Photos courtesy Schwabinger Christmas Market and Thomas Gießner
In times of technical developments and mass produced goods, the Schwabing Christmas Market in Munich, Germany strives to lift the focus to the individuality of arts and crafts.
FLYING HIGH, YET DOWN TO EARTH This market has caught the imagination of its visitors for decades with a mix of artisans creating art and crafts. The magical atmosphere of the Christmas market with its many culinary delights give it an unmistakable flair.
In addition, visitors can also expect daily music shows, kids’ entertainment and various culinary delights—and all is free of charge.
MUNICH’S FINEST ARTISTS MARKET More than 100 artists from all over Germany create a place where one can relax and enjoy this unique atmosphere. The concept has been one of an artist’s market from the very beginning. An unmistakable flair can be found here with the high level of artistic talent and craftsmanship. This is further underlined by the quality of the daily cultural programming and fine foods, as well as concerts and various events.
IDEA WAS BORN In the early 1970’s a number of artists who exhibited during the summer on the “Art Mile” on Leopold Street in Munich began to show their work at the former Swiss House prior to Christmas. In 1975 the idea of an artist’s market, with stalls and events, was born. With the backing of the local council, the Schwabing Chistmas Market was founded. A jury is responsible for choosing the work shown, as well as finding new exhibitors. This ensures that all exhibited work comes from the studios and workshops of the artists.
Steigenberger’s elegant five-star Parkhotel in Dusseldorf, Germany—located adjunct to a park—is an oasis in the middle of a popular shopping complex and entertainment strip of the Königsallee.
The prestigious hotel has just completed a multi-million dollar renovation of its entire first floor, kitchen area and more than 90 rooms and suites.
STROLL ALONG THE RIVER The hotel is located at the heart of a number of cultural and entertainment venues which are easily walkable, such as the Opera House, the Old Town, and the Rhine River is just a 10 minute walk away. There you can stroll along the river, regarded as one of the most beautiful of esplanades. Planned by Niklaus Fritschi and built between 1990 and 1997, it “joins” the city to its river. It symbolizes Düsseldorfers’ Rhenish joie-de-vivre and particularly in summer is an expression of the city’s Mediterranean lifestyle.
The Rhine embankment promenade links the traditional Altstad (Old Town) to the modern MedienHafen and is lined by cafés and bars. Thus the Steigenberger Hotel enjoys a prominent position in the life of the city which guests can take full advantage of.
The hotel’s lobby is large and welcoming, with a large vase of eye-catching flowers, a glittering chandelier in the middle, colorful contemporary paintings on the walls and rich wood registration desks, backed on the walls by more rich wood panels. I immediately felt at home in this place, especially with the attentive, personable staff.
The Parkhotel’s 130 rooms, all with high ceilings, are comprised of superior single rooms, deluxe double rooms, grand deluxe rooms and deluxe suites, all neat as a pin, roomy and comfortable. Rooms feature a flat screen television, work desk, air conditioning and access to the spa. Larger rooms include even more amenities. In addition, the rooms are quiet and feature reading lamps on each side of the bed.
HOTEL IS CENTRALLY LOCATED Rooms feature a flat screen television, work desk, air conditioning and access to the sauna and fitness area. The Hauptbahnhof is a few blocks away and guests can easily get there by cab from the hotel. The Dusseldorf trade fair building is about four miles away.
The hotel features six modular function rooms for meetings and conferences with air conditioning and state-of-the art facilities to enable users to make the most of modern multimedia.
Etoile Bar From mid-April the exclusive summer terrace of the hotel offers a chance to enjoy meals or drinks al fresco. Indoors, the dark wood-paneled Etoile Bar, where piano music can be enjoyed, is a good spot to sit a spell. There is also the Steigenberger Eck Lounge, a bistro and bar where one can have Champagne, tea or a drink, and seafood or other meal selections.
Artiste Restaurant
FINE DINING At the fine dining restaurant Artiste, chef Christoph Kaiser provides a varied range of excellent foods and fine table wines. A super appetizer of Colby fish topped with avocado cream was followed by a thick, juicy steak, creamed white asparagus and delicious small potatoes. My wife had the asparagus and new boiled potatoes, but with a delicate, flaky salmon as the main dish. All vegetables are locally grown and personally selected by the chef.
The crème brûlée for dessert, as well as the citrus sponge cake garnished with colorful fruit was the perfect ending to a memorable dinner. The service was impeccable. Another hotel restaurant, the Menuett, is also available for breakfast and special events.
