01/2008 from 16 Januar - With competition for high potentials increasing, consider how the Amazing sites can support your corporate strategy. With rankings today taking so many soft factors into consideration, how can we help you attract new international professionals to the Dusseldorf region?

Amazing Beijing will perform an important service when the eyes of the world focus on the Olympics in China during August this year. Over the next few months, we will be offering our clients unique marketing and communications opportunities around the globe.

Take advantage of early booking of this highly innovative and effective marketing strategy and discover the high quality and multifaceted approach we are taking.

Learn more about our clients successes already experienced in China through the Amazing Dusseldorf site. Amazing Beijing offers a better way to promote effectively and efficiently at the Olympics.

 

23/2007 from 21 December - We are especially pleased at this time to introduce you to two local city partners giving us their support.

Düsseldorf Marketing & Tourismus is a strong organisation, seventy-five percent owned directly by the City, which channels activities to promote Dusseldorf. Present at many international fairs, developing incoming activities and running many events, they have generated more tourism lately.

Düsseldorf Congress, which is jointly owned by the trade fair and the City, plans and organises all manner of congresses and events in their Congress Center Düsseldorf. The company can also offer a very diverse portfolio of locations dotted around the city.

We have already informed of expansion taken across cultures this Christmas, so keep your eyes open for our poster campaign throughout the city. And watch this space early in the new year, when we reveal the first geographical expansion to an exciting new place.

I would like to personally thank all those patient individuals and innovative companies for joining our project during this launch year. We are extremely excited about the future and have already welcomed new employees to our company. Good luck to you all, if we can be of assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

 

22/2007 from 6 December - The region of today's NRW has traditionally been one of high foreign population influx, whether from the west or the east. One only has to read a few names on the doors of residential property to discover roots in France, Poland, the Netherlands, Chech Republic, Slovakia and beyond.

Far later, of course, came the famed European-wide movement of people in the fifties and sixties, bringing Greeks and Italians also to Germany. The sheer number of folk from former Yugoslavia and especially from Turkey has perceptibly influenced society today. Furthermore, early connections in the heavy industries between this city and Japanese corporations expanding to Europe in the sixties and seventies led to the solid community clearly evident on the streets of Düsseldorf.

The city authorities focus much attention on this last group of individuals. Institutions here include the Japanese Consulate General, Japanese Chamber of Commerce, Jetro, Japanese Club, Japanese Schools not to mention numerous restaurants and sushi bars. The Japanese hotel Nikko in the middle of town is also unique. Over 450 Japanese companies are registered here, as are 7,681 Japanese residents. One of the most popular events on the calendar is the annual Japan Day with its absolutely incredible firework display.

All these nationalities perhaps helped form the foundation for the region's joviality, friendliness and openness. Just take a seat at a crowded table in one of the local breweries and you will see what I mean. The beer also tastes good, so check it out and enjoy.

 

21/2007 from 28 November - German quality is legendary. German service is not. Time to rethink folks but I shall come to that later. Topic of the week for many residents and trade fair guests in town has been the rail workers strike, specifically the train drivers belonging to the GDL, Union of German Locomotive Drivers, Gewerkschaft Deutscher Lokomotivführer.

Not quite up to the radical methods enforced in France or the famous Winter of Discontent in the UK, a small group of about three thousand employees have however imposed mayhem on freight transport and local commuters lately. And in an attempt to strengthen claims for more pay and a new contract agreement, they recently turned their attention to intercity travellers.

Over the years, the quality of trains has improved enormously whilst punctuality, service quality and friendliness followed a somewhat sadder path, to say the least. But, on Friday, a return journey between Dusseldorf and Hanover proved highly enlightening. In the midst of a nationwide strike, both trains I boarded were mega punctual. But there's more; representatives manning info desks, generally available in the station and on the train were so friendly and helpful, I just had to write this article. Congratulations Deutsche Bahn.

