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

Planning Your Trip to Germany

When you're asked to go for a roll in the hay in Germany, it may not be what you think. More and more old barns are being turned into Heuhotels, or "Hay Hotels." Overnight guests sleep on a bed of dried grass near cows and goats. Nature lovers, outdoorsy types, and cyclists like these eco-friendly hotels. At least there's no bed linen to wash. Most guests bring their own sleeping bag and towels. Rates begin at €14 ($18) per person a night. A list of Hay Hotels throughout Germany is available from www.heuhotels.de. Believe it or not, these rustic spots are becoming increasingly popular with honeymooners.

Drawbridge to Europe, 98 Granite St., Ashland, Oregon (tel. 888/268-1148; www.drawbridgetoeurope.com) is offering extensive rentals throughout Europe, including cottages in the Black Forest or chalets in Bavaria, among other locations. It advertises itself as providing a "home away from home" in Germany as well as Austria. The outfit can also provide car rentals and travel insurance at very good rates. These vacation rentals are especially economical for family travelers in these difficult economic climes.

Berlin

Tempelhof Airport in Berlin, made famous during the Berlin airlift of 1948 and 1949, officially closed in October of 2008. Its demise was greeted with massive protest from many Berliners who developed a sentimental attachment to it when Soviets blocked overland routes in and out of the city, and millions of tons of food and fuel were flown in. The airport was built by the Nazis, and because it enjoys landmark status, it cannot be torn down. No longer vital to the survival of Berlin, its terminals and hangars face an uncertain future. A ghostly reminder of the past? Perhaps a museum? A historic monument to freedom?

On November 9, 2009, Berliners celebrated the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The historic event was marked by a series of exhibitions, special events, and commemoratory functions. The celebration will be officially launched on May 7 at the Alexanderplatz, with an open-air exhibition focusing on the events leading up to the collapse of the wall. The year will culminate in a large celebration at the Brandenburg Gate on the actual date of the anniversary, and will include festivals, concerts, and other artistic performances. For more details of the celebration, check www.mauerfall09.de.

Mövenpick Hotel, Schöneberger Strasse 3 (tel. 030/230060; www.moevenpick-berlin.com) began life as a Siemen's office building, but has now been converted into a first-rate hotel in what used to be called West Berlin. It is a 15-minute walk from the Potsdamer Platz and the leafy Tiergarten. The 243-room hotel attracts more budget-conscious families and younger visitors than staid business clients. With its brightly colored Eero Saarinenesque chairs, its bedrooms are starkly chic; some of the deluxe accommodations feature funky free-standing bathtubs. The on-site Anhalter Bar, right off the front entrance, is a rendezvous point for young Berlin.

Popular with the art crowd from the nearby Kreuzberg galleries, Sale e Tabacchi, Kochstrasse 18 (tel. 030/2521-155; www.sale-e-tabacchi.de), is an elegant cafeteria. It serves Italian specialties that delight the palate, including a zuppa di pesce, which might be followed by some of Berlin's best antipasti, including a platter piled high with fresh seafood. Zucchini arrives stuffed with ricotta and served with a tomato cream sauce. Meals can be rounded off with succulentpastas and freshly made salads.

Grill Royal, Friedrichstrasse 105B (tel. 030/2887-9288; www.grillroyal.com), the best steakhouse in Berlin Mitte, lies on the banks of the River Spree. It also specializes in fine de Claire oysters to get you started. Many of their select cuts of beef are imported from Ireland, Argentina, and Australia. The chefs also made a rich beef stroganoff and serve delectable lamb chops. For the non-meat eater, there is a selection of fresh fish, including lobster and halibut.

One of Berlin's newest museums is the DDR Museum, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 1 (tel. 030/84712373-0; www.ddr-museum.de). The museum admirably sets out to showcase what daily life was like for citizens of the now-defunct German Democratic Republic. The museum is interactive; visitors are encouraged to open drawers and cupboards and touch almost everything. What a way to experience life in the GDR firsthand. Here's your chance to drive the famous Tabi and handle other once-utilitarian, but now historic, East German artifacts.

Munich

Many discerning guests are opting to stay at Hotel La Maison, Occamstrasse 24 (tel. 089/33-03-55-50; www.hotel-la-maison.com), in the increasingly trendy Altschwabing neighborhood, with its chic cafes and nightclubs. One recent guest found that La Maison has a "California vibe." Everything seems designed to make a guest feel at home. The interiors of the bedrooms mix modern design with charm and informal comfort. The cuisine at the on-site La Maison bar and restaurant is recommended even if you're not an overnight guest here. It's been defined as a "California lifestyle cuisine."

