Guten Tag! Good Day!

　My name is Christian Fietzeck. Starting the 4th of August 2010, I am the new German Coordinator for International Relations of the city of Sapporo.

　I was born in Potsdam, where it is well known to many people in Japan for the Potsdam Declaration after World War II. However since the age of 9, I have been living in southern Germany (more precisely in the capital of the Free State of Bavaria, Munich), so I consider myself to be Bavarian. I have started my academic career majoring in Japanese Studies, and minoring in Chinese Studies and Political Science in 2001 at the University of Munich. From 2004 to 2005, I spent one year as an exchange student at the Kyushu-University in Fukuoka. In 2007 I completed an internship at a German car-maker in Sapporo’s Sister-City in China, Shenyang. Therefore not only do I have deep ties to Sapporo’s Sister-City of Germany, Munich, but also to Sapporo’s Sister-City in China, Shenyang.

　When I arrived with the JET-Program in Sapporo, it was my first time on Japan’s northern main island and expected the summer in Hokkaido to be cool compared to Fukuoka’s summer, which I experienced 5 years ago. I was very surprised when the heat of the hot 2010 summer on Hokkaido struck me. All my friends who knew Hokkaido always talked about its mild summers, so I only brought long sleeve shirts to Japan. One of the first things I did after my arrival was to buy plenty of short sleeve shirts for work.

　It is said that Sapporo and my hometown, Munich, have much in common. Both cities are famous for beer; while Sapporo is well known for it’s beer named after the city,  Munich is famous for the Oktoberfest, a festival where beer is the main attraction, which is held every year starting in late-September. Both cities are also famous for its fascinating winters of snow turning the cities white. Speaking of the charm of winter, Sapporo’s Odori Park has held the annual German Christmas Market in late November through December since 2002. Through the German Christmas Market, I would like to spread the German (especially Munich’s) tradition of Christmas Markets and its wonderful atmospheres to all the citizens of Sapporo, Hokkaido, and everybody in Japan.

　Apart from the Christmas Market, I would like to fulfill my position as a Coordinator for International Relations thoroughly by providing an inside view of Munich and Germany to all of you. I’m looking forward to meeting all of you!

German Blog　"Guten Tag aus Sapporo!"