-65%," said Fraser, which compares with a grant rate of roughly a third in the UK, dropping to 28% in the third quarter of 2016, which Fraser called "really low".

"It also seems like we have got a gradual reduction in grants at initial decision and a higher rate of decisions overturned at appeal and that says something about the quality of decisions," said Fraser.

Britain has also been rebuked for not taking its "fair share" of refugees. In 2016, Britain received 38,517 applications for asylum (one per 1,664 people in the population). This compares with 722,370 claims in Germany (one per 112), 123,432 in Italy (one per 485), and 85,244 in France (one per 775). The only western European country home to fewer asylum seekers is Spain, which had 15,500 applications in 2016 (one per 2,971).

On top of this, most of these countries are involved in refugee resettlement programmes with more ambitious aims than the UK's commitment to taking 20,000 Syrian refugees from refugee camps by 2020.

France, which has a similar population to Britain, will take 30,000 Syrian refugees by the end of 2017. Germany will begin a new humanitarian programme in 2017 to resettle 13,700 of the Syrians living in Turkey, despite the fact that an estimated 600,000 Syrians have arrived in Germany since the outbreak of war in 2011.

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The British government also provides less in the way of financial support for asylum seekers than Spain, France and Germany (though not Italy). While people wait to hear if they have been granted asylum in Britain they are provided accommodation and £36.95 a week to cover food, clothing, toiletries, transport and all other costs.

In France, asylum seekers are given almost double this amount – €11 (£9.40) a day, or £65.59 a week – as well as accommodation. In December 2016, the French Council of State found that this rate was "manifestly insufficient" and ordered the French government to increase it in early 2017.

In Spain, asylum seekers are either housed in refugee reception centres where they are provided with food, clothing and other essentials and a small cash allowance, or in apartments, where they receive up to €300 (£256) a month to cover expenses and food. Germany gives asylum seekers €31.15 (£26.50) a week on top of accommodation, but this does not have to cover their food, as it does in Britain.

The condition of the accommodation provided for asylum seekers in Britain has also been condemned. A recent home affairs select committee report into asylum housing said the quality of accommodation provided to asylum seekers was "disgraceful" and cited cases of mice, rats and bed bugs.

Britain is also the only country out of the five examined that does not set a maximum time limit for holding asylum seekers in detention facilities and the only country that does not allow unaccompanied children who arrive and claim asylum the right to apply to be reunited with their parents.

Judith Dennis, policy manager for the Refugee Council, said a major concern was the high rate of destitution and homelessness experienced by refugees in Britain.

After being granted refugee status, people stop receiving the support they have been getting as an asylum seeker and must apply to receive mainstream benefits and have 28 days to leave the accommodation provided to them by the Home Office. Because of the difficulties involved in applying for benefits, very few refugees are able to register for benefits in this 28-day period, forcing them to go to food banks and charities for food and meaning many find themselves homeless.

"What we do is force [refugees] into homelessness and destitution almost routinely," said Dennis. "It's hard to see how someone without an advocate or a special need that makes them a priority for council housing will be able to move on within 28 days. We would expect the majority of those who have to source private sector housing will become homeless."

Britain also has the strictest restrictions on asylum seekers working. They are not allowed into paid employment unless they have been waiting to hear about their asylum claim for 12 months. Then they are only allowed to work in occupations featured on the government's "shortage occupations" list, a limited set of professions including classical ballet dancers, orchestral musicians, medical practitioners and engineers.

Fraser said that while on paper asylum seekers were allowed to work, he had never met one who was able to. "It doesn't seem to be a reality," he said.

This contrasts with Spain where asylum seekers can work from the day they apply for asylum and are given their "red card" identification document. Vocational and language training classes are organised at Spanish reception centres in which asylum seekers first live to help them find work. In Italy, asylum seekers can work after six months. In Germany, asylum seekers can apply for work three months after submitting their asylum claim, with certain vetting conditions. In France asylum seekers can work nine months after applying for asylum in limited occupations.

In a parliamentary debate about the right of asylum seekers to work in January, Sarah Newton, a parliamentary undersecretary of state at the Home Office, said the government opposed giving asylum seekers the right to work in order to ensure "that access to jobs is prioritised for British citizens and those with leave to remain" and to avoid a "pull factor" for asylum seekers.

This project is funded by the European Journalism Centre via a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

If you arrived in the the UK as a refugee or work with refugees, we would like to hear from you. We would like to find out about initiatives that are working well and also the challenges of integrating into local communities.

Share your stories and experiences, anonymously if you prefer, in the encrypted form below. We will do our best to ensure your responses are kept secure and confidential. A selection of contributions will be featured in our reporting.

Source: Britain is one of worst places in western Europe for asylum seekers

Adventures by Disney announces new themed european river cruise vacations

Adventures by Disney, a leader in guided group travel worldwide, recently revealed new enhanced river cruise vacation offerings for 2018, including options for special Beauty and the Beast themed experiences along Europe's Rhine river, and adult-exclusive epicurean style experiences along both the Rhine and Danube rivers.

