Christmas markets to historic Cologne and a couple of treats in between…
Christmas Markets
There are few more romantic Christmas images than the traditional market, adorned with glowing fairy lights and awash with sounds of laughter, an air of excitement and the scents of mulled wine, mistletoe, and gingerbread treats. The traditional Christmas market, now held in cities around the world, most probably originated in Germany. Dresden proudly proclaims itself as home of “the oldest Christmas market in Germany”, running continuously since 1434. Fun fact: the Christmas tree tradition originated in Germany, too.
Header image: Christmas Markets, Frankfurt, Germany
Mercedes-Benz Museum
Located in Stuttgart, the Mercedes- Benz Museum, is a cultural landmark that, according to its architects, “unites the past, present and future” of the iconic automobile. The incredible museum – itself a work of art – is navigated via a pair of double helix pathways that intertwine through a central atrium. One route winds through a collection of vehicle displays, the other past historical exhibits.
Cologne
Cologne is one of Germany’s oldest cities, first founded by the Romans, and now home to one of the world’s finest gothic buildings: the Unesco World Heritage Site of Cologne Cathedral (above) which took an astonishing 600 years to build. The city is also famed for its beer brewing and as the birthplace of the famous fragrance that is Eau de Cologne, which literally translates as “water from Cologne” – it was believed at the time that if drank it would ward off the bubonic plague!
Tiger and Turtle
On Duisburg’s Magic Mountain awaits the incredible “walkable rollercoaster” that is Tiger and Turtle. A world first, the functional, hilltop art installation rises to 20 metres, affording visitors the chance to see from Duisburg city centre along the Rhine as far as Düsseldorf. Come nightfall, the attraction becomes even more magical when 880 LEDs trace the twists and turns of the steel sculpture which was created by artists Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth.