HISTORICAL, STUNNING BUILDING From the outside, the first impression of this hotel is of a magnificent, stunning building, in classical German architectural style. It’s history goes back a long way.
HISTORY The hotel opened in 1902 in conjunction with the industry, trade and art exhibition in Düsseldorf. Soon after it opened aristocracy, famous industrialists and the traveling pubic frequented the hotel. As an example, in 1908 Crown Prince Wilhelm of Prussia and Crown Princess Cecilie visited there.
(left) In 1908, Crown Prince Wilhelm and Crown Princess Cecelie visited the hotel.
From 1936 to 1937 the hotel was reconditioned and modernized but was substantially damaged in 1944 during WWII air attacks, with the upper floors destroyed by fire. Between 1945 and 1951 the Steigenberger hotel was taken over by American and later British occupying forces. Later it served as the Mannesmann AG administrative building until 1953.
Today, English carpets and both modern and antique furniture evoke a synthesis of functionality and noble ambience in the hotel. The elegant interior was designed by architect Bergit Countess of Douglas. The valuable high class furniture imitates the style popular in 18th century’s France ruled by Louis XVI, evoking a sense of comfort and security through its warm wood colors and wooden materials.
In all, the Steigenberger Parkhotel is an island of calm in the midst of a bustling downtown city. Its interesting history and charm make it a prime Steigenberger property.
Berlin, Germany’s capital, is the home to numerous impressive museums. With a section of Berlin dedicated to museums, Museum Island, as well as with museums around the rest of the city, it is easy to see the importance museums have on the cultural landscape of Berlin. The list of museums keeps growing as new ones continue to open and others re-open after renovations.
TSHOBAN FOUNDATION – MUSEUM FOR ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS Open since 2013 at the former Pfefferberg Brewery complex, the private Museum for Architectural Drawings houses the renowned Tchoban Foundation’s collection, as well as temporary exhibits from leading international cultural institutions. Conceived by Berlin- and Moscow-based architect Sergei Tchoban, the museum presents three changing exhibitions annually. The architecturally striking building extends from a fire-wall, seemingly latching onto a row of typical Berlin houses. Evoking the image of a set of oversized piled blocks, the four story building’s silhouette is defined by a regression and progression of a colored concrete and glass facade. Open daily, admission is approximately $5.
MAGICUM – BERLIN MAGIC MUSEUM Witchcraft and magical powers, mythical knowledge, secrets, the supernatural and ancient wisdom can be explored in the cellars of a historic former blacksmith building close to Berlin’s Hackesche Market. Open since summer 2014, Berlin’s Magic Museum features some 450 exhibits displayed over 6,500 square feet. Included are ritualistic objects and magic devices ranging from a Dutch witches scale and torture instruments to African totem masks, crystal balls and a historic Samurai sword. Curated to be more entertaining rather than strictly academic, the spellbinding exhibition encourages intuitive exploration. Open daily, admission is approximately $8.
Magicum Museum
KUNSTHAUS DAHLEM TO OPEN SUMMER 2015 Following extensive renovations, the Kunsthaus Dahlem will open in the summer of 2015 as an exhibition venue for Postwar German Modernism from East and West Germany (1945-61). The opening exhibition will focus primarily on sculptural works, complemented by paintings, graphics and photography. The historic building was constructed between 1939 and 1942 as a studio for infamous sculptor Arno Breker, who, alongside Josef Thorak, was one of the popular sculptors of the Third Reich, producing ornamental sculptures for Albert Speer’s monumental constructions. In addition to a café and a museum shop, there will also be a permanent exhibition on the building’s eventful past. Free admission.
BERLIN SPY MUSEUM Espionage has been the subject of many movies and books set in Berlin. Now the city is finally getting a museum that focuses on the mysteries of agents, double agents, betrayals, heroes and their stories, as well as the tools they used. The Berlin Spy Museum will feature approximately 21,500 square feet of exhibition space. One of the more well-known pieces on display will be the famous German coding machine “Enigma” from World War II, which was used for enciphering and deciphering secret messages. The exhibition will unveil the mysteries of intelligence services and espionage in the East and the West with a focus on Berlin during WWII and the Cold War. The interactive exhibits cater to all age groups, including children. www.deutsches-spionagemuseum.de/
MUSEUM OF DECORATIVE ARTS OPEN AGAIN AT KULTURFORUM After three years of renovations, Germany’s oldest museum of decorative arts, the Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin, reopened in November 2014 with a new gallery dedicated to the history of fashion. Located at Berlin’s Kulturforum museum complex, the new permanent exhibition of dresses, hats, bags, gloves and accessories from the 18th to the 21st century is based on an international collection acquired by the museum in 2009. Since its re-opening, the Kunstgewerbemuseum has been providing an overview of the key achievements in European design, from the Middle Ages to the present day. In addition to the Fashion Gallery, the museum features new departments of Design and Jugendstil/Art Deco.
