Johnny Jet's Travel Tales

In December 2001, I fell in love. My love life is not usually something I am comfortable sharing with over 118,000 readers, but this love affair is one that must be shared. My love affair is with the German cities of Cologne, Stuttgart and Dusseldorf.

Going to a country with a temperature colder than New York in December would not normally have made me rush to pack my bags, grab my passport and dash to the airport. One of the allures was the thought of shopping at the German Christmas markets, and getting all my holiday chores completed in a country that takes winter time activities very seriously. In New York, we see the winter as something that must be endured in order to get to spring..something like having to eat the peas to get to the chocolate pudding. The Germans, however, truly enjoy the winter season and the Christmas/ New Year holiday is the perfect excuse to have a wonderful time eating and eating and drinking and drinking and shopping and shopping…and shopping.

Cologne

Shopping the Christmas markets in Cologne requires a master plan, fortitude and lots of warm clothes, mittens, scarves, hats and boots - for the opportunities are vast and sprinkled throughout the City. When the children get overwhelmed with the plethora of goodies, parents park them at the Kiddy-Club. Here the children are looked after while the parents continue their holiday shopping and dining. Organize your visit so that you allocate at least three shopping days for Christmas Market browsing and buying. The markets are chockfull of wood and silver hand crafts, toys, bags, scarves, hats and novelties for the favorite people in your life, as well as their home and office. The markets also offer some of the best wursts on the planet, along with hot mulled wines, sinful waffles with cream and berries, roasted chestnuts, sugared pecans, and other calorie rich (but necessary) goodies that are too delicious to pass- up.

Fortified with gifts and good food, the Cologne Christmas concerts offer a wonderfully relaxing moment and a cultural reprieve from the crowds. Entertainment is available at the Philharmonie and the Opera House, as well as theatres, cabarets, musicals and a multitude of other venues. In the 18,000 seat Kolnarena such super stars as Elton John, Rod Steward, the Backstreet Boys and Luciano Pavarotti - have performed. So check the cultural schedule and plan your days and nights carefully in order to fit it all in.

Cologne also offers the visitor a wonderful view of history, including the Gothic Cathedral (over 750 years old), the Ludwig Museum, the Agfa Foto-Historama, the Roman-Germanic Museum, the Diocesan Museum and the Chocolate Museum (my hands-down favorite).

The Museum Ludwig has an extensive collection of 20th century art and an incredible Picasso collection (180 original works and 780 prints). The Agfa Foto-Historama photography museum is noted for housing one of the world's most important collections on the history of photography. Built in 1974, the Roman-Germanic Museum presents the Tomb of Poblicius (50 A.D.) that many consider the finest Roman Dionysos mosaic North West of the Roman Empire. Here I looked, in awe, at ancient Roman culture including vessels, coins, toys, household objects, and a priceless collection of Roman glass. The Cologne Municipal Museum, located in the 17th century imperial armory, presents the history of Cologne's culture and citizens from the Middle Ages to today. The Museum Schnutgen (Museum of Medieval Art) is located in the Romanesque Church of St. Cacilien and contains a collection of ecclesiastical art from the early Middle Ages to the Baroque period.

For the children (in all of us), the Chocolate Museum must be on the itinerary. Located on the Rhine on Rheinauhafen, this private museum tells visitors everything about the production of chocolate and, of course, there are samples and a huge gift shop with marzipan and other sweets for stocking stuffers.

Stuttgart

For more wonderful Christmas shopping you will be a happy camper when you travel to Stuttgart. First mentioned in 1692, the Stuttgart Christmas Market is one of the countries oldest and most beautiful with over 200 unique shopping opportunities. The markets open the last Thursday in November and close on December 23. Goodies for sale run the gamut from handmade tree decorations and crib figures to puppets, candles and lambskin shoes. The foods are too delicious to ignore and you must try the hot chestnuts, lebkuchen, grilled sausages and mulled wines. To add merriment to the shopping experience, choirs and other musical groups sing on the steps of the City Hall and in the Renaissance-style inner courtyard of the Altes Schloss.