The world over, government staff are criticised en masse for inefficiency. The populace in this country may reconsider their opinion, since such staff forbidden to strike manned the trains that ran since the company is still a state holding. Various strategies for privatisation have been floated and, of course, greatly debated with typical Germanic efficiency. I wonder how these recent developments will influence the notorious dislike of such sell offs that many politicians possess?

Back to service, a thesis written to celebrate my twenty years in Germany is available on this site. Ten years later it would seem to be as relevant as ever. If you fancy an insight into this fascinating topic, feel free to take a look.

Check this place out, service is improving all the time and soon we will be doing something to help. Several carriers fly non-stop or direct from many US cities and the quickest route from Asia is with Finnair via lovely Helsinki. My name is Garry Hurskainen-Green, wherever you are, have a nice day.

 

19/2007 from 15 November - Ever heard of the Nimby syndrome? Not in my back yard sums up many of today's troubles here in Germany. We've just had the second Sunday shopping in a row and it seems, surprise, surprise that most love it. Sometimes the raison d'être required before legislative approval is the presence of enormous numbers of travellers in town that are otherwise not here. Is that a classical example of discrimination against residents and for visitors, or what?

In England, if you've ever travelled by high speed train to London over the past few years and wondered why there was no more high speed on British soil, no more wondering. Years later, now that the new connection has finally been completed, no one mentions Nimby no more.

But who am I to criticise? Back to Germany, I do, however, feel required to take this opportunity, whether you approve of open stores or not, to point out that resistance to change in Germany does have its many roots in entrenched power division and the intolerant defence of the status quo.

Some admire, even envy, the highly successful work of lobbyists and quangos in the US and the UK. I suggest that the German system is far more highly sophisticated than others would care to admit with union infiltration of political parties a classical example. An intense, decades old desire for compromise proves also fundamental to the survival of many in power here.

Time for a few more examples perhaps? The state's stake in VW, that so Germanic of German car manufacturers has been defended again and again, only to experience it's timely fall only when power was graspable by that other so famous name Porsche. The so-called liberation of the energy market is second to none in proving the point. Ministers' offices approved action and legislation, which has resulted in basically what amounts to a geographical division and done little to assist consumers or industry.

Dread of the further loss of sovereignty could be part of the explanation. When Poland signed up for the European free market, the populace discover not so free regulations in Germany. A couple of years later, whilst this economy is showing stronger tendencies, employees are yearning for foreign staff. In the UK, free movement of Polish workers has resulted in the influx of a whopping 1.2 million new residents. Initially on low wages in low status jobs, most are now permanent residents with many owning property and climbing the social ladder.

Glad, not to have chosen a career in politics. Find a good excuse to come here and join us here in this delightful, friendly place.

 

18/2007 from 30 Oktober - The international business community experience the extremes of life only too well, highly mobile, chasing time, quite often more than one home and perhaps commitments to a partner and children. And at least one vacation each year reserved for the family back home, wherever that may be.

The time available for ones own body and the fraction that is actually allocated is sandwiched in between everyday life. Not only for management. Employees from all levels are today also generally involved in global company activities in much the same way.

Holmes Place, our health and fitness partner in Dusseldorf has started focussing more on corporate fitness. With a campaign of serious arguments and physical checks for staff, they put all their professionalism into their members and potential clientele.

Because this topic is important to us, we are holding a draw amongst all new newsletter registrants for a full days ticket to Holmes Place every day throughout the month of November, so please tip a friend or colleague. I wish you good luck.

Take a moment to get informed on the corporate health issue. In a time of focus on intellectual property, neglect of human property comes at a high price. My name is Garry Hurskainen-Green. We are having terrific fun watching the dynamic response to our cross media marketing activities. Join us in this jewel of a city and stay another day.

 

17/2007 from 22 October - Dusseldorf has long been a disproportionately popular venue for keynote speakers. One of the foremost and traditional locations for such events here is the Industrie-Club, which plays host to an extremely diverse bunch on a wide variety of topics. In recent days they attracted two diplomats, Boyden Gray, the US Ambassador to the EU in Brussels and Paul Dubois, the Canadian Ambassador to Germany in Berlin.

