19 Dec GERMAN NATIONAL TOURIST BOARD GATHERED TRAVEL AGENTS IN ZAGREB WINTER WONDERLAND TOUR
It’s a holiday time and everybody in the corporate world is gathering together to sum up the year and to toast to the positive future cooperation. As everybody wants to feel like child again, at least sometimes, for our client German National Tourist Board and due to their yearly gathering with Zagreb travel agents we organised the event that was a little bit different, and a little bit adventurous.
Winter Wonderland tour in Zagreb
It’s a rare custom to be a tourist in your own city, and what a great opportunity to organize a thematic Winter Wonderland Tour exactly now during the wonderful Advent time in Zagreb. The place to be when we talk about the most beautiful and diverse European Christmas markets. Every year the Christmas programme in the Croatian capital has got better and better, earning the city a nomination among 20 European cities this year , and finally voted the „Best European Christmas Market“ by travellers on portal European Best Destinations.
A thematic Zagreb tour was led under creative guidance of Iva Silla from Secret Zagreb who not only did a wonderful storytelling but also suprised us with funny little presents at every step. Cheerfull group of ten travel agents that are in charge of outgoing business to European destinations had the opportunity to wander through Zagreb Upper and Downtown visiting the most important attractions and Advent features. Interesting thing is that the major Advent customs in the city as well as history attractions and stories have a great connections to German tradition, and it was amazing to hear Iva’s stories on this topics. For sure, altogether we have learnt many things that we didn’t know or maybe forgot from our history lessons in the school.
Reception dinner at Wine Bar Pod Zidom
Two hours of walking, having fun and smiling all the way was also a great opportunity to spend time with colleagues and friends who you don’t see often, especially not in this leisurly way where everybody feels more unstressed from daily commitments. After the tour was finished we organized a dinner in Wine bar „Pod Zidom“ in the centre of the city, and again had time for extra moments of humourising about everday travel agents business situations, but as well to remember some great moment from study trips and familiar events and meetings.
Enjoying the creative choice of tapas and wine, along with a few words about Germany travel goals, incoming fairs, and further Germany travel promotion opportunities in 2017 made this event a pleasant way to network, find out useful advices and to laugh a lot with people that truly live the tourism professionaly and privately for many many years.
We also prepared our boots for Saint Nicholas
The funny part of the whole gathering story was that it was organized on 6th of December, the date when we celebrate Saint Nicholas’ Day, Christian festival with particular regard to Saint Nicholas reputation as a bringer of gifts. Following the tradition in Roman Catholic areas of southern Germany, such as Bavaria, Sankt Nikolaus still comes as a bishop with flowing beard and a bishop’s miter and staff. Houses are thoroughly cleaned and children clean and polish their shoes or boots in preparation for the saint’s visit. On the evening before St. Nicholas Day, children put letters to the good saint along with carrots or other food for his white horse or donkey on a plate or in their shoes.
These are left outside, under the bed, beside a radiator, or on a windowsill in hopes of finding goodies from St. Nicholas the next morning. During the night Sankt Nikolaus goes from house to house carrying a book in which all the children’s deeds are written. If they have been good, he fills their plate, shoe or boot with delicious fruits, nuts and candies. If not, they may find potatoes, coal, or twigs.
The tradition is also alive in Croatia, well, more simplier form of it, but children also have to clean up their boots and put them on the window before going to bed on 5th of December, and then in the morning they will see whether they have been good enough to get gifts like chocolates, candies and fruits, or have been behaving badly during the year, and deserved the twig from the Saint Nicholas companion Crampus who is in charge of those who need to get some improvement in the behaviour.
As our travel agents were really good this year for them we also prepared linen boots with chocolate pralines, but as everbody can even be better next year we didn’t forget about golden twig that will remind them of a childhood and playful moments.
Germany National Tourist Board makes a great efforts in Germany tourism promotion in Croatia, and due to the yearly topic works creatively on organizing different PR and marketing activites to inspire and motivate even greater growth in number of passengers.
#EnjoyGermanNature
Photo credits: magic4.club