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If you have a sweet tooth, then you need to visit this place.
Here you will find "three in one": the museum, cafe and shop.
In the museum you can see the marzipan figures of human height, castles and whole scenes, which are made of marzipan.
You can drink a cup of aromatic coffee with a marzipan cake in cafe.
And in the shop you will find a large variety of marzipan candies.
www.niederegger.de/
Breite Straße 89, 23552 Lübeck, Germany
+49 451/5301
Google map: bit.ly/AgX9IN
It's a vegan wagon with THE most delicious burger this side of NYC. If you go to Berlin, you MUST try this burger. I had the smoked chipotle chile sauce and also on the same burger, the Pineapple chutney, perfect match.
Only open Sundays, or should that be Sun Days, from late morning to about 5 or 6pm.
They are also at Kreuzberg Markt Halle Neun on Fri and Sat
sundayburgers.com/
Prenzlauer Berg/ Bernauer Straße 13355 Berlin
Google map: bit.ly/z7HWGU
Rivers have been trade routes since ancient times and they flow downhill! Upon retiring and with no previous cycling experience, this realisation prompted me to set out to pedal from Rotterdam to Vienna, following the rivers Rhine, Main, Tauber, Altmühl and Danube.
Nearly all the journey was on dedicated cycle tracks or quiet country lanes.
Wayside B&Bs and hotels were plentiful so I enjoyed the freedom of pootling along on my sit-up-and-beg Dutch bike, allowing each day’s destination to emerge from my situation.
Most towns and villages along the route have old half-timbered centres as well as some historic castle/palace or sumptuous baroque monastery to admire. Highlights were the boat from Kelheim through the Danube Gorge to Weltenburg and back (no track on this stretch), the view from Passau castle of the confluence of the Danube, the Ilz and the Inn and the baroque monastery at Melk. Above all though, I came to enjoy the simple pleasure of passing through fairytale landscapes under my own steam.
Life changing? Oh yes: this year I’m setting out to dawdle the entire length of the Danube on the same bike, on a new saddle, on a smaller budget but taking more time.
For superb ‘Bikeline’ maps with tourist info visit www.esterbauer.com
My favourite bar is the Uerige brew-pub in Dusseldorf Altstadt. In 2012 they will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of their wonderful top-fermented altbier - affectionately known as the 'delicious droplet'. The Uerige is a warren of lovely wood-panelled rooms, shining copper, scrubbed tables and quirky adornments. The beer is served straight from barrels, which are hoisted onto the bar by the blue-aproned kobes. When they're not rolling barrels around the pub, they are doing the rounds with endless trays of beer. And when you need something to soak it up, there is a tasty menu of traditional Rhenish fare, from black pudding and smoked sausages to raw minced pork on rolls (Mettbrötchen).
When you leave, be sure to call at the street counter of Et Kabüffke, opposite, for a warming shot of Killepitsch, the digestive licquor.
www.Uerige.de
Obergärige Hausbrauerei GmbH
Berger Strasse 1, D-40213 Düsseldorf
+49(0)211 866990
Google map: bit.ly/s7f45R
www.killepitsch.de
Likörfabrik Peter Busch GmbH & Co. KG
Holzstraße 4, 40221 Düsseldorf
+49(0)211 86 44 40
The cosmopolitan city of Berlin is a great place to spend Christmas. Wrap up warm and set out in the snow to explore this fantastic city with its mix of ancient and modern history. Call in at the Christmas markets in Potsdamer platz, see the beautiful Sony Centre lit up in blue lights. Try an alternative Christmas dinner – the Berlin classic currywurst (a curried sausage) and a beer then join a million people for the famous New Year's Eve party at the Brandenburg gate complete with a fairground, live music and the midnight fireworks - Fröhliche Weihnachten!
www.visitberlin.de
Google map: bit.ly/v1R3C6
Pan.Optikum is a Theatre Company with a difference; you cannot just sit down and watch giant street theatre because it happens all around you. You look in one direction and the actors are coming towards you on huge platforms, then suddenly you hear a voice behind you and another actor is climbing a back-lit scaffold structure. All this happens as an amazing emotionally stirring soundtrack plays around you.
Their productions include pyrotechnics, singing, cantilevers, acrobatics, lights, silhouettes, music, video and dual language performances; a sensory experience that cannot be matched.
See them in their home country, Germany, or catch them on tour. But see them you must!
www.theater-panoptikum.de/index.php?id=1
gemeinnützige GmbH, Engesserstr.6, 79108 Freiburg, Germany
+49 761 503 944 9
Google map: bit.ly/nIaEJ0
Writers who understand landscape and evoke a sense of place fire my imagination most. There are the obvious, great travel writers – Robert Byron, Thesiger, Newby, Chatwin, but my travel itch is scratched as much by novelists such as Paul Bowles, Lawrence Durrell, Raymond Chandler and Raymond Williams. Re-reading Erskine Childers’ "The Riddle of the Sands" I’m gripped by his vision of lonely, bleak-romantic, North sea-battered tidal island resorts. The Frisian archipelago he peerlessly describes: Wangeroog, Spiekroog, Langeoog, seems muddily exotic. But with a family in tow a visit seems unlikely – I’ll have to make do with occasional trips to the Isle of Sheppey instead.
www.ibiblio.org/eldritch/rec/rs.html
www.germany-tourism.de/ENG/destination_germany/master_tlregion-id134.htm
As the title suggests, this groundbreaking film is about a young man accepting the fact that he is gay. Filmed in the GDR in 1989, the film is as sensitive as the storyline is brilliant, and it also provides a fascinating insight into life on the other side of the wall. It also has a special poignancy because the film premiered in East Berlin the very night that the wall fell.
Its an amazing experience, nothing like it around. A huge beer house where you can buy mega sized beers.
www.hofbraeuhaus.de
Platzl 9, München
+49(0) 89 2901360
Google map: bit.ly/o9KrXK
What a place to watch a game of football! It was a dull game but the venue was stunning. We sat right at the back – the back row of the stand opposite the Ostkurve which is akin to the Kop.
You can get a reduction on tickets with a Berlin Welcome card so the price of tickets is very reasonable.
If you can’t see a game, visit the stadium. Incredible.
www.olympiastadion-berlin.de/en.html
Olympischer Platz 3, 14053 Berlin, Germany
Google map: bit.ly/qWvFpp
A restaurant in Friedrichshain, a very short walk from Samariter Strasse (U5) station.
We arrived and it was busy with only one waiter. We had to wait quite a while but the ambience was lovely. Drinks were delivered quickly and we ambled over them waiting for our food.
The mains were very filling - a seafood risotto and a gnocchi with red cabbage. They were both flavoursome and tasty. We had a shared starter and a dessert and it cost 28 euros. We felt this was a bargain.
Worth the effort to get there
www.fliegender-tisch.de
Mainzer Straße 10, 10247 Berlin, Germany
+49(0)30 29776489
Google map: bit.ly/qBdj55
A former remand prison dedicated to showing the brutality and secrecy of the DDR. The deprivation and inhumane conditions echo those shown in the film "The Lives of Others". However, the testimonies of former inmates make this living history. We loved the fact that the tour was lead by a guide (we went on Wednesday afternoon when the tour was in English) and not a sterile audio handset tour. The site is terrifying and I was glad of the direction of the guide who was also able to go off script.
A highly recommended visit - very unusual and scary!
en.stiftung-hsh.de/index.php
Genslerstraße 66, D-13055 Berlin
+49 (0)30 98 60 82 30
Google map: bit.ly/nZVY3C
The Monsterkabinett is a permanent and evolving exhibition in the cellar galleries beneath Haus Schwarzenberg in Berlin Mitte. The 20 minute guided tour performance presents 20 years of extraordinary work by the artist group Dead Chickens.
“The Bloch”, a 4m high mechanical monster by Hannes Heiner stands in the main courtyard of Haus Schwarzenberg watching over the entrance to the Monsterkabinett. He rolls his eyes, bats his lashes and flaps his wings, extending an invitation to meet his fellow creatures in the subterranean domain of the Monsterkabinett.
Allow a trusted guide to lead you down the narrow winding stair and into the bizarre and labyrinthine world of the Monsterkabinett where monstrous yet loveable creatures- in turn terrifying, tragic and comical- inhabit a world beyond the imagination. Driven by a compelling rhythm, the fantastic mechanical beings of the monsterkabinett dance and sing. Music and machine merge and thrill to the beat. Highlights of the exhibition include a giant spider which fortunately does not bite, my personal favourite, the hilariously poignant “Trampeltier” and the “Spiegelraum”- a room which has to be seen to be believed. A tour through the Monsterkabinett is an unforgettable experience- grotesque and poetic and berlin underground in every sense of the word.
open Thursday 6-10pm, Friday-Saturday 4-10pm
www.monsterkabinett.de
Rosenthaler Str 39, 10178, Berlin
+49(0)178 8060202
Awesome hostel located in central Berlin. Recently renovated and the rooms are decorated very cool and artsy. The hostel is very unique in that each room has a different theme which sets it apart from many other hostels.
The staff are incredibly helpful and friendly and ready to help you navigate your way through Berlin's many museums, parks, nightlife, etc. There's also an internet cafe inside so no need to worry about internet! The atmosphere of the hostel is very relaxed and the bar is a great place to hang out and meet other people staying in the hostel. It is also very centrally located and all of Berlin's major sights are very easily accessible from the hostel.
You can also rent bikes from the hostel for a very reasonable price. I really enjoyed staying here and would recommend it to any fellow traveler coming to Berlin! Also, no curfew! :)
Chausseestrasse 102 10115 Berlin
baxpax.de/mittes-backpacker/en/home/ +49(0)30 283 909 65
Google map: bit.ly/qQnRMY
There aren't many old style restaurants in this part of Berlin, so this stands out for that reason - it's been around since the early 1900s. It serves traditional style German/Berlin food. Not everyone's taste, but if you're visiting, you should at least try it. There's plenty of meat and sauerkraut, and it isn't pricey. Inside is cozy, and great for winter. Outside catches the early evening sun from June to September.
metzer-eck.de/
Metzer Straße 33 10405 Berlin
+49(0)30 44 27 656
Google map: bit.ly/lhxOSe
Emil Nolde is famous for his expressionistic paintings of the wide skies of Northern Germany. His love for bold colours is reflected in his garden which still looks the same as it did in his lifetime. It stands out like an oasis of colour in the windswept flats of Schleswig-Holstein. After visiting the garden, admire his work in the adjoining museum and then have tea and cake in the little yellow garden house which can be booked for up to six guests.
Stiftung Seebüll Ada und Emil Nolde, 25927 Neukirchen
www.nolde-stiftung.de
+49 4664983930
Google map: bit.ly/lTQW6k
Amazing, smoky little jazz bar. Live bands all night, every night since the 70s and entrance is free. The venue is recognised alongside Preservation Hall (New Orleans) as a World Jazz Hotspot. The main man behind the bar is amazingly friendly - he even remembered us when we came in the second night and asked the band to play us a special song. Fantastic atmosphere, great fresh kolsch, the chance of catching some big jazz names and all the peanuts you can eat!
Buttermarkt 37, 50667 Köln
+49(0)221 257 79 31
www.papajoes.de
Google map: bit.ly/igiEUM
The Waldbühne is an open air concert venue in Berlin holding 23000 people. It is a natural amphitheatre and great for summer outdoor concerts. I went to my first concert there on the 26th of June 1986 aged 11, to see Queen on their magic tour. Looking back now it was a great privilege to see Queen with Freddie Mercury, for my first concert. I do remember that the security is very tight when it comes to taking bottles into the venue, so don't waste your money trying to take booze in with you. I lived two minutes walk from the venue at the time, however it is easily accessible by public transport, even if you are staying in the centre of Berlin. I have been to many concerts in venues and nothing comes close to a balmy summer evening watching a band at the Waldbühne. I would recommend planning a visit to Berlin around a band you like.
Waldbühne, Am Glockenturm, 14053 Berlin
+49 30 74 73 75 00
Google map: bit.ly/jtb7t6
The Bunker is a fantastic gritty underground bar and live music venue in the heart of Chemnitz in Saxony, East Germany. Chemnitz is a city awash with a grim architectural grey which effortlessly fuses utilitarian communist era concrete blocks with the heartless new town chic which has afflicted countless modern European cities. But I was lucky enough to be staying with friends from the city when I visited and beneath the cold exterior (it was winter as well), there were pockets of life seething with energy. While there, nothing captured this energy better than the Bunker. We went on a cold, rainy night. As you approach the club, you descend from the surface of the city to the inconspicuous, unassuming front entrance, surrounded by oppressive concrete blocks and iron grills - it could be an underpass. But once in, the underground lair was warm and inviting, the genuine thing and an actual former bunker, with low curving ceilings creating a wonderful higgledy-piggledy array of nooks and crannies tumbling away from the central room and bar used for the live shows. It was sweaty, claustrophobic, edgy and smoky and a great place to jump around to bands, DJs and music I'd not heard before. It was one of the great nights which made one of my odder European city getaways. I don't know if the smoking ban is enforced yet but it does continue to be a regular venue for regular live music (see last.fm for listings) and I'd heavily recommend it to anyone who has the dubious pleasure of passing through Chemnitz.
Rosenplatz 7, 09126 Chemnitz, Germany
+49(0)371 519949
Google map: bit.ly/jJz7DU
Wuppertal is a midsize industrial city in the Ruhr, within an hours travel of Cologne Dortmund or Dusseldorf, with a large chemical factory as its main employer. Possibly this explains its absence from any tourist itineraries. But it does have the Schwebebahn - a 100-year -old monorail that runs along above the river and roads, while gently swaying 10 metres above the ground, linking all the town districts together. Spend a day or two here, riding the rail and then visiting Wuppertals excellent zoo. All inclusive tickets are available at the stations. The lion enclosure is particularly recommended. We stayed at the ArtFabrik hotel which although not centrally located has decor and a vibe that seriously added to the fun of the weekend.
Trains from Koln, Dortmund etc.
www.schwebebahn.de/EN
Google map: bit.ly/ibFTxm
www.art-fabrik-hotel.de/gbr
Bockmühle 16-24 - D-42289 Wuppertal
+49(0202) 28370
Google map: bit.ly/eO6uBD
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