The American speech addressed deregulation and standardisation on both sides of the Atlantic to enable development and further bilateral opening in areas such as trade. The Canadian angle concerned their very buoyant economy, their balanced budgets and the incredibly rapid and steep lowering of their national deficit. Both speeches went down well in front of business audiences.

Meanwhile, in Berlin, the left leaning CDU conservative party leading the government and their very left leaning SPD socialist party coalition partner are discussing ways of reversing or, as they claim, softening reform policies. The legislation referred to has only been in place a short few years, was designed to lower unemployment rates and has started to perform, according to the professionals.

But central government politicians yet again wish to invest taxpayer's money in the unemployed instead of in employment, ignoring all indicators. I wonder if it has to do with upcoming elections and the strengthening far left Linke party. Is it perhaps time the government campaigned the people to educate, inform and influence understanding for the need to reform? It worked in Canada and many, many other countries, some of them in the EU.

And whilst we are on the topic of politicians, is it also time for the populace to face politicians with a zero tolerance attitude? Should we me more demanding of truths from the mouths of our politicians, regardless in which country? Would Nicolas Sarkozy, for instance, have been voted President of France had he entered the poll as a recent divorcee? Maybe it shouldn't make a difference but maybe he thought it would, hence no press release till now?

Those of us in business are perhaps motivated by different attributes and guided by other values. My name is Garry Hurskainen-Green. Many thanks to all local residents who consistently use our site and a warm welcome to innumerous new registrants from overseas. Join us in this jewel of a city and stay another day.

 

16/2007 from 10 October - Does time fly, or what? When I visit my Grandmother every few weeks in the UK, who at an incredible 101 years of age spends most of her time in a chair, her first words are: My goodness, doesn't time fly? I wasn't expecting you back so soon. Actually, her first words are normally: Who are you? But that's another story. This dear lady told me how fast the days roll by when I was in school, so I don't think the phenomenon has anything to do with travel, work, mails or mobiles.

I've put pen to paper again today to inform of our plans. Following the increase in staff, the site is now adapted on at least a daily basis. Increased usage, advertisers and sponsors go hand in hand with our expansion plans. At present we are identifying future locations and prospective partners and the decision has already been made to publish AmazingDusseldorf in Japanese. Thanks to the support of our client Mitsubishi Electric, this can happen in the very near future.

The web forms the basis for many activities. One example is the recent Finnair The World is nor a Pancake promotion in the town centre. PR, events, web, promotion and competitions were all packaged for Miltton in Helsinki. The raffles for the Internationale Tanzwochen and for Apollo are further examples, with many more are in the pipeline.

If you or your company wish to promote, sponsor or require our support for anything, do call us. From links on your intranet, cross-media activities, joint events, anything is possible. It is a an every-day pleasure welcoming you to the site. Enjoy.

My name is Garry Hurskainen-Green. If we can help further, please don't hesitate to contact us. Join us in this jewel of a city and stay another day.

 

11/2007 from 11 July - Does a country define its folk or vice versa? That was the core of a spontaneous breakfast talk at the weekend. As always with such philosophical topics, the vote is still open. Düsseldorf has been defined by those in the fashion community, that's for sure, not only during the fairs but far beyond.

I extend a warm welcome the Power of D. community. It is a great pleasure to help make guests feel at home here during their stay and we look forward to keeping all informed with relevant topics. Amazing Dusseldorf is designed to be an easy way to acquire information, find your way around and be inspired to try out something new.

And its fun to consider cultural differences. The weather here in Germany has been pretty poor of late, inspiring many to take last minute vacations abroad. Those of us still here can reflect upon an incredibly traditional German phenomenon of the summer hole, the Sommerloch.

Parliament is in recession, most states commence their official vacations and many fall into a semi-permanent state of lethargy. I claim this is all mass histeria; there is no summer hole. Self-fulfilling prophecies being what they are, tendencies arise but Igedo Fashion Fairs Düsseldorf prove my point.