Museum of Decorative Arts
BERLINISCHE GALLERY REOPENS MAY 2015 After a year-long modernization, the Berlinische Gallery is scheduled to reopen on May 28, 2015. The gallery’s permanent exhibition focuses exclusively on art in Berlin from 1880-1980, ranging from late 19th century paintings, to Expressionism and the East European avant-garde, to post-war modern architecture and the “wild” works of the 1970s. Reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of the collection, the exhibition will illustrate a diversity of artistic styles and credos, but also tensions, polarization and fresh departures, which remain hallmarks of Berlin as an artistic hub. Two other temporary exhibitions are opening on May 25, 2015: Radically Modern, which focuses on building styles in the 1960s and an exhibition on contemporary German painter Bernhard Martin. A retrospective on Max Beckmann and Berlin will open November 20, 2015 and is poised to be a major highlight of Berlin’s cultural winter for 2015/2016.
Although goulash originated in Hungary, this popular dish later spread beyond its borders, first to the Austrian Empire, Germany, and the Balkans, and finally around the world.
Classic Hungarian goulash at a restaurant on Hungary’s Great Plain
By Sharon Hudgins Photos by the author
Everyone loves a good goulash. But ask a dozen people what a goulash is—and you’ll get a dozen different answers: a soup, a stew, a meat dish served on a plate; brown, red, mild, hot-spicy; made with beef, pork, mutton, game, even vegetarian.
Although goulash originated in Hungary, this popular dish later spread beyond its borders, first to the Austrian Empire, Germany, and the Balkans, and finally around the world. That’s why there are so many versions of goulash today.
GOULASH ROOTS Hungarian goulash traces its roots back to nomadic Magyar herdsmen in the ninth century. Shepherds cut meat into cubes and slowly stewed them in a heavy iron kettle over an open fire until the liquid evaporated. Then they spread the meat out in a single layer to further dry in the sun. This dried meat, an early convenience food, could be carried with them as they followed their flocks across the vast expanse of Hungary’s Great Plain. To reconstitute the meat they simply added water and heated it—sometimes with other ingredients, too—in a pot over a fire. If a lot of liquid was added, the dish was called goulash soup. With less liquid, it was simply goulash meat. In both cases it was eaten with spoons dipped into the communal cooking pot.
Goulash got its name from those early herdsmen, who were called gulyás in Hungarian. But goulash as we know it today did not develop until the end of the 18th century and beginning of the 19th, with the widespread cultivation of peppers in Hungary and the use of paprika as a popular spice. Originally it was considered peasant food, eaten primarily by country folk—farmers, shepherds, cowboys, and swineherds. With the rise of Hungarian nationalism in the second half of the 19th century, paprika-seasoned goulash moved from the campsites and farmhouses to the tables of middle class and wealthy city dwellers, to the menus of fashionable restaurants and eventually across the globe.
GOULASH VARIETIES Goulash is now the Hungarian dish most widely known abroad. But in many parts of the world, dishes called “goulash” bear little resemblance to the gulyás that originated in Hungary and is eaten there today. In Hungary, gulyás is a meat dish halfway between a soup and a stew, made with small cubes of meat (usually beef), no more than 3/4-inch in size, and flavored with bacon or lard, onions and paprika. Gulyás is traditionally served in a bowl and eaten with a spoon.
Over time, Hungarian cooks also developed many variations on this theme, using such ingredients as garlic, tomatoes, mild banana peppers and hot cherry peppers, caraway seeds, root vegetables, cabbage, beans and tiny egg dumplings, as well as pork, mutton, venison and boar meat. Regional recipes abound, with each cook claiming his or her own version of goulash to be the best and most authentic.
Germans adapted the basic Hungarian goulash recipe to their own tastes, producing the Gulaschsuppe (goulash soup) that is now so popular throughout Germany, where it’s traditionally served with a slice of rye bread and a mug of beer. Germans and Austrians also make a variety of thick, paprika-flavored meat stews called Gulasch, served on a plate and accompanied by boiled potatoes, egg noodles or dumplings. (The Hungarians, however, would call this kind of stew a pörkölt, not a goulash.) And Kesselgulasch (kettle goulash)—cooked outdoors in a pot suspended by an iron tripod over an open fire—is a Hungarian specialty that many Central Europeans now eat at their own backyard dinner parties and local festivals.
