[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by A61

redstripe,

p.s. there's no such thing as outlet mall here. I miss the woodbury outlet mall in NY.

RedStripe

There are MANY outlet shops in Germany. But they mostly have last year's fashsions at good prices. Disney owns these outlet shops bellow. I have only been to Wertheim... to be honest I'd rather spend my money on tools in Obi or Hornbach(German hardware stores) than on clothes. lol But these places might be of interest to others on ED or who live over here in DE.

Most Germans travel to the states to find good deals!


There is Wertheim Village near Wurzburg off the A3 Autobahn...
www.wertheimvillage.com/en/home


Ingolstadt Village - off the A9 near Ingolstadt... (just North of Munich)
www.ingolstadtvillage.com/en/home/

Maasmechelen Village - near Brussels/Köln/Antwerpen
www.maasmechelenvillage.com/en/home

LA VALLÉE VILLAGE near Paris...
www.lavalleevillage.com/en/home/

Fidenza Village - near Milan/Bologna...
www.fidenzavillage.com/en/


Notable mentions...

Also... try going to Google Maps... select the area of Germany you will visit.... then search for: "outlets". You are bound to find a few places.


South of Stuttgart...

OUTLETCITY METZINGEN...
www.outletcity.com/en/metzingen


@A61 I'll take a guess and say you are stationed in Spangdahlem AFB ? You might try visiting these places...

City Outlet Bad Münstereifel
www.cityoutletbadmuenstereifel.com

Centre Commercial Langwies 1 et 2 - Luxembourg
www.langwies.lu/de

McArthurGlen Luxembourg...
www.mcarthurglen.com/be




I have been to this mall: CentrO in Oberhausen... and its very much like a US style mall. A few hundred stores over two levels with four big anchor dept stores. I would recommend spending an afternoon here. There is also a Disney theater near by and the Gas-O-Meter thing next door. Lots of French and Dutch come here bc it's just over the border for them. Christmas time here is CRAZY!!

CentrO - shopping mall in Oberhausen
Centroallee 1000, 46047 Oberhausen
www.centro.de



One mall that I really, really like is in Modena, Italy. It's called: Grandemilia. Just take the Modena North exit on the A22/E45 (Brenner Autostrada). Inside Grandemilia is about 50 stores like Timberland and Disney and Prada... but its also has THE largest grocery store you have ever seen! Ninety eight checkout lanes, so much fresh Fish, Sushi, Wurst, cooked foods, plus everything for the house and family. It's kind of the Italian version of Walmart. It's called: Coop or Iper COOP. I think it means super CO'OP. Anyways... the store is HUGE and they have an awesome selections of delicious foods. IF you are in the area... I highly recommend a visit!

COOP there also runs a gas station which has really quite decent fuel prices - very unItalianlike. I was there last week... here in Germany SuperPlus(Premium) runs about 1,47 per liter. While in Italy most places had only Super(mid grade) for 1,80 per liter. COOP had SuperPlus for 1.45 a liter. I thought that was fairly cheap bc in the summer months... I am sure Italian fuel will be close to 2,00's per liter!


Grandemilia
Via Emilia Ovest, 1480
41123 Modena MO, Italy
www.grandemilia.it




Here are some pictures from Grandemilia inside the Iper COOP, that I took earlier this week...














































IF you travel to Millan you MUST visit Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. It's downtown near the huge cathedral.


Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
Piazza del Duomo
20123 Milano MI, Italy
www.visitamilano.it



Since you will be in Munich for your ED... everyone should pop into Galeria Kaufhof, in the downtown area. It is a large, typical dept store with lots of goodies for man or woman. It's located on one end of the Marienplatz, Glockenspiel. Downstairs they have a decent selection of German tourist goodies.

Galeria Kaufhof München Marienplatz
Kaufingerstraße 1-5,
80331 München

www.galeria-kaufhof.de

Downstairs in the lower floor U2 I think? They have a really nice deli/bakery. International foods and really nice foods are found here. Worth a visit!



Some other really nice shops for special clothes or one off things would be...


LUDWIG BECK - Kaufhaus der Sinne
Marienplatz 11,
80331 München

www.ludwigbeck.de


Hirmer GROSSE GRÖSSEN München
Kaufingerstraße 28
80331 München

www.hirmer.de


Restaurant Dallmayr the famous coffee house. Also next door they have a fantastic delicatessen(don't think cold cuts but rather the finer things in Life) with cigars and chocolates and everything fine. The prices are also out of this world! $$$ But its fascinating to go inside and look around and maybe indulge in something.

Restaurant Dallmayr (I'd say this place is a MUST see place when in Munich!!)
Dienerstraße 14-15,
80331 München

www.dallmayr.com


Walking down the street.... there is the Manufactum Warenhaus. Think of one part bakery, one part cheese shop, one part sharper image and one part Neiman Marcus. This place is really cool. Also a must visit shop I think.

Manufactum Warenhaus
Dienerstraße 12
80331 München

www.manufactum.de


I'd say walk this route behind the Marienplatz. Then go for a nice dinner at the Hofbrau Hof or any other nice beer garden in the downtown area. Andechs(Andechser am Dom) or Zum Augustiner(Neuhauserstr. 27, 80331 München) with their famous "muscle sea shell room" or the Brenner Operngrill - any of those places would be quite memorable!


Dackel's shopping walking tour of downtown Munich...
https://www.google.de/maps/dir/Porsc...4249!3e2?hl=en


A61 is correct about getting your VAT refunded. Just pack your purchases as carry one... when your at the airport to leave... show the ZOLL(German customs) your purchases and receipts. They will stamp your VAT REFUND form... then you get the VAT back a few weeks later after you are back in the states. German VAT is 19% now. About ten years ago it was only 16%. There is one politician who wears "22" pins and wants to raise the VAT to 22%. ugggh!


Living and experiencing Europe has more to do with living than shopping. In Germany the prices for goods seem to be "set" or regulated. There are only two times per year when stores can offer "sales" for one week in February and one week in July. Winterschlussverkauf and Sommerschlussverkauf. This practice dates back to Adolf's time in power. Kind of like how the shops had to close by a certain time(6pm or 8pm and at noon on Saturdays). Fortunately, this law was abolished ten years ago in Bayern. In Bayern(Bavaria) all stores are closed on Sundays. And most museums are closed on Mondays, including the BMW Museum.

If you have any other Q's... just ask away.

Dackel