Adventures by Disney river cruise guests sail aboard a river cruise ship custom built by AmaWaterways with families in mind. New family-friendly design elements include specific room configurations, including six sets of connecting staterooms, as well as some rooms and suites that accommodate three- and four-person families, and other unique details that lend themselves to luxury family vacations. (Chloe Rice, photographer)

Sailing with AmaWaterways, a premier luxury river cruise line, Adventures by Disney river cruises offer a new way for families to explore the heart of Europe in a way that is active, immersive and easy. In 2018, Adventures by Disney will offer exciting new experiences on its European river cruises, including special experiences celebrating Beauty and the Beast on the popular Rhine river sailings.

Adventures by Disney Rhine river cruises aboard the AmaKristina give travelers the opportunity to revel in the beauty of four countries – France, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands. Whether riding a toboggan and hiking in the Black Forest, exploring the famous storybook Heidelberg Castle, or sampling wine in a medieval basement wine cave, these eight-day, seven-night vacations pair unforgettable adventures in port with luxurious river cruise accommodations and amenities onboard.

On six departures in 2018, travelers will celebrate the quaint villages and culture that inspired the Beauty and the Beast films and savor special experiences. They'll be immersed in a tale as old as time during a Beauty and the Beast themed dinner, as well as other unique culinary experiences inspired by the film. Families can enjoy screenings of both the live-action and animated versions of the film onboard, then become part of this beloved story as they tour Riquewihr, an idyllic French village that is as picturesque as Belle's hometown from the movie.

Adventures by Disney will also double the number of popular food and wine themed sailings along the Rhine in 2018, offering two epicurean sailings during the fall. Hosted by renowned chefs and sommeliers, these adult-exclusive sailings will serve up extraordinary food and beverage experiences both on and off the ship. Highlights include activities such as wine tasting, gourmet demonstrations and workshops, culinary walking tours in several ports, a French patisserie class, local beer and wine pairings, craft cocktail blending seminars and more. These cruises were inspired by popular food and beverage offerings throughout Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, such as the fan-favorite Epcot International Food & Wine Festival and Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival.

Danube River Cruises Offering Something for Everyone

In 2018, Adventures by Disney will also offer six departures of its popular Danube river cruises aboard the AmaViola. In addition to bringing back another season of summertime and themed holiday sailings, there will be an all-new adult-exclusive Oktoberfest sailing in September 2018. This special itinerary will visit Germany during the iconic yearly Oktoberfest celebration, and will include festive themed parties and culinary treats both on and off the ship.

These eight-day, seven-night vacations will visit iconic locations and hidden gems in four countries – Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. From revisiting scenes from the movie "The Sound of Music" in Salzburg and exploring Devin Castle in Bratislava to taking a traditional Austrian folk dancing lesson in Melk, the opportunities for exploration on these Danube adventures are seemingly endless.

Designed with guests of all ages in mind, each Adventures by Disney river cruise sailing focuses on variety and flexibility, allowing travelers to customize their trip by choosing from a wealth of activity options offered both in port and onboard.

"For 2018, we looked to find exciting new ways to make our incredibly popular river cruises even more enticing to every type of traveler," said Ken Potrock, senior vice president of Adventures by Disney. "By increasing the number of special themed sailings along the Rhine and Danube rivers we now offer more choices than ever for our guests. Whether you're looking to explore the storybook setting of Beauty and the Beast, wine and dine on local specialties during interactive epicurean workshops, stroll charming European Christmas Markets or celebrate during rousing Oktoberfest festivities, Adventures by Disney has carefully crafted personalized vacation experiences to suit your interests and tastes."

Adventures by Disney guests sail aboard river cruise ships that were custom built by AmaWaterways with families in mind. Design elements include sets of connecting staterooms and suites, some of which accommodate three- and four-person families. Adventures by Disney also worked closely with AmaWaterways to reimagine shipboard spaces and activities, offering unique programming for kids, teens and adults.

"AmaWaterways is excited to expand our relationship with Adventures by Disney and looks forward to welcoming the family travel market to some of Europe's most unforgettable river cruise destinations in 2018," said Kristin Karst, executive vice president and co-owner of AmaWaterways. "A river cruise with AmaWaterways and Adventures by Disney gives families the opportunity to immerse themselves in the rich traditions of Europe's most breathtaking destinations, and children, parents and grandparents will have meaningful and magical experiences together!"

These new river cruises complement a lineup of more than 30 other Adventures by Disney guided group land-based vacations to destinations on six continents. Adventures by Disney trips take guests off the beaten path in search of the culture, art and unique stories intrinsic to each destination visited.

Bookings for 2018 river cruise vacations open on March 2, 2017. To book, call 1-800-543-0865 or contact a travel agent.

Source: Adventures by Disney announces new themed european river cruise vacations

Europe goes bananas on Colombian fruit exports

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Source: Europe goes bananas on Colombian fruit exports