German “Beer Goulash” at brewery beer garden in Erfurt
As part of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Austrians certainly love their own versions of Gulasch. There’s even a Cafe-Restaurant Gulaschmuseum in Vienna, where the menu lists more than a dozen varieties of goulash, including turkey or chicken-liver goulash with potatoes, bean goulash with paprika-seasoned sausage, veal goulash with little spinach dumplings, and even a dessert called Schokogulasch (chocolate goulash) containing cake, chocolate sauce and rum. In Prague I purchased a Czech cookbook devoted entirely to the subject of goulash—including versions identified as German, Austrian, Slovakian, Slovenian, Serbian, Bulgarian, even Chinese and Mexican! And recently in New Mexico I came across a Cajun goulash. What a mixture of geography and culinary cultures! From its humble beginnings on the plains of Hungary more than a thousand years ago, this simple peasant food has now become a truly global dish.
GOULASH-SPEAK “Goulash” has also entered several languages as a word meaning more than just “a soup or stew.” In Hungary, “Goulash Communism” was a term for the Hungarians’ attempt in the late 1960s to create their own, more market-oriented, economic system distinct from the Soviet model. In Germany and Switzerland, a “goulash cannon” is military slang for a mobile field kitchen—a big, heavy, black, iron stewpot on wheels, with a cover on the top and a built-in firebox—which is also used for feeding crowds at festivals and other public events. And in the Czech Republic, political parties had a tradition of setting up their own “goulash cannons” in front of polling places at election time, where they dished out free goulash in a blatant attempt to influence voters’ choices on the ballot. As the Czechs said to each other when they headed to the polls to vote, “Have a good goulash!”
Germans love to party: more than 1,250 wine festivals are held throughout the country every year.
Sharing a huge glass of wine at a festival in the Franconia region of Germany.
By Sharon Hudgins Photos by the author
Germans love to party, especially when food and drink are involved. And public partying is a tradition in Germany, from Munich’s annual Oktoberfest beer bash to more than 1,250 wine festivals held throughout the country every year.
The eighth largest wine-producing country in the world, Germany is known for its excellent white wines and an increasing number of fine reds, too. Wines from Germany’s 13 designated wine regions each have their own character, depending on the kind of grapes they’re made from, the climate and terrain where the grapes are grown, and the skill of the winemakers themselves. Even wines from a small microclimate within one of the specified wine regions will differ from wines made on the other side of the hill or a kilometer down the road. Connoisseurs can distinguish not only among wines from the Ahr, Rheingau, Franconia, Pfalz and Baden regions, but can also taste the difference between wines from one vineyard and another.
Raising a toast at at the Meistertrunk (Master Draught) festival in Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Although Germany exports wines to other countries, much of its production is consumed in Germany itself, usually not far from where the wine was made. A fun way to sample these local wines is to attend one of the many wine festivals held annually in each region. Most occur between March and the end of harvest, in late October. Some are quiet little fests in small villages, held on only one day. Others are boisterous celebrations lasting for a weekend or a week or even longer, attracting people from all over the country. Some of these festivals are combined with other events, like open-air markets, outdoor concerts, art exhibits and craft fairs, food festivals and fireworks displays. Whatever the venue, a German wine festival is a good place to taste the local wines, eat regional specialties, meet friendly Germans and have a rousing good time.
Drawing Sturm (fermenting grape juice on its way to becoming wine) at a wine festival
From mid-March until mid-November, more than 200 festivals are scheduled along the Deutsche Weinstrasse, the German Wine Route that extends for 50 miles through Germany’s Pfalz region between the foothills of the forested Haardt Mountains and the flat Rhine River plain. The giant of all wine festivals is held in this region: the nearly-600-year-old Bad Dürckheimer Wurstmarkt (Sausage Market), the Pfalz’s equivalent of Munich’s beery Oktoberfest. Despite its meaty name, the Wurstmarkt claims to be the largest wine festival in the world, offering more than 150 local wines and attracting half a million visitors to Bad Dürckheim every year. During nine days in mid-September, they down more than 400,000 liters of the local brew!
Get away from the crush of Bad Dürckheim’s crowds at the many smaller, more intimate wine festivals along the German Wine Route, usually held for one to three days over a single weekend. The best time to go is in the early autumn, during the grape harvest season. Local vintners open their cellars to the public and their courtyards to customers who sit on benches at long tables, eating regional specialties and sipping wines in the shade of a grape arbor. This is a great way to meet Germans and enjoy the regional wines in a quiet, relaxed atmosphere.
