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The book "Rick Steves' Guide to Germany" weighs in at more than 700 pages but devotes just three sentences to Heidelberg, one of the country's most popular tourist destinations. Steves' authors opine that Heidelberg, home to one of Europe's oldest universities and one of the better preserved old town centers in Central Europe, isn't worth visiting on a three-week visit to Germany because it's "overrun with Americans."

The book doesn't list a single hotel, restaurant or attraction in the city, apparently in the belief that lemming-like readers will avoid the place simply because the author has instructed them to. I have a lot of respect for Rick Steves and I like his guidebooks, television programs and podcasts. But when I'm advised not to visit a place, it piques my curiosity. Is Heidelberg really that bad? And does it make sense to avoid a place simply because there are too many Americans there?

Heidelberg has been a stop on the American's Grand Tour of Europe itinerary, particularly for college students, for a very long time. I have no doubt that there are plenty of Americans in the city in the summer but I've just spent a few days there and found it to be anything but "overrun" with Americans. In fact, very few of the tourists I encountered were English speakers, and quite a few of those were Canadians. (More on them later.)
But even if the city was crawling with American tourists, would that be a legitimate reason to avoid the place? I have mixed feelings on this issue. On the one hand, there's no point in spending a king's ransom and losing a night's sleep flying around the world only to hang out with Courtney and Trent from Connecticut. And David Farley recently raised some good points in noting that a place can seem less than authentic if other Americans are in the house.

But I have to laugh at Americans who completely eschew even making eye contact, let alone conversation with Americans they encounter abroad. I've met Americans overseas who act as though they're almost ashamed to be Americans when they leave the country. As Americans, we carry a lot of baggage when we travel outside the country. In many places, we're perceived as big, loud, monolingual rubes that have only a superficial understanding of the world outside the USA.

The stereotype doesn't fit most Americans who take the time, effort and expense to travel overseas but some of our countrymen act as though they're vaguely embarrassed of their countrymen – even when there's no reason to be. That said, I have been to places that are so overrun with tourists that I have a hard time enjoying them. For example, there are 227 inhabited Greek islands, but two of them – Mykonos and Santorini – attract more American tourists than all the rest combined.

I'm not enamored with either place, not because I have a problem encountering Americans overseas but because once the locals to tourists ratio tips too heavily in the tourist direction – no matter what the nationality of those tourists – the place loses something. It's hard to feel like you are in Greece when you hear more Swedish than Greek.

I grew up in Western New York State just a few minutes drive from the Canadian border and over the years, I've met scores of Canadian travelers overseas. Many of the Canadians I've encountered wear their nationalities on their sleeves, hats or backpacks much more readily than we do as Americans. I'm sure part of this is because they're proud of their country but they're also trying to advertise the fact that they're NOT AMERICANS!

Sean McLachlan pointed out the futility of this tactic a few years ago, but estimated that only half of those who use the Canadian maple leaf on articles of clothing are actually Canadian. I've never met a fake Canadian in my travels, but I don't doubt that the phenomenon exists.

heidelbergYesterday, while waiting in line at a bakery in Heidelberg, I met a nice group of Canadian college students from Oshawa, Ontario. There were dozens of them in the city and each and every one was wearing a bright red jacket with the word "CANADA" emblazoned in a large font on the back. We're one of the more patriotic countries on earth, but I can't really imagine a large group of American college students wearing blue USA jackets (unless they're part of a national sports team, which this was not). In fact, most of the time I see people overseas wearing clothing or hats with the US flag on it, the person is not actually American.

I'm not suggesting that we should travel the world draped in American flags. I keep a low profile when outside the country and always make an extra effort to be a respectful visitor so as not to become a walking stereotype. But there's also nothing worse than an American who leaves the country and becomes a self-loathing American. We have our issues, perhaps more than most countries, but there's no reason to walk around with one's head hung in shame. And please feel free to visit Heidelberg. It's a great place, no matter what Rick Steves and the gang says.

IT WOULD be easy to believe that a lot of birds and ground animals were positively affected by the “nowinter'' of 2011-2012, but that may not be the case.

We know that the waterfowl hunters on Great Bay, especially the late season hunters, had a very light kill and it wouldn't be surprising if many of them went without ducks or geese for their efforts.

Living right on the shores of Great Bay, we have always paid attention to the amount of gunfire we would hear, from early to late waterfowl season.

This year's early season was probably normal, in the amount of shooting. But in the late season it was very evident that although we witnessed plenty of boat action and hunters on the move, the shooting was way off. In fact, on some of the weekend days during the late season, when we normally hear a steady flow of waterfowl gun volleys, some days went by with hardly a shot fired. So you had to take out of this a positive in one way — that the light waterfowl kill put a positive effect on the overall waterfowl population.

This might create a false sense of security for us waterfowl lovers. Scientists for many years have reported that the hunting of these birds has little to no effect on their populations. (Hard to figure that one out, isn't it?) They claim that it's water and water levels that have a huge effect on nesting populations in the spring that limit the duck populations and can have somewhat of an effect also on geese.

