Next month in Germany, more than a million visitors will marvel at world-class play during the World Cup soccer championship. They can also admire great art, stroll medieval town squares and savor some of the world's best beer.

The World Cup offers great tourism as well as sport, with the 12 host cities including perennial travel favorites Berlin, Cologne, Munich, Nuremberg and Hamburg. With as little as two or three spare hours before a game, visitors can take in Albrecht Duerer's "Self-Portrait" in Munich's Alte Pinakothek art museum -- or try a crisp-roasted schweinshaxe, or ham hock, with sauerkraut and a cold pilsner from a centuries-old local brewery.

Visitors during the June 9-July 9 tournament won't even need tickets to plug into the soccer excitement. Games will be shown live on big screens in public places such as Berlin's Potsdamer Platz and Munich's Olympic Park, and thousands of people are expected to take part in fan festivals around the country.

Berlin alone is expecting 300,000 overnight guests, but tourism authorities say there will be room. "Whoever comes will always find a hotel bed," promised Hanns Peter Nerger, head of Berlin's tourism marketing operation.

Of course, one can even forget the soccer. As with Athens and the 2004 Olympics, the week after the event ends might be a good time to visit, since some hotels are raising hotel prices on game days.

Here are leading attractions for quick visits in the top cities:

-- Berlin: The museums clustered on the Museum Island in the Mitte district are superb, led by the Pergamon Museum with its 2nd century B.C. altar from the Greek city of Pergamon, and the blue-tiled Ishtar Gate built during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II around 575 B.C. in ancient Babylon, now in Iraq. In the nearby Altes Museum, you can see the exquisite, 3,300-year-old bust of Egypt's Queen Nefertiti.

For more recent history, the Museum at Checkpoint Charlie recalls Berlin's four decades as a divided city. A replica of the guard shack from Checkpoint Charlie, the East-West crossing point, stands on Friedrichstrasse; the real shack, hauled away after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, can be found in the Allied Museum in the Zehlendorf district, which focuses on the Berlin Airlift and the U.S. occupation after World War II, and is free of charge.

In the city center, one can climb the glass dome of the historic Reichstag, home of the Bundestag lower house of parliament -- also free, but go early or late to beat the lines.

Between museums, stop for Berlin's trademark fast food: currywurst, or succulent chunks of pork sausage with curry-spiced ketchup, available all over at snack stands but especially well done at Bier's Curry and Spiesse, on Friedrichstrasse underneath the train station overpass of the same name.

You can ask for yours without sausage casing if you like: "Ohne Darm, bitte" -- literally, "without intestine, