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14 6 G ERM A N Y

Prädikat (quality wine with
distinctive features). These
are printed on the label.
Some of the finest wines
include the golden coloured
and sweet whites from late-
harvested grapes (labelled
Spätlese or Auslese).e
BEDROOMS AND
BATHROOMS
N MOST HOTELS, duvets
I(Federbetten(( ) rather than
sheets and blankets are the
norm. Asking for a double
room does not necessarily
mean you will get a double
Berlin’s Brandenburger Hof, page 169, a successful mix of new and old bed: usually it is two single
mattresses in a ‘double’
astounding. Traditionally, meal. The main wine- frame, topped with two
lunch is the main meal of the producing areas follow the single duvets. If you require
day, and normally consists of valleys of the Rhine and its twin beds, ask for them
meat in large portions, tributaries, the Mosel, Main, specifically when booking.
vegetables, potatoes and Nahe and Neckar, although As a friendly gesture, many
sauces and is usually there are also some lesser- hotels will leave a chocolate
accompanied by beer. known but equally notable or sweet on the pillow as a
Regional specialities worth vineyards, particularly around small goodnight gift.
looking out for include Naumburg and Dresden. Many hotels have showers
Rhine salmon prepared with Most German wine is white, rather than baths, so if you
steamed plums; Sauerbraten produced mainly from would prefer a room with a
(marinated beef in vinegar Riesling, Müller-Thurgau and bath remember to request this
and herb gravy); snails in Silvaner grapes. Only about when booking. Some of the
herb butter from Baden; one-eighth of the total hotels in the lower price
Bavarian Weisswürste (white production is red. All wines bands have shared bath-
sausages, customarily eaten are divided into three rooms. If you require an en
before midday); and Leberkäs qualities: Tafelwein (table suite bathroom, be sure to
(‘livercheese’), a chunky meat- wine), Qualitätswein (quality specify this when making
loaf which, despite its name, wine) and Qualitätswein mit your reservation.
contains neither cheese nor
liver. German desserts are
usually fruit or cream-based;
perhaps the best-known is
the Black Forest gâteau.
Germany is also famous
for its beer. It is found in a
variety of forms, from Pils
and Kölsch to the dark
brown Düssel ale, popular in
Düsseldorf, and Berlin’s light,
foamy Weisse, containing a
sweet raspberry syrup.
German beers vary greatly in
their alcohol content. While a
normal brew contains around
5.5 per cent alcohol, Starkbier
(especially popular in Southern
Germany) can contain up to
16 per cent or more. Beer is
usually ordered in one-litre
mugs, and perhaps best en-
joyed in the legendary and
often atmospheric Bierkeller
and Biergarten.
Wine is drunk less often
than beer, but can be a
welcome and refreshing
addition to a solid German T The 300-year-old Hotel Adler in Eichstätt, page 156