Going to Europe this summer: Language learning portal Babbel offers ideas to immerse yourself like a local

Celebrate like a local. Midsummer's Day in Sweden: Swedish culture is more than just Ikea. Travelling to Sweden June 22nd-24th allows visitors to experience the festival celebrating the longest day of the year with traditional dances around colorfully decorated trees, folk music, traditional foods and exuberant dancing late into the night.

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.

Note 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

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 iBook. 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.

Press Contacts Babbel.com:
Atlanta, GA Corinna Rogers, corinna@staedelcomms.com, +1 404 941 4234
Berlin, Germany Katrin Theiner, ktheiner@babbel.com, +49 30 755 62 33 6