Wiesbaden is known as “The Gateway to the Rheingau,” the romantic vineyard region on the north side of the Rhine River, home to some of Germany’s most famous wineries, including those around the villages of Rüdesheim, Eltville and Assmannshausen. During August, you can sample excellent Rhine wines from the local vintners at more than 120 booths set up in the Wiesbaden city center for the annual 10-day Rheingau Wine Festival.
Wineries like this one on the German Wine Route in the Pfalz open their cellars to the public during local wine festivals.
In late August and early September, you can also indulge at the 10-day Rheingau Wine Festival in nearby Frankfurt, tasting more than 600 wines from the Rheingau region at 30 vintners’ stands set up in the “Fressgass” food street along Bockenheimer Strasse and the Opernplatz, and in the nearby shopping district along the Goethestrasse. Food stalls operated by local businesses provide the sustenance you’ll need to keep from getting totally tipsy on all that good Rhine wine.
Farther north along the Rhine, the Mittelrhein (Middle Rhine) region is also the site of several wine festivals in the picturesque villages that line the river valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that includes the city of Koblenz. Among other wine festivals in this region, the Middle Rhine celebrates “Golden Wine Autumn” on two Saturdays in October, with wine tastings, live music, dancing and spectacular fireworks displays. The best way to enjoy this special festival is to book a day-long cruise on a river boat that includes stops at the festival towns along the Rhine and concludes with fireworks that night.
Zwiebelkuchen (onion tart) is the traditional accompaniment to Federweisse (fermenting grape juice on its way to becoming wine) in the autumn.
Another popular region for wine festivals is along the Mosel River, where dozens of local celebrations are held from April to October. The largest and best known is the Wine Festival of the Middle Mosel in Bernkastel-Kues in early September, which includes fireworks at the Landshut Castle, crowning of the Middle Mosel Wine Queen, wine tastings at 30 booths and a colorful parade of vintners through the narrow streets of this beautiful half-timbered town. Another good option is to visit the Mosel for a week or so during harvest time, from August through October, when you can watch the grapes being picked and experience the smaller, more intimate wine festivals in the little villages lining the river between Koblenz and Trier.
There’s a long tradition of wine festivals in the Baden wine region, in southwestern Germany, which produces some of Germany’s finest wines. Baden is well known for its excellent cuisine, too, which attracts gourmets from all over Europe. Among the many wine festivals in this region, one is held in July in the pretty city of Freiburg, where you can taste wines from 40 Baden vintners.
One of the largest wine festivals in Germany is the Stuttgarter Weindorf (Stuttgart Wine Village), held in early September in the heart of the city, the capital of Baden-Württemberg, where 120 vendors sell 250 kinds of Württemberg wines, as well as classic regional Schwabian foods. Stuttgart claims this festival attracts more than a million visitors annually, which would make it even larger than the Bad Durckheimer Wurstmarkt.
And finally, the Franconia wine region, along the Main River, hosts a number of wine festivals, too, featuring Franconia’s excellent wines in their characteristic green Bocksbeutel bottles. Small festivals in the villages of the Main River valley, such as Sommerhausen and neighboring Winterhausen, are especially fun to attend, for their fine wines and local character.
Würzburg, the regional capital of Lower Franconia, is the site of the Würzburger Weindorf (Würzburg Wine Festival), where you can sample more than 100 kinds of Franconian wines at the booths and stands set up in the city center in late May and early June. Würzburgers like to party. In late August Würzburg hosts an 11-day Weinparade am Marktplatz (Wine Festival on the Market Square), offering a chance to taste more than 100 different wines from Würzburg’s local wineries, along with plenty of regional food specialties.
At many of the autumn wine festivals in Germany, the traditional food and drink are Zwiebelkuchen (onion tart) and Federweisser (one of the many German names for “new wine”), which is fermenting grape juice that’s still on its way to becoming real wine. Don’t be fooled by the pleasantly sweet taste of this bubbly, cloudy brew—usually served in .25-liter glasses—which you’ll want to quaff like thirst-quenching fruit juice. Be forewarned: Federweisser does contain alcohol, more or less depending on how long the fermentation has been going on, and it can easily seduce you into drinking so much that when you stand up you’ll wish you’d been more prudent.
For information about a variety of German wine festivals see:
Weinfeste in Deutschland: website links, in German, to hundreds of wine festivals, with a paragraph describing each, the dates of the current year’s festivals, and a link to more information from each region’s or festival’s website.
European Traveler 