The city will overflow with an exciting crowd from near and far, both national and foreign guests. That's what I love about this place; small town ease with big town atmosphere. Enjoy.

My name is Garry Hurskainen-Green. If we can help further, please don't hesitate to contact us. Join us in this jewel of a city and stay another day.

 

10/2007 from 26 June - When one lives with a partner of a different nationality to oneself, languages become one of the most important topics. Okay, so do traditions, personalities, phonetics, and so on. That goes for the office environment too. Hardly a day goes by without us German, Russian, American and British staff discussing the correct way of placing a certain tonality to a topic.

Translations are a joy too. Our latest smile day winner could be desribed as a Düsseldorfer Urgestein. No translation. And I have been asked to explain that our newsletters are Chefsache. If you have ever looked up that one, you will know what I mean.

Continuing that topic, the Smile Days promotion has been one of the most popular activities amongst our users and the local community as well as creating terrific media coverage, including the recent report on local WDR TV. We will now take a break till October, when we hope to cause a stir.

Currently, well over a hundred thousand postcards from our cross marketing concept are being printed. These wil be found in many locations over the next few weeks and are designed as collectors items with topical translation assistance. Hope you like them and pass them on to friends and family. If this is relevant to you or your company, let us know.

One of those involved is HRS. This hotel reservation service is probably the most genuinely service-oriented German companies I have experienced in all the years in this country. It has been such a pleasure setting up our new cooperation which offers you direct reservation facilities on this site. So-called deep links will follow soon, enabling direct local hotel bookings; all part of our service to you.

My name is Garry Hurskainen-Green. If we have helped you find something that interests you, then we have done our job. Join us in this jewel of a city and stay another day.

 

09/2007 from 11 June - As you will have noticed, May is the month of many such days off. In many countries people shop till they drop when given such work-free opportunities and living so close to the Netherlands and Belgium, a shopping paradise is just a short drive away for those with the desire. In Germany, the liberalisation process is still proving slow with consumers extremely traditional, many retailers less inclined to experiment and streets deserted in the evenings and on sundays and public holidays.

Onto a topic currently being discussed by many stakeholders in Düsseldorf. Whilst the cabs in London are black, New York famous for its yellow cabs and jokes about foreign drivers, in Düsseldorf the taxis are always beige. Normally a mercedes, they are not so easy to hail on the street but taxi ranks are dotted all over town and a cab arrives only minutes following a phone call. Most drivers speak at least rudimentary English and are very friendly.

On a personal note, if you like what you see and read, please make use of the Tip a Friend button at the lower right of the page and help us spread the word.

My name is Garry Hurskainen-Green. Let me know how we can help you settle in easier or simply enjoy your stay more. Join us in this jewel of a city and stay another day.

 

8/2007 from 29 May - My name is Garry Hurskainen-Green. I love life in Germany, have fun living amongst my hosts and it is a joy to see such enormous changes in society in Dusseldorf. The city has transformed itself significantly over the years as have the citizens in this calm and peaceful country.

All complaints of inflexibility perhaps miss aspects of continuity and reliability. There is very, very little agression here, streets are very safe as are the bars. Specifically in Düsseldorf the cultural scene has big city flavour with all the advantages and next to none of the down sides.

My business partner Jim is an American from Seattle who has a passion for his creative work, whether it be films, adverts or complete design projects. Our clients are from near and afar and include Rhein Fire, the local Professional American Football Team, Rheinbahn, the local public transport company and Mitsubishi Electric, an enormous international factory automation company of highest repute and many more, all just as important to us. Their goals are our goals.

My wife Taija is from Finland and is the reason for the somewhat unusual name. Walking or jogging together with our dog Kiva reveals just how incredibly green and open this city is. That is in spite of the 600,000 residents in such a compact area. One can walk across the city centre in just a few minutes, the river banks can offer a real country flavour and the airport is just down the road if the need to leave arises.

My name is Garry Hurskainen-Green. Join us in this jewel of a city and stay another day.

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