‘Zee Germans’ are coming to Glen Arbor

From staff reports

According to Stefanie Kulpe of Michigan Travels, based in Ann Arbor, a total of 700 German tourists will visit Glen Arbor on Saturday, Sept. 17, and Monday, Sept. 19. Approximately 340 will visit on Saturday, and 360 on Monday, said Kulpe.

The German cruise liner MS Columbus will harbor in Traverse City this weekend, en route between Toronto and Chicago. Tourists will come in a total of nine buses, at staggered times, and stay in Glen Arbor for about 45 minutes. On Saturday, the first buses will already arrive at about 8 a.m.; the last bus will be there between 10-11 a.m. On Monday, the groups will visit in the afternoon, between 2 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

The MS Columbus is a 15,000-ton, 420 passenger, luxury cruise ship owned by the Hapag-Lloyd cruise line. She was built in 1997, in Wismar, Germany. Her relative size allows her to transit the Great Lakes, one of the few modern cruise ships and the only German one able to do so. However, she is flexible enough to cruise worldwide as well, for example traveling the Mediterranean for cultural cruises with Martin Randall Travel. Her crew complement consists of 170, and her top speed is 16 knots.

The Columbus last visited Traverse City in 2007, which included a bus tour of Glen Arbor. According to Kulpe, the tourists “loved Glen Arbor’s artsy atmosphere, and they loved Cherry Republic too.” This weekend’s visit is not a result of the Sleeping Bear Dunes area’s selection by ABC’s “Good Morning America” as “the most beautiful place in America.” Kulpe said that this trip has been in the works for 8-9 months now.

Kulpe alerted the Glen Lake Chamber of Commerce on Monday about the impending visit.

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