Destinations

#CulinaryGermany Delights


If ranking No. two on Lonely Planet’s newly released Best in Travel 2019 listing for the top countries to visit is any indication, travel to Germany is going to be hot next year.

Centred around its current marketing campaign theme of Culinary Germany, the German National Tourist Office held an event in Toronto this week to showcase that the food scene is so much more than beer and bratwurst, and to highlight what’s in store for the year to come.

Notably, 2019 will mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of The Berlin Wall.

“People still flock to Berlin to see the transformation from a walled city,” said Kirsten Schmidt of KMS Communications, representing Visit Berlin.

From the good, the bad to the ugly, she said the city doesn’t cover up its past, which visitors can discover through the new free ABOUT BERLIN app.

As for gastronomy, the capital city is home to 26 Michelin stars across 20 restaurants and is touted as the vegan/vegetarian capital of the world with 48 vegan and 193 vegetarian restaurants. But for those meat eaters, every year some 70 million Currywurst get eaten by visitors and Berliners alike.

In total there are more than 1,000 types of sausages across Germany.

“You can basically have a different kind of sausage for lunch, dinner and even breakfast if you want, for a year,” said Julia Dywelski, director of the German National Tourist Office.

Beyond sausages, she said green sauce, white asparagus and stewed cucumber with smoked trout are just some of the dishes to try in the destination.

With the popular Christmas market season just around the corner, she said winter is a great time of year to indulge in delights like mulled wine and marzipan treats while getting into the festive spirit.

For 2019, the major campaign marketing theme will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus movement.

Fun facts:

  • Germany fits into Canada 27 times
  • Berlin is eight times bigger than Paris
  • Germany has 12,993 km of Autobahn, which is known for not having a speed limit along many points
  • Germany has over 1,000 types of sausages

Over the course of the evening, participants got to make their own pretzels and Maultaschen (similar to a giant ravioli) while sipping on German wine and beer, and nibbling on German delights like spätzle and potato salad. They also posed for pictures with some of Berlin’s most iconic sights including Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag parliament building.

Pictured (top) at Stadt Cafe are the German National Tourist Office’s Stephanie Lauber and Julia Dywelski; Lufthansa’s Dennis Fabi and Kirsten Schmidt of KMS Communications, representing Visit Berlin. Middle: Veronique Marcoux and Dennis Fabi of Lufthansa, who were on hand to showcase the airline’s onboard experience through virtual reality.