Where to Get Your Stocking Fillers This Season

The European
Vol. 1. Issue no. 54
December 18, 2007
Paris, France

Seiffen--Saxon's Toy Town

by Joerg M. Unger

Snowflakes are swirling and the strings of electric candlelights in the streets of Seiffen are a sure sign that Christmas is coming. People crowd at the wood-carvers’ stores to buy the unique handcrafted Christmas ornaments and decorations and watch the artists and artisans making nutcrackers, incense burners, miniatures, and carving traditional motifs. During the Advent season, you can enjoy an old-fashioned Christmas atmosphere and traditional cuisine in Seiffen.

Surrounded by the dark, dense forests of Erzgebirge near the border of the Czech Republic, the town of Seiffen is famous for its woodcraft. In the Middle Ages, the town prospered with the trade road from Bohemia to the major towns of Saxony, and the residents relied on tin mining. When the mines dried up in the early 18th century, they gradually changed to wood-carving and turning to make a living in this rough mountain range. The family-run workshops started producing plates, spoons, whisks, knobs, and other useful items, then later expanded to toys, building blocks, and Christmas ornaments and decorations, all made of wood.

In the toy museum, you can learn how the craftsmen of the 19th century worked, with their tools and workshops. The exhibition shows Seiffen’s history of wood carving to the present day, and displays the whole process, from log to finished product. While you browse through historical documents, old catalogs, and sample books, the kids can play with some of the toys, build a fort from the wooden blocks, or watch a craftsman at work.

Getting There
From Frankfurt, Main: Take autobahn (highway) A4 to Chemnitz, then road no.174 to Marienberg and no.171 to Olbernau and Seiffen.
From Berlin: Take either the highway via Dresden or Leipzig to Chemnitz.
The shortest way is from Prague: Road no.7 to Chomutov, cross the Czech border near Reitzenhain, south of Marienberg, and follow the road no.171 to Olbernau and Seiffen.

Where to Stay:
Hotel Erbgericht: Double room: 47 euro (+10 euro on Advent weekends).
Landhotel zu Heidelberg: Double room 66 euro (+10 euro on Advent weekends).

Guesthouses are cheaper; for example, at Bergmannschaenke and Oberlochmuehle, double rooms are 45 euro.

Private accommodation is even cheaper: Stay with the Reinhardts for 35 euro + tax for two.

You can also reserve accommodation via www.booking.com/destination/city/
de/seiffen.en.html

Seiffen Specialties
Local and seasonal dishes to try: potato dumplings, venison, and cranberries; potato dumplings and goose; Bohemian dumplings with goulash; Dresden Christmas cake with raisins, almonds, and candied lemon peel; gingerbread. The Postkutsche restaurant is recommended.

For more information, check Seiffen's website (in German).

Four Reasons to Choose a Turnkey House in France

by David Block

Not everyone wants to renovate older properties in France. Since the 1980s, young French families and expats have been designing and building their own homes on their own choice of plot around the country. Currently, this option tempts 70,000 buyers a year. Increasingly, however, more house hunters want the convenience of new-build without getting their hands dirty, and are looking at off-plan.

New properties come with a number of financial and fiscal advantages, including lower stamp duty and notary fees of 3% to 4%, compared with 7% to 8% for existing properties. There’s comforting small print, too.

The French legal system provides extra safety for new-build purchases, running from a seven-day cooling-off period after signing the initial contract to a bank guarantee that secures the property if the developer goes bust. Further protection is provided by a four- or five-stage payment structure, with the architect signing off each stage.

Other advantages are that you get a house or apartment with lower maintenance costs and better insulation. Construction typically takes 12 to 18 months.

There’s also the leaseback option, a guaranteed rental scheme where you get your VAT (currently at 19.6%) refunded under a nine- to 12-year agreement with the property management company in specially designed, government-backed tourist resorts. Leaseback can cover much or all of your mortgage costs with a guaranteed rental income (typically 3% to 6% of the property price per year). A specialist company manages and lets the property on your behalf. You can, if you wish, keep aside a few weeks a year for yourself for your own vacation.

The downside of the leaseback is that you’re locked into a nine-year agreement. You’ll need to research your options for the property after the initial nine years is up to see if there’s a market for the properties in this resort, if the management company will renew the agreement, or if you can live in the property after this period.

Prices depend on location. One specialist company, Assetz International, quotes square-meter prices starting at 2,500 euro ($3,670) in Brittany, up to 10,000 euro for property near Monaco, and proposes studios from 80,000 euro ($117,600).

