Germany continues to build on its star attractions

  • By Rick Steves
  • Thursday, February 6, 2014 2:24pm
  • Life

While Germany sits in the driver’s seat of Europe’s economy, it doesn’t take a cultural backseat either. Here are a few of the latest developments:

Berlin is trying to finish construction of its new, 5 billion-euro airport: Willy Brandt Berlin-Brandenburg International.

But the project has been perennially delayed by technical problems; a partial opening in 2014 is possible, but not likely.

Although Berlin opened its new main train station (Hauptbahnhof) in 2006, construction is likely to begin again in 2014. Many travelers may be diverted through other stations, such as Bahnhof Zoo and Ostbahnof.

Berlin, the scene of so much tumult in the 20th century, does not forget the victims. Near the powerfully evocative Memorial to the Murdered Jews is a memorial dedicated to the homosexual victims of Hitler’s rule, and a new Roma and Sinti memorial.

The latter is to remind all who mourn the slaughter of 6 million Jews during the Holocaust that Hitler aimed to exterminate Europe’s Roma and Sinti population as well.

While Berlin has done what it can to keep the focus off Hitler himself, the parking lot that sits over the site of Hitler’s bunker is a few minutes’ walk from these other memorials.

The site (where he committed suicide just days before the end of World War II) comes with an information board to explain the significance of the spot.

A multi-year renovation project continues at Museum Island, filled with some of Berlin’s most impressive museums.

Beginning in the fall and continuing until 2019, the star of the Greek antiquities collection in the Pergamon Museum — the Pergamon Altar — will be closed to visitors.

In the meantime, some classical Greek artifacts can be seen at the nearby Altes Museum.

Hamburg is one of Germany’s wealthiest cities and a major financial, commercial, and media center.

Its shining glory is the new Elbphilharmonie concert hall, which looks like a glass palace resting on top of an old warehouse. However it won’t be opening until 2017, about seven years late.

To the south, travelers sleeping in the Bavarian town of Fuessen are now entitled to the Fuessen Card, paid for by the hotel tax.

This card allows free use of public transportation in the immediate region (including the bus to “Mad” King Ludwig’s famous castle, Neuschwanstein).

Similarly, the Aktiv-Card for the Reutte area just across the border in Austria includes free travel on local buses and free admission to some attractions.

Also new in Reutte, the Alpentherme Ehrenberg is an extensive swimming pool and sauna complex, featuring two indoor pools and a big saltwater outdoor pool, as well as two waterslides.

In Frankfurt, the new European Central Bank building, with its glistening twin towers topping out at 607 feet, is scheduled to open in 2014.

In Nuernberg, the Imperial Castle (Kaiserburg) has reopened after a restoration. Visits to the castle’s “Deep Well” (which, at 165 feet, is, well, deep) are now accompanied by a guide.

Wittenberg’s Town Church of St. Mary’s — which was Martin Luther’s home church for many years — is being renovated.

Planning ahead, Germany’s many Luther sights (especially in the Luther cities of Wittenberg, Erfurt and Eisenacht) are gearing up for a very festive 2017 (on a Lutheran scale anyway) — the 500th anniversary of Luther kicking off the Protestant Reformation in 1517.

Rick Steves (www.ricksteves.com) writes European travel guidebooks and hosts travel shows on public television and public radio. Email him at rick@ricksteves.com.

© 2014 Rick Steves distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.