So what's the big deal? The big deal is that just about all across the waterfowl breeding areas in both the United Statea and Canada, snowfall was very light and warm weather was prevalent. Which means that many of the traditional waterfowl nesting areas that need water will have very low levels or probably plenty may not have had any flooding because there was little to no snow pack for the melt or not enough rain during the winter to keep the water levels up.

Waterfowl biologists are not too optimistic about this spring's nesting results. Nor are the biologists from the two largest waterfowl conservation non-profit organizations, Ducks Unlimited and Delta Waterfowl Foundation.

DU specializes in land purchases and easements and water management and creation and maintenance of duck nesting areas while Delta stresses scientific research as well as a new and very popular program of predator control in the nesting areas.

We are members of and support both of these organizations and have witnessed a huge positive effect that both have produced in their works.

But given the economy and the recession, both have been hurting for funding, and Congress often see cuts in conservation areas as an easy way out. One of DU's major funding sources is its Wetlands Conservation Galas.

The state's largest one is scheduled for Saturday, April 21, at the Radisson Hotel, 700 Elm St., in Manchester. There are cocktails, entertainment, raffles, games and auctions and raffles.

We've been to and hosted a bunch of DU events and never left one without a smile on our face.

You can register at wwwducks. org/new-hampshire or call 472-7350 for Frances Magie, 475-3038 for Tom Rochette, 772-1270 for Mike Nolan or 882-0577 for Mike Eckmann. Get more info online at fmagie@comcast.net We've mentioned Delta Waterfowl Foundation many times in our writings. We love their approach to do other work that will support DU's missions. Delta provides full financial support for many budding waterfowl biologists to earn college degrees and uses them as interns during the summer.

It's been disputed by many that predator control has no effect on duck nesting success but Delta has irrefutable evidence from its workings that predator control can have an enormous impact on the survival of both the hen ducks and also their broods, with some success ratios being close to 100 percent.

At our waterfowl camp in northern Maine, we do harvest quite a few ducks and geese. For every duck taken the hunter has to donate a dollar to the Duck a Buck, Goose a Deuce-coffee can.

For every goose taken the donation goes up to two dollars. Over the years we feel that we've made a nice impact on Delta's workings. Because it's like nickel and diming, it's easy to do but at the end of the season it all adds up.

Being handy with a rope is essential to being a cowboy.
It doesn't hurt in winning a rodeo team title either, as the Black Hills State University men used some nifty loop tossing by a trio of ropers in the team roping event to take home the men's title as the 2012 Will Lantis Yellow Jacket Stampede drew to a close Sunday afternoon at Seven Down arena near Spearfish.
Yellow Jacket senior Taylor Williams paired with Dickinson State's Turner Harris for a 7-second run to win the Sunday short-go and the average (15.0 on two-head), while the Black Hills freshmen duo of Wyatt Treeby and Tel Schaak turned in the day's second-best run (9.6) to grab second place.
Williams also claimed the men's all-around title, mixing in some quick hands with his roping in a solid short-go performance in the tie-down roping — second in the round (11.5) and third in average.
Sophomore Ty Krantz also added a fourth-place finish in the short-go and average in tie-down roping, which, when coupled with Saturday night's winning effort by Cody Bullock in bull riding, catapulted the Yellow Jackets into the top spot ahead of Dickinson (N.D.) State and Iowa        Community College, which shared second despite each having three event winners.
The short-go didn't go as well for the Yellow Jacket women as a couple of first-round winners Kristen Lawrence (breakaway) and Jamie Britton (goat tying) faltered a bit on Sunday, but nonetheless both were able to place in the average. Jordyn Johnson took fifth in breakaway, Taylor Shoemaker was third in goat tying and Katie Doll took fifth in goat tying as BHSU finished third behind South Dakota State.
"To win the first rodeo of the spring season, and particularly here at the Will Lantis Yellow Jacket Stampede, is definitely a highlight for us," Black Hills State head coach Glen Lammers said. "And to have some young people step up for us at this time of year is really big. I thought we really showed our diversity on the women's side as we had a lot of multi-talented individuals who perhaps didn't do as well in their strongest events, but showed very well in some other events. That's neat to see, too."
The women's average winners included a couple of Dickinson State winners in Laura Waldo (goat tying) and Ashley Schaper (breakaway roping), while Iowa Central's Bailie Smith won      Sunday's short-go in barrel racing on her way to the average title.
On the men's side, Dickinson State's Cody Hilzendeger won the average in tie-down roping (23.9 on two head), SDSU's Ross Odde claimed the saddle bronc title (70) and Nebraska's Hoyt Kraeger won the steer wrestling (10.7 on two). A couple of roughstock cowboys from Iowa Central won impressively as Tom O'Connell  dominated the bareback event — he won the long round, short round and average — and Levi Berends recorded the only cover in bull riding on Sunday, a 75-point ride to claim the average title over  Bullock.

