Travelrific®
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Currywurst Museum Opens
By Linda Tancs
Think you know it all about German sausages? Well, forget your brats, bocks and weisswursts. These days, currywurst is king. Enjoying a cult-like status, the wurst has its own museum in Berlin, a stone’s throw away from Checkpoint Charlie at Schützenstrasse 70. This national dish of hot pork sausage and curry sauce claims its origin there. At the museum you can enjoy a multimedia experience complete with a spice chamber, experimental eat-in kitchen and faux snack bar for photo ops. There’s even a personality test to determine the type of curry you are. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Bring your appetite.
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World Natural Heritage in Germany
By Linda Tancs
Wattenmeer, or Wadden Sea, is an area stretching from the northern coast of Germany to the Dutch island of Texel. This region, comprising the largest continuous area of mud flaps in the world, is home to millions of migratory birds. Now it will likely see a boost in tourism thanks to its designation as a world natural heritage site by UNESCO, joining such other luminaries as the Grand Canyon, the Great Barrier Reef, the Galapagos and the Serengeti. The appointment couldn’t have come at a better time, considering UNESCO’s stinging removal of the Dresden Elbe Valley as a world cultural site thanks to a four-lane bridge spanning the river and spoiling the view.
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The Wedding Pageant
By Linda Tancs
European royalty have been uniting (in a familial sense) since the earliest of times. But it isn’t all that common for a medieval union to continue to be celebrated–unless, of course, you’re in Landshut, Germany. Every four years the historical association presents the Landshut Hochzeit 1475 (Landshut Wedding), a 5000-strong procession in period attire celebrating the union of the daughter of a Polish king and the son of a very rich duke, one of the grandest events of its time in 1475. The town, over 800 years old, is known as much for its classic Bavarian hospitality as for its famous nuptials. The event runs from 27 June to 19 July. The bridal procession makes its way through town on 28 June, 5 July, 12 July and 19 July.
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Konstanz Blooms
By Linda Tancs
Each spring over a half million bulbs start blooming in Mainau, an island in Lake Constance, Germany. For gardeners, this event is no doubt topped with the orchid show in the Palm House. The springtime bonanza, planned and cultivated by the late Swedish prince Lennart Bernadotte and run by his children, attracts over 1 million visitors a year. Those without a green thumb need not spare themselves a visit. The 111-acre site, open year round, also boasts an arboretum, a children’s playground, a butterfly house and what else–a castle. Get there via the scenic route by boat from Meersberg and Unteruhldingen.
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Spring in Willingen
By Linda Tancs
The last drifts of snow are melting away at the foot of Ettelsberg in the skiing mecca of Willingen, the Sauerland region of Germany. But that doesn’t have to portend a mass exodus from the area. The spring thaw exposes a countryside rife with nature parks, hiking trails, and moorlands, not to mention a slate mine and even a milk museum. Take it all in from the panoramic views atop the Hochheide Tower, the highest point of elevation in northwest Germany. The closest airport is the Paderborn-Lippstadt airport (approx. 50 km). Other airports are at Dortmund (97km), Düsseldorf (160km), Frankfurt am Main (175km) and Hanover (200km).
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Mini Wonderland Draws Mega Crowds
By Linda Tancs
If you thought Legoland was the only expression of world travel in miniature, that would be no surprise given that it receives the lion’s share of publicity. But there’s another micro world drawing large crowds in Hamburg, Germany. That’s where you’ll find Miniatur Wunderland, a warehouse sporting three floors of tiny replicas of life in Europe and America–a dollhouse world of such sights as alpine pistes, Scandinavian castles, the glamor of Las Vegas and a bird’s eye view of the host city, Hamburg. Although the site has been in operation since 2001, it has gained distinction for its labyrinth model railroad system comprised of eight miles of track winding its way through this little universe. Sort of gives new meaning to the expression, “it’s a small world.”
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The Essence of Köln
By Linda Tancs
The air is light and easy around 4711 Glockengasse in the heart of Köln, Germany. That’s where the oldest perfume factory in the world continues to manufacture the “Original Eau de Cologne” (Kölnisch Wasser)–No. 4711–for 300 years now. And for 300 years the recipe for this precursor to modern colognes has remained unchanged. The building housing this famous fragrance is renowned as much for its architecture as for its product. Stunningly beautiful by day and by night, this Gothic house founded by Johann Maria Farina in 1709 offers daily tours and weekly fragrance seminars. Do you know the full name of this famous address? The answer will be posted in an upcoming post.
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Germany’s Switzerland
By Linda Tancs
A new season of the reality show The Amazing Race began on Sunday. First stop: Switzerland. The verdant hills and valleys, quaint churches and exquisite chalets had me channeling Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music. Then I got to wondering–where would the Swiss need to go to get away from it all when “all” is so idyllic and charming? The answer might be Germany’s northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In the heart of this province hugging the Baltic coast lies a slice of unspoiled countryside that was once dubbed Mecklenburg’s Switzerland by Georg I in the 1800s. The name apparently caught on, as has Swiss tourism to the area–particularly its Baltic coast–thanks to the City Night Line train to Rügen. All aboard!
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Germans Ace Driving Survey
By Linda Tancs
Volkswagen called it Fahrvergnügen (driving pleasure). That is, the experience of handling one of its vehicles on the open road. No doubt that sentiment extends to any driver on the miles of connected highway in Germany known as the Autobahn, particularly if light traffic means you can ignore the “recommended” speed limit of 80 mph, as many often do. It should come as no surprise, then, that the German specialty of white-knuckle driving ranks them #1 amongst Europeans as the best drivers in a poll conducted by Ipsos. Best doesn’t mean safest, of course. Another survey bestows that appellation on the British, who perhaps observe the adage, “Never drive faster than your guardian angel can fly.” That’s one rule we should all do well to remember.
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House of Glass
By Linda Tancs
The Cathedral of Mary in Erfurt, Germany is getting ready for a facelift. And this won’t be the express version–rather, a 19-year painstaking restoration of its painted glass windows is in the works. Even Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in a shorter span of time. But then again, its restoration from the 1980s took about 14 years. While the glass is out of commission, why not meander about the Christmas flower exhibition gracing the church’s nearly century-old arches?
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