Don't even think about limiting your Stuttgart visits to the winter. There are wonderful festivals all year long. In August, an open-air festival is held in the Palace Saure around the Eckensee waters. From outdoor dining and entertainment, the Summer Festival can be holiday highlight. The Stuttgart Wine Festival runs from August 28 - September 8 and is held in Schiller Square and the Old Palace. More than 120 vine arbors and over 350 wines from the Wurtternberg region are presented along with Schwabian specialties of maultaschen, kaserpatzle, and schupfnudeln with sauerkraut.

If you prefer beer to wine, the Beer Festival runs from September 21 - October 6, 2002. There are more than 300 venues on the banks of the Neckar River that provide a wide range of activities, along with the beer. Beer taps run almost continuously in the four large brewery beer tents (each holding up to 5,000 people), in the regional brewery tents and outdoor beer gardens. Beer can not be enjoyed without the Swabian specialties of Kasspatzle (cheese noodles) and roast pork.

Stuttgart offers the visitor an incredible cultural experience from September 21 2002 to February 9, 2003; The Stuttgart State Art Gallery presents a unique exhibition of Edouard Manet, one of the main representatives of Impressionism. Manets' masterpieces will be supplemented with works of his colleagues, including Monet, Pissaro, Renoir, Caillebotte and Boudin. Of course, everyone is required to make reservations at the Stuttgart Ballet and visit the myriad of other cultural activities throughout the year.

When the active sightseeing and eating is over, Stuttgart offers the weary traveler an opportunity to luxuriate in the natural spring bubbles of the city's largest and oldest Bad Cannstatt. This spa started over 2000 years ago when the Romans because aware of the springs' curative powers. It became a meeting place for emperors and kings, and an opportunity to show off their wealth. The spa is now located in the new Pannonia Hotel and includes whirlpools, a Kneipp basin, a fitness room, solarium, steam bath and sauna. The swimming area has warm, cold and hot water basins which are supplied from three state recognized medical springs and a thermal, salt water spring.

Dusseldorf

Dusseldorf is known for its wonderful fashions and beautiful women and if you are looking for either (or both) you will not be disappointed. I have never seen such fabulous fur coat designs, incredible boots and glamorous women wearing these fashions - anywhere! New York women has clearly taken the Ralph Lauren and Gap road to fashion while the Dusseldorf women are headed in an entirely different direction. This city has numerous fashion and shoe fairs each year, and the Collections Premiere and the International Shoe Fair are considered the premiere showcase, globally.

On the "Ko", one of the main shopping streets, the ardent and fashion conscious will find Armani, Kenzo, JOOP, Jil Sander, Uta Raasch, Onofri and Feraud. In the Old Town there are over 260 pubs right next to small, avant-garde boutiques. The Schadowstrasse is characterized by large department and clothing stores and the Schadow Arkaden is a shopper's treasure trove of goodies. For the bargain shopper, Stuttgart's flea markets can be found on Saturdays at the Aachener Platz, and monthly at the Radschlager-Market, the central market of Ulmenstrasse.

Dusseldorf is a wonderful cultural experience. Almost 300 years ago, one of the Medicis, together with her husband, Jan Wellem, developed Dusseldorf into a center for fine arts. The city has over 18 museums and the Kunstammlung Nordrhein Westfalen is home to the world's largest Paul Klee collection. The third largest museum in the world about Goethe is located in the Jagerhof Palace. The Hetjens Museum, the German Museum of Ceramics, boasts 8000 years of ceramic art from all continents.

Opera lovers will have to reserve seats at the Dusseldorf Opera House where the performances often include operas by Verdi, Mussorgski and Prokiev. The City also schedules chamber music concerts, and orchestras' feature Bach and Schonberg.

The younger members of the family will find their entertainment needs satisfied with musical selections from Andrew Lloyd Webber, Phantom of the Opera, the Rocky Horror Show, Holiday on Ice and, for the sports enthusiast, the International Horse Show.

Germany is so rich in things to see, do, eat, drink and shop; it is impossible to be bored. The country provides over 320 spas and health resorts, a treasure trove of art museums, with world-class collections and curators, untold numbers of opera and ballet venues, globally recognized orchestras and chamber music societies and some of the best wines, beers and cuisine on the planet. Whatever the reason and whenever the season, you will find that you too will have a love affair with Cologne, Stuttgart and Dusseldorf, Germany.

Elinor Garely
Go4travel@hotmail.com