Companies to Contact:
Assetz International Ltd., winner of International Property Awards Best Real Estate Agency France for the past three years, is based in Cheshire; tel: +44 845 400 6000. It holds regular seminars around the U.K. (the next one’s on Jan. 12 in Stockport), but can also arrange a video-conference briefing.

Location France has 20 years of experience.

There's also Maison France Confort.
[Editor's Note: Find out more about how the French government guarantees investment returns in The French Leaseback Program. This report explains in detail this minimal-risk, government-sanctioned rental investment--and how you can just sit back and watch your capital appreciate on this hassle-free deal.]

Flying to Romania

by Leigh Fergus

If you’re planning to visit Romania to visit the untouched Saxon villages, track down vampires, or check out properties—PricewaterhouseCoopers reported in 2006 that house prices are expected to quadruple within a decade—you’ll have more flight options next year.

The low-cost airline Wizz Air is opening new routes from Italy and Belgium to Romania from the end of February 2008. This means you’ll be able to fly from Milan or Brussels to Bucharest for as little as 16.90 euro ($24.80) one way, including taxes.

The Best Eco Isles

by Leigh Fergus

The Shetland Isles have come out on top in a recent National Geographic survey about the world’s best eco island destinations.

The remote Scottish islands tied for third place with Norway’s Lofoten isles and Chile’s Chiloe. The Faroes and the Azores came first and second in the survey of 111 islands around the world to find islands that have avoided over-development. Each destination was ranked according to criteria including the quality of the tourism management, the environmental and ecological quality, and beauty.

Stocking Fillers From Thessaloniki

by Lina Belinska

It’s crisp today, and as I write, the sun is shining, the sea is shimmering, and I enjoy an unobstructed view of the bay of Thessaloniki in Greece. Once the “ignored little sister” of Athens, the city is regaining its appeal as more than just a place with a rich multiethnic history—it’s vibrant and young, with its own rhythm and zeitgeist as well as cultural, economic, and gastronomic life. Salonica also offers great shopping; here’s my pick of the best for gifts:
Fena Fresh (8, Pavlou Mela str.; tel: +30 2310-25-7447) is the brainchild of a mother and her two boys. No mainstream ideas or ordinary fashion here, but an artsy atmosphere, starting from the eccentric window displays to indie music in the background. Gifts range from notepads to furniture to clothing and accessories. The entire staff speaks English.

Carouzos (43, Tsimiski str.; tel: +30 2310-22-8770) spans a few floors and will please even the most discerning luxury costumers looking for the latest from the fashion catwalks.

Georgina Kostara (24, Proxenou Koromila str.; tel: +30 2310-26-2685) is a young local designer, trained at St. Martin’s in London. Her hip, humorous, and colorful clothes cohabit with other brands. Take your pick or let Georgina guide you.

Iosif (1, Venizelou&Mitropoleous str.; tel: +30 2310-26-6360) is a cozy shop selling romantic and unusual or chunky and provocative jewelry. Iosif himself can help you choose.

M&M (10, Mitropolitou Iosif) offers home and Christmas decorations. Ornaments are a bit pricey, but are not “made in China.” A feast for the eyes.

Getting to Thessaloniki
United, Lufthansa, and Olympic offer transatlantic service from New York. Swiss, Alitalia, British Airways, and Aegean have direct flights to/from Thessaloniki within Europe. A taxi from the airport to downtown is about 15 euros ($22).

Where to Stay
The Plaza Art Hotel (5 Paggeou Street; tel: +30 2310 520120) offers rooms for two starting at 82 euros, while the City Hotel (11 Komninon Street; tel: +30 2310-26-9421) is about 120 euros.

Where to Eat
Try Agora (5 Kapodistriou; tel: +30 2310-53-2428) and Aristotelous (8 Aristotelous; tel: +30 2310 233195), where a meal for two costs about 30 euros. Ta Louloudadika (20 Komninon, across the road from City Hotel; tel: +30 2310-22-5624) is Mr Nikos’ fish tavern. If you’re there at lunchtime, try the fish soup.

Shopping Time
Opening hours in Greece are generally:
Mon.,Wed., and Sat.: 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Tues., Thurs., and Fri.: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5 p.m.- 9 p.m.
From Dec.17 to New Year's: Most shops open weekdays 10 a.m.-9 p.m, Sat. 10 a.m.-4 p.m.