“Ich gewöhne mich nachgerade, nicht Pläne über acht Tage hinaus zu machen, denn der liebe Gott lässt mich doch nicht in seine Karte sehen, und tut ohne Zweifel gut daran.”
“I’m getting used to not making plans for more than eight days, because the good Lord doesn’t let me look at his map, and it’s no doubt a good idea to do so.”
Otto von Bismarck (1815 – 1898)
Time travel to the Middle Ages: Explore Erfurt’s Old Town with DW reporter Lukas Stege! Next to the famous cathedral, he takes a stroll around the historic Krämerbrücke.
The Merchant’s Bridge is the longest inhabited bridge in the world. Then, Lukas takes on a special culinary quest: trying to get hold of a vegetarian Thuringian bratwurst in Erfurt. Find out whether he is successful in the video!
“Kleine Geister jammern über mißlungene Pläne, große eilen zu neuer Tätigkeit. Doch wenn das Ziel, worauf man losstrebt, der Menschenvernunft nicht würdig ist, so sinkt der große Geist zum kleinen herab. Er wandelt mit Kraft, aber nicht im Lichte; er ist der Verschwender seines Vermögens, wenn er nicht Menschenwohl damit einlöset.”
“Small minds whine about failed plans, great ones rush to new activities. But if the goal towards which one is striving is not worthy of human reason, then the great mind sinks down to the small. He walks with power, but not in the light. He is the squanderer of his wealth if he does not redeem it for the good of mankind.”
Sebastian Mutschelle (1749 – 1800), Roman Catholic priest from Germany and writer during the Enlightenment.
Salvete! DW Travel host Lukas Stege follows in the Romans’ footsteps through Germany. Accompany him on his journey along the līmes – the border between the Roman Empire and Germany – from Cologne to the Saalburg, a reconstructed Roman fort close to Frankfurt.
This is an extract from Julius Caesar’s ‘Commentaries on the Gallic Wars’, first published between 58 and 49 BC. In 60 BC Rome was not yet an empire, but soon it would be. The momentous events of the next decades, many of which were put into motion by the famed politician Julius Caesar, were some of the most important and formative of the Western World.
We tell this story directly from the words of Caesar himself. Starting with his masterpiece ‘Commentaries on the Gallic Wars’ – first published over two thousand years ago yet still widely read all over the world today.
The Technical University of Dortmund in Germany:
What will the city look like in the future? How do we deal with climate change? What will tomorrow’s transportation look like? How do we use the limited space we have? Spatial planning is an interdisciplinary engineering and social science field that deals with spatial developments in living, working and environmental conditions.
The different spatial levels range from the living environment and residential quarter to the urban district, the city as a whole, the region, the state and federal levels, and even the European and international levels. On all spatial levels, different technical orientations, such as urban development, housing, traffic, landscape, are considered in their interdependent relationships and effects.
Stephen Richards Covey (1932 – 2012) was an American educator, author, businessman, and keynote speaker. His most popular book is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. His other books include First Things First, Principle-Centered Leadership, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families, The 8th Habit, and The Leader In Me: How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Child at a Time.
A viewer of the video summarized: Three principles for effective weekly planning: 1. Review mission and roles (in work, community, home; don’t forget the “relationship” with yourself) 2. Choose big rocks i.e. the single most critical task that will move the needle. 3. Schedule the week i.e. dedicate time and plan the big rock activity into your schedule. Then plan other activities around it.
The Schlieffen Plan was the blueprint for Germany’s army to avoid a two-front war with Russia and France. It was supposed to be the solution for a quick victory against arch enemy France by invading Belgium and the Netherlands to circumvent French defenses.
Helmut von Moltke adapted the original plan by Alfred von Schlieffen and ultimately failed when the Germans were beaten at the Battle of the Marne. The video explains the numerous reasons why the Schlieffen Plan was doomed to fail.
Wikipedia in German defines Planung as: Planning describes the human capability or activity of thoughtful – or thought-anticipation – of actions that appear to be necessary in order to reach a goal.
Die Planung beschreibt die menschliche Fähigkeit Fähigkeit oder Tätigkeit zur gedanklichen Vorwegnahme von Handlungsschritten, die zur Erreichung eines Zieles notwendig scheinen.
Nürnberg was one of Germany’s — in fact Europe’s — leading cities 500 years ago, and was an industrial marvel. The scenic remnants of its hard medieval past are now just an added dimension of a delightfully people-friendly historic center.