Recently I had the great pleasure of traveling to Bavaria on a Press Trip organized by the German Tourism Board in partnership with Lufthansa. We were a selected few from all around Central Asia to be invited to a dream destination for many of us. Need we say our trip was organized to perfection? We did not expect any less, even in far away Uzbekistan the Germans are admired for their organizational skills, punctuality and good sense. We were taken on a whirlwind tour of Bavaria and indeed I am certain we were treated to the cultural and culinary highlights, the most breathtaking natural beauty. Our accommodation was first class, we stayed in various types of hotels and thus came to understand what a Bavarian traveler may look for on a tour through Uzbekistan. Fine food and hefty local specialties were by no means in short supply, on the contrary; we did burnt some calories though not only during the fun filled leisure activities but for the many good laughs we had with our hosts. I also learnt a lot and got new, much needed inspiration from the presentations and meetings with tourism professionals.

At first sight, there could not be a greater contrast between my home country and Bavaria but at second glance, it was the people we met who made me understand the many parallels. Warmhearted, good natured, with a good sense of humor, generous in their hospitality. We have that in common and so I felt right at home in Bavaria. Wonderful food, centered around meat, meat, meat. I was in heaven; we Uzbeks are great meat eaters so we have that in common too. I do not drink but my co-travelers were raving about the different Bavarian brews and I am sure they were able to judge as we have many different breweries throughout Central Asia.

What stuck with me most, on a professional level, was the way tourism, cooperation among tourism service providers and marketing is organized in Bavaria and what measures entrepreneurs like me take to become yet better in what they offer. Since I have returned back home, I have decided to make my next family holyday in Bavaria, and create a German version of Discovery Central Asia Magazine, to bring people from Bavaria and Central Asia closer to each other.

I would like to take this opportunity to extend a very big, very warm "Danke Schon" to the German Tourism Authorities and to our longstanding partner of Discovery Central Asia, Lufthansa and their wonderful Almaty staff. I have enjoyed the chance to discover a part of the world that is so famous and to benefit from Bavarian know-how tremendously.