What's New: An Online Update for Frommer's Germany

Berlin

Of all the cities in Germany, the fastest-growing and forever-changing new capital, Berlin, is experiencing a rapid growth. Developments are occurring so fast even the local newspapers have trouble keeping up.

In accommodations, Lux 11, 9-11 Rosa-Luxemburg-Strasse (tel. 030/936-2800), has opened in the Mitte sector in the heart of Berlin. In a chic minimalist style, 72 rooms each occupy a monolithic space. The look is modern and glamorous, with open bathrooms furnished in honey-colored wood and concrete (of all materials). In the basement is an Aveda spa, plus a "micro department store."

In fact, lots of cool new addresses are popping up in Berlin Mitte. It's amazing how this Cold War no-man's land is now a hotbed of expansion. There's everything here -- take, for example, Little Red Riding Hood, 148 Friedrichstrasse (tel. 030/2045-5619), selling everything from clothing to music. Monsieur Vyong, 46 Alte Schönhauserstrasse (tel. 030/3087-2643), has invaded with spicy Vietnamese specialties, attracting a trendy crowd. Edgy exhibits of contemporary art are a feature of Kunst-Werke, 69 Auguststrasse (tel. 030/243-4590). Later you can enjoy its courtyard café.

However, the hot new dining ticket in Berlin is an international restaurant, Horvath, 44A Paul-Lincke-Ufer (tel. 030/6128-9992), in the Kreuzberg district. Chef Wolfgang Müller now serves savory viands in the former site of Exil where David Bowie partied and Andy Warhol painted.

Another new restaurant to check out is Meena Kumari, Lychenerstrasse 9 (tel. 030/4405-2545), named for the famed Bollywood actress from India. The chic dining spot offers specialties from the kitchens of Southeast Asia.

Kreuzberg was once a seedy district for Turkish expats. Not so now. A three-block stretch from Bergmanstrasse, between Mehringdamm and Zossener Strasse, is now the hippest sector of Berlin. It's got history, architecture, and pickles. People flock to Kreuzberg to shop, discovering such outlets as Fassbender & Rausch. The original store began making chocolates back in 1863, when the staff supplied sweets to the royal court. Today, this nameship shop has opened, billing itself as the largest such outlet in Europe. Its truffles, filled with everything from pralines to Cognac, are beyond sublime. Check them out at Charlottenstrasse 60 (tel. 030/2045-8440).

Museums are also experiencing a major overhaul, with the neo-Baroque Bode Museum set to open some time in 2006 in Berlin's Museum Island on the River Spree.

Dresden

The 18th-century Frauenkirche or Church of Our Lady at Neumarkt (tel. 0351/498-1131), it has been fully restored, nearly 60 years after Allied bombs destroyed it. In 2005, some 60,000 people gathered to celebrate the reopening of this baroque cathedral. The restoration project cost $215 million in U.S. dollars, including a sizeable amount from the United States and Britain, whose air forces destroyed many German cities in defeating the Nazis. The East German authorities had left the church untouched and in ruins as a memorial. But after the fall of communism and the German reunification, there was a call for restoration.

Leipzig

Hotel Markgraf, just south of the center of Leipzig at Kornerstrasse 36 (tel. 0341/303030), right off Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse, is one of the most modern and sleekest hotels to open since reunification. It evokes a contemporary Tokyo hotel but with bigger and better bathrooms. The rooms are small with platform beds but the price, at 75€ ($90) for a double room, is right. A tram ride will transport you quickly to the city center.

The historic Bayerischer Bahnhof, the Bavarian Train Station on the south side of Leipzig, is under reconstruction -- but it still remains open for the original and last surviving Gose-style brewery. This is a light, salted beer (you heard that right), dating from 996 A.D. Gose is still getting them drunk at the Bayerischer Bahnhof Brewery, a beer garden and restaurant, at Bayerischer Platz 1 (tel. 0341/124-5760). For food, ever had pork knuckle in a black beer sauce?

Munich

In the heart of Munich, Orlandohaus, Platzl 4 (tel. 089/2423-8030), has opened next to Hofbrauhaus, the world's most infamous beer hall. Orlandohaus is also large and airy but much cleaner (and a lot safer). It was named after the composer Orlando di Lasso (1532-94), who once resided here. The chefs prepare all-you-can-eat buffets, and the waitstaff serves barrel after barrel of suds.

Devotees of aircraft are heading 12 miles (20km) north of Munich to visit Flugwerft Schleissheim, an offshoot of the famous Deutsches Museum. Antique flying museums are on parade here -- even early Soviet MiG fighters. The earliest known airplanes go back almost a century. Bus 292 runs here only on Monday to Friday, and the museum is open daily from 9am to 5pm. Admission is 10€ ($12).

Cologne

Fashion-conscious shoppers are flocking to the new Peck & Cloppenburg outlet at 65-67 Schildergasse (tel. 1803/211-900) in Cologne. The storekeepers commissioned Penzo Piano to design a "cathedral of cool." He combined what he called "a rather classical cubic form" with a translucent nave evocative of a large crystal egg. In all, there are 6,800 glass panels held together by wooden beams and strips of metal. Shoppers seek out some of the best European clothing for sale along the Rhine behind these diaphanous walls.

Frankfurt

In the city center, Kangaroos has opened at Grosse Eschenheimer Strasse 13A (tel. 069/131-0339), a funky, fun-loving Australian eatery and pub. It's the best place in Frankfurt for kangaroo or emu steak. Its breakfast menu is also one of the best in Frankfurt.

Hamburg

Hamburg used to be known for its sex shows. Today, in a more sophisticated nightlife environment, it seems ready to overtake Berlin as a uber-chic nightlife venue. Neo, 11 Martinistrasse 49 (tel. 040/4677-9936), is typical of the new, chic lounges opening up. This one, in the Eppendorf sector, attracts young media professionals who drink passion fruit mojitos and nibble on organic salads. At the harborfront, River Kasematten, 28-32 St. Pauli Fischmarkt 49 (tel. 040/4677-9936), attracts a dazzling crew of young men to its dimly lit space where they listen to rotating hot sounds from a stable of resident DJs.

Rostock/Wismar

The small village of Neukloster lies south of the old Hanseatic League towns of Rostock and Wismar along the Baltic in what was once known as East Germany. Just outside the village, on the shore of Lake Neukloster, stands a lakeside hotel, Seehotel, Seestrasse 1 (tel. 038422/25445). The main house was built at the turn of the century in red brick. Today a pair of architects from Berlin has transformed the compound into an intimate hotel, rebuilding the old house and adding a wood deck terrace overlooking an orchard and the lake. Modern simplicity is the keynote in both the public rooms and bedrooms.

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