Dear Reader

Summer in Toronto sizzles! There is so much to do that it is hard to choose. Festivals are the biggest things in this town. From jazz fests to Caribbana, over comedy and ethnically cultural fests like Carabram and everything in-between the choices are endless; and anyone getting bored in this city must be somewhat comatose. We sampled only a few of these events for you – and by the way, almost all of them were free for the enjoyment- because we generally, honestly, did not feel like working much. And as the asphalt got hotter and hotter under our sandal clad feet we felt the need to escape to the lake, our lake, well, you know, our secret or not so secret retreat on Lake Erie, where air conditioning is turned on only at night to ensure a restful sleep. Otherwise the winds caress our sun-drenched bodies on the dunes.

Everyone else we know also did the same, went to interesting cultural venues, had B-B-Qs in the garden…(We actually have one every weekend for a different set of friends and I hope we are not running out of weekends), escaped to the countryside, a lake, a beach, a cool coast to cast off from, and really too much to write about. Why, because it is too hot and it is summer, which is entirely too short to get seriously working.

Do you understand what I am saying? We shed our German workaholic attitude. We are finally getting that all Canadian feeling about life, were too much work in the summer is sinful.

Sometimes one can combine work with pleasure, something we aspire to as well and quite successfully so. One such event occurred at a book launch, where we felt as though we were in a tropical setting, even though it was downtown Toronto, with palm trees! The most wonderful surprise was meeting up with a Swiss Master Chocolatier Ingrid Läderach Steven, owner of, you guessed it, Swiss Master Chocolatier Toronto. We will meet up with her soon to ask her about some interesting tidbits on the subject of chocolate confections. In the meantime you can visit this Swiss delight on the web under www.swissmaster.com.

Of course we enjoyed following the success of the Austrian team at the FIFA Youth World Cup.

A young Austrian compatriot living currently in Toronto, Bernd Fleissinger, spotted some team members in Toronto before the teams last game and had his picture taken with them, which you can enjoy in this issue.

When the Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger visited Toronto we decided to avoid the media circus and admire from afar. We used some of that time to continue working on our future, namely working on the surveys that we had put out. This gives me cause to thank everyone who participated and assisted Mrs. Daniela Rausch and Echo Germanica in her effort. We will share some of the findings with you in the near future, as we set about implementing some changes.

Often times we receive the most interesting information through our highly successful website from all over the world. Tom Schneider from Cologne, Germany, tells us about Verein Germano-Philia e.V. in Togo, where folks are trying to keep the German culture alive. Please visit their website a www.germanophilia.de and be surprised.

Anyway, back to summer and its pleasures. There are a few outstanding events coming up in our community too, including our summer picnics. Perhaps we see some of you there!

Until next time, stay cool… and feel free to tell us your summer/travel experiences.

Sybille Forster-Rentmeister