Thana Thienachariya, the chief executive of Mc Jeans, is tipped to resign from the family-run business next month to return to what he is best at _ technology, this time with GMM Grammy's satellite television unit.

Mr Thana left his post as chief of corporate affairs and strategy officer of Total Access Communication (DTAC) to take the helm of the producer of Mc Jeans on May 1.

Mr Thana, 42, is likely to take the top post at the country's largest entertainment company's satellite TV unit next year. The 1-Sky broadcasting platform will complete Grammy's existing satellite lineup, which is expected to contribute 28% of total revenue next year.

Mr Thana declined to give comments yesterday.

He has served as a adviser to Grammy since early September, assisting in business planning and marketing for the business unit. Grammy is now focusing on its satellite business as a new pillar to complement its core music business.

Mr Thana also served as an adviser to DTAC and Benchachinda Holding, the company held by the founding family of DTAC, the country's second-largest mobile operator.

A source close to Mr Thana disclosed that Mr Thana had already informed Mc Jeans' founder that he would resign from the country's second largest jeans producer, with tentative effect from Dec 31.

He said Mr Thana felt he could not create substantial value for the organisation, leaving him with little challenge. He added that Mr Thana wanted to work at a more dynamic and professional firm to better match his style.

Mc Jeans, which plans a listing on the Stock Exchange of Thailand by 2013, targets 2 billion baht in revenue this year, up from 1.7 billion last year. Grammy expects to maintain its revenue of 8 billion baht this year.

The crowds, congestion, heavy bags and "Jingle Bells" for the umpteenth time are all unavoidable parts of the holiday experience if you do your shopping in the old-school, brick-and-mortar way.

And they're part of the fun, too. I really don't know how I'd get into the season's full spirit otherwise.

I like my holiday season, and especially my shopping, to be hustling and bustling. I like finding unexpected treasures that will make the perfect gifts, swapping sale info with strangers, waiting in a long line for (worth-it) peppermint hot cocoa and generally juggling more things I can handle.

If I emerge from a store in seemingly sudden darkness after entering in broad daylight, so be it. I'm not even above holding bags with my teeth as I struggle to pull on my gloves to combat the inevitable chill. Maybe there'll be snowflakes, and I'll have to use those gloves to dust the windshield of my car.

A successful day would leave "Silver Bells" stuck in my head by the time I'm ready to head home.

Yes, I really am a fan of so many stereotypical trappings of holiday shopping. I'm not looking for a month full of easy answers or quiet nights. That's what January is for.

I'm not the only elf who feels that way.

"I thrive on the energy," says Joe Zee, Elle magazine's creative director. "I like shopping as an event. There's nothing wrong with online shopping — it's a time-saver, you can delegate, you can do it last-minute, but it lacks the emotional, human experience of holiday shopping."

Like Zee, I'm not a technophobe who shuns online shopping. I order jeans this way, once I know my size and brand; I bought my daughter's Uggs from Zappos and I'll probably order an e-reader tablet for someone near and dear this season.

But would I have bought silver mittens for a close friend last year if I hadn't felt firsthand that heavenly lining? Probably not. And my husband has thoroughly enjoyed a book about the Arctic that jumped out at me in the store but probably wouldn't have been in my online "recommended reading" based on previous purchases.

My mother-in-law wouldn't have that folk-art cat lamp in her hallway if I hadn't seen it in the right setting of a quaint New England village. It genuinely suits her, but I'm not sure I would have realized that from a laptop screen flashing "Free Shipping!"

Christa Marzan, 24, of Princeton, N.J., didn't plan to give her mother and sister jewelry last year as gifts. But a store's festive display enticed her.

Marzan says she likes to do "online window shopping," but "I have a hard time deciding if I'm going to like it if I can't touch it.'"

Kaitlyn Pierce, who lives near Pittsfield, Mass., takes her time in stores, often on Black Friday, to browse. "Stores have the holiday displays, and it puts me in the mood to buy things for other people and not myself," said Pierce, 24, who adds that she has no problem buying her own shoes and other fashion accessories from favorite websites.

According to market research firm NPD, general traffic at brick-and-mortar retailers was down the first three weeks of November, but mostly due to lower sales at grocery and mass chains. Beauty specialty stores, electronic stores, factory outlets, sporting goods stores and toy stores — gift stores — reported an increase. Those same types of stores also showed a 12.8 percent rise in online buying visits, NPD said.

Palmer Trading Company, a boutique specializing in Americana, has been open for over a year in Manhattan's SoHo, but it doesn't have an online store yet. "It makes you come in to the store," says co-owner David Ramirez. "We do phone sales and have a blog to explain what we're all about, but I like that you have to come in and hear our stories about how we found our vendors, decorated the store."

Fashioned after a New England cabin oasis, Palmer will be all decked out for the holidays, hoping to transport customers for a few minutes to that ski vacation that might be on top of their wish list.

The shop plans to serve apple pie and warm cider brought back from Massachusetts by Ramirez after Thanksgiving there at his parents' home. It's part of Small Business Saturday, the neighborhood alternative to Black Friday that emphasizes experience over price.