New on the restaurant scene is Zerwirk, Ledererstrasse 3 (tel. 089/2323-9195; www.zerwirk.de), with its acid-green benches, plastic chairs, and white walls. Ironically, although today it's a vegan restaurant, it originally functioned as the site of a "royal butcher," supplying meats to the Bavarian court. Try such specialties as risotto made with radicchio or caramelized pears.

Other new developments on the city's dining scene include Nero Pizza, Rumfordstrasse 34 (tel. 089/2101-9060; www.nero-muenchen.de). Specializing in pizzas with crispy thin crusts, it competes with some of the best pizzerias of Rome. Guests sit together at sprawling communal tables, finishing off their meals with such lush desserts as truffle cream pies.

NoMiYa, Wörthstrasse 7 (tel. 089/4484-095; www.nomiya.de), crosses a German Bavarian beer hall with a sushi bar. You can order plump maki (tuna) rolls and skewers of seasoned and marinated chicken, pork, and beef, and wash them down with wheat-based microbrews.

Part of a working organic farm, das Wirtshaus zum Herrmannsdorfer Schweinsbräu, Herrmannsdorf 7, Glonn (tel. 080/93-90-94-45; www.schweinsbraeu.de), lies about a half hour's drive southeast of the center of Munich. In the wake of the international publicity it received in 2008, it is attracting greater numbers of serious foodies. Thomas Thielemann, the chef, welcomes you to his stable of "glücklichen schweinen," or happy pigs. Everything served is either raised on the farm or at a farm nearby. Pork and beef are widely praised for their quality, although you can also order wild duck breast or German potato pancakes. The setting is in a three-story barn whose walls are covered with murals of those happy pigs being, well, piggy. Also on site is an organic brewery.

The Rhineland

Opening directly onto one of the Cologne's most famous squares, Rudolfplatz, the Barcelo Cologne City Center (tel. 0221/2280; www.barcelo.com), is a first-class hotel with 301 well-furnished rooms and such extras as a heated indoor pool and a fitness club. Special features include double-glazed windows and individually controlled air conditioning, along with a business center and two phones in every room. Both a regional cuisine and French specialties are served in the on-site Las Arenas Restaurant, which attracts an international crowd of diners thanks to its sophisticated cuisine and the cosmopolitan neighborhood it occupies.

With 533 rooms, Düsseldorf's Maritim Hotel Düsseldorf at Maritim-Platz 1 (tel. 0211/5209-0; www.maritim.de), is one of the largest in the region, a magnet for conventions from many of the major corporations in the surrounding North Rhine Westphalia district. Conveniently positioned near the airport, it's suitable for both vacationers and business travelers. Rooms are deluxe and artfully postmodern. On the premises is a state-of-the-art workout center and spa, as well as a top-rated restaurant, and

Hamburg

Take off your shoes before entering your room at the New Nippon Hotel, Hofweg 75, Uhlenhorst (tel. 040/227-1140; www.nippon-hotel.de). You'll sleep on a futon mattress and walk across Tatami floor mats. The most courteous hotel staff in Hamburg, all of whom are Japanese, will serve you. If you're used to Western style luxury, you may find the minimalist décor a bit disconcerting, but one guest found the ambience "relaxing for both body and soul." The style is defined by a series of straight lines and clear forms, along with lightwood furnishings and traditional rice-paper shoji partitions. Naturally, there's an on-site Japanese restaurant and sushi bar.

Heiligendamm

When the G8, the world's major industrial powers, met in June of 2008 in the city of Heiligendamm, the event focused attention once again on this old resort beside the German (Baltic) Riviera. It's sometimes referred to as "the White City of the Sea" because of its white-fronted dignified Biedermeier buildings and for the white sand of its beaches. Some of these leaders found time to relax in old-fashioned wicker beach chairs to protect themselves against blustery the sea winds. Although it originated as a seaside resort in 1793, it took about a century, plus the inauguration of the then-risqué pastime of sea bathing, for the resort to become genuinely fashionable. By the turn of the 20th century, Heiligendamm had become a sort of St-Tropez of the Baltics, a favorite of Russian czars and the beau monde of Berlin. Now, in the wake of the G8 and the world's most powerful people convening here, a new generation of holiday-makers is re-discovering Heiligendamm. The best place to stay is the Kempinski Grand Hotel Heiligendamm, right on the water (tel. 038203/7400; www.kempinski-heiligendamm.com).

Talk with fellow Frommer's travelers in our Germany Forum today.