November 2001 - Nr. 11
Germany gets the Christmas spirit:
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Festive events
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Christmas- and Christkindl Markets
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Packages for Advent
DZT - Streets and squares in Germany’s towns and cities are festively dressed from the end of November to the end of December. Glittering lights and bright colours give the pre-Christmas season a special charm.
Concerts are part of the festive program, as well as strolls through the Christmas Markets with their lovingly-decorated stands. Christmas traditions are kept everywhere, and attractive offers invite you on an entertaining pre-Christmas tour of Germany.
The Munich Christkindlmarkt (Dec. 1-23) delights three million visitors each year. Upper Bavarian handicrafts make up the pre-Christmas scene around the Marienplatz, and a Christmas tree nearly 90 feet tall glows with more than 2,500 candles in front of the City Hall. As evening falls, folk-music groups sing and play on the City Hall balcony.
In addition to this big Christkindlmarkt, nearly every section of Munich has its own Christmas market with unmistakable flair.
Packages are available from 90 marks (46.02 Euro) per person for one night and breakfast in a double room. Info: Tel. 089-23330300. E-mail: tourismus@muenchen.btl.de
During the Advent season in Würzburg, a night watchman in historic dress guides guests to the Christmas Market (Nov. 30-Dec. 23) and through the romantically-lighted lanes of the centre city. He relates anecdotes and typical Würzburg stories. At the end, there is an exclusive four-course meal.
This program is also part of a package offered by Würzburg hotels. Arrangements can be booked from 70 marks (35.79 Euro) per person for one night and breakfast. The complete list of packages is in the brochure "Advent, Weihnachten, Silvester 2001" (Advent, Christmas, New Year’s Eve 2001) available from Congress-Tourismus-Wirtschaft, tel. 0931-372335, fax 373652, e-mail: tourismus@wuerzburg.de
In Bamberg, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage city, visitors are attracted to the well-known "Bamberg Crèche Path" as well as to the Christmas Market (Nov. 29-Dec. 23). The path leads to more than 30 sumptuous motifs all over the city.
City- and crèche tours are a part of the package that includes two nights, breakfast and reading material at a cost from 169 marks (86.41 Euro) per person. It can be booked from Nov. 30 to Jan. 5, 2002. Info: Bamberg Tourismus & Kongress Service, tel. 0951-871161, fax 871960.
Among the most important events in Regensburg are the popular Christmas concerts by the Regensburg Domspatzen. They are scheduled on a number of dates in December.
Entry to a Domspatzen concert is part of a package that also includes two nights, breakfast, welcome drink, festive dinner, city tour and gift. It costs from 270 marks (138.05 Euro) per person.
The Regensburg Christmas Market takes place Nov. 29-Dec. 23. Info: Tourist-Information, Altes Rathaus, D-93047 Regensburg. Tel. 0941-5074410. Fax 5074419. Internet: www.regensburg.de E-mail: tourismus@regensburg.de .
Heidelberg invites you to stroll through its Christmas Market Nov. 28-Dec. 22. The Tourist Office offers Advent packages so guests can experience the city on the Neckar in its Christmas glory at reasonable prices.
With one night, breakfast, a festive Christmas meal and many extras, the guest pays from 165 marks (84.36 Euro). Info: Verkehrsverein, tel. 06221-142216, fax 142222, e-mail: book@cvb-heidelberg.de , Internet: www.cvb-heidelberg.de
The Christmas spirit underground: In the Mining Museum at Rammelsberg in the Harz, which has been put on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list, the 200-year-old Roeder Mine will be beautifully illuminated on Dec. 23.
A stroll through the mine, where for 100 years the huge underground waterwheels were driven, is a particularly contemplative experience, enhanced by Christmas music.
Tickets: Bergbaumuseum, Bergtal 19, D-38640 Goslar. Tel. 05321-750122.
The Christmas Market in Goslar – also on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list – is one of the most romantic in Northern Germany.
The historic city in the Harz Mountains presents a market in original wooden huts from Nov. 28 to Dec. 28.
Info: Tourist-Information, Markt 7, D-38640 Goslar. Tel. 05321-78060. Fax 780640. Internet: www.goslarinfo.de , E-mail: goslarinfo@t-online.de
"Christmas with Buddenbrooks" is the pre-Christmas program in the Hanseatic city Lübeck.
Literature fans who want to stroll through Thomas Mann’s native town on his trail are heartily welcome Nov. 23, 24 and 30 as well as December 1, 2, 7 and 8 at the Buddenbrookhaus.
A full evening’s program with readings, coffee and cake starts at 6 p.m. The package also includes a tour through the Buddenbrook House, literary city tour, buffet and entry to the Puppet Theater Museum.
For groups of 40 or more persons, cost is 85 marks (43.46 Euro) per person. Tickets: Lübeck und Travemünde Tourist-Service, Breite Strasse 62, D-23552 Lübeck. Booking hotline: 01805-882233. E-mail: bo@luebeck-tourismus.de
In Bremen, guests can visit the Christmas Market Nov. 29-Dec. 23.
The Hanseatic city has an attractive package from 153 marks (78.23 Euro) with one night, breakfast, a three-course meal, baked apple, mulled wine and tour through the Old Town.
Info: Bremer Touristik-Zentrale. Service hotline: 01805-101030. Tel. 0421-3080026. Fax 3080025. Internet: www.bremen-tourism.de
