Germany's Top Five
March 28, 2005
Busy your mind with pretty things -- without and within -- at the House of World Cultures' exhibition "About Beauty" in Berlin. The show focuses on how beauty is portrayed in art and transforms the exhibition space into an object of beauty itself. The show runs Thursday through Sunday from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. until May 15.
Soak up some sun on a cruise past palaces and parks on the Havel River in the state of Brandenburg. Starting from Potsdam, Weisse Flotte steamers motor through waterways and lakes, taking in some of the regions many islands. You can even spend a relaxing Sunday brunch on the waves watching the landscape slip by.
Munch on some Bismarck herring as you watch the fishmongers put on a show of selling their wares at the fish market in Hamburg's St. Pauli district. Locals have been buying their seafood at the market since 1703. But make sure to get there early, as the daily market closes at 10:30 a.m. And, if you don't want to be drawn into the entertainment, stay clear of the first row of onlookers.
Refresh yourself with a sparking, golden brew as the beer garden season opens at the legendary Paulanergarten in the heart of Munich. Monks started brewing beer here on the Nockherberg in the 17th century. And only here can you drink the brewery's special "Nockherberger," an unfiltered, murky-looking wheat beer, while you absorb some sun and check out how Munich residents spend their free time.
Dance off all the pent up energy from months of cold and dark at the TDK Time Warp in Mannheim on Saturday. The annual spring clubbing party has become one of the most popular of its kind in Germany. This year, clubbers can dance to the house, techno and trance tunes of Frankfurt techno guru Sven Väth, DJ Hell and Alter Ego on the five floors of the Maimarkthalle. Shuttle buses will ferry partiers between the main train station and the hall in the wee hours of the morning.