Going to Europe this summer: Babbel offers ideas on how to immerse yourself like a local

June 26, 2012 - PRLog -- London - Sports, culture or festivals, the Olympics in London, a beach holiday in Spain or camping in France: wherever your Euro-Vacation might lead you, here are some events not to be missed this summer.

Run with the locals. If you find yourself in Spain, running with the bulls is a must. This annual tradition takes place each year as part of the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona from July 6th-14th. The first running of the bulls starts on July 7th and continues each morning beginning at 8am.

Play like a local. Urban culture and high-performance sports: This year London is worth a trip. From July 27th to August 12th - besides double-decker busses, Buckingham palace and Big Ben - London offers up the world's best athletes at the Olympic Games and the opportunity to meet sports fans from all around the world in one place. With some luck, tickets for sports such as cycling, swimming, track and field and fencing can still be obtained online.

Drink like a local. Those planning a late summer vacation should keep Bavaria in mind. The annual Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany is one not to miss. While the name is slightly misleading, the festival begins in mid September and runs 16 days until the first Sunday in October, so plan your trip accordingly. Festivities include traditional Bavarian customs – food, dress and folk music…and of course Bier, up to 7 million liters are consumed.

Speak like a local. No matter where you are going, chances are you’ll meet people from more than just the country you are in: French, Spanish, Italians, Swedes, Germans, Dutch, Poles and Turks. Babbel.com, recommends learning at least some of the language of the country you’ll be visiting or the people you’ll be meeting. The Berlin-based language learning platform provides travelers with theme-specific online courses in eleven languages. Vocabulary lessons for ‘Arrival,’ ‘Hotel,’ ‘Camping,’ ‘Communication’ or ‘Local Culture’ offers the opportunity to learn in a fast and fun way.

For those travelers already departed on their summer trip, Babbel offers free language learning apps for Android, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad that allow for studying a language on the go, whenever, wherever.

Notes to the editor:
On Babbel there is travel vocabulary for English, French, Spanish, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Swedish, German, Dutch, Indonesian, Polish and Turkish.
The iPhone and Android apps can be downloaded from the AppStore and Google Play Store. All mobile apps are free.

Further information about Babbel can be found at http://www.babbel.com

More on Travelling in the Babbel blog post http://blog.babbel.com/babbel-along-on-vacation/

About Babbel:
With the online learning system Babbel (http://www.babbel.com), both beginners and continuing learners can study English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Swedish, Dutch, Indonesian, Polish and Turkish. There are tons of interactive courses available on the website www.babbel.com. There are also apps for iPhone, iPad, iPod and Android mobile devices, as well as an interactive e-book. More than 5 million people from over 200 countries are studying languages with Babbel.
The company behind Babbel, Lesson Nine GmbH, operates out of Berlin, Germany. Founded in August 2007, it now has around 100 fulltime and freelance employees. Since July 2008 Lesson Nine has been funded by Kizoo AG and VC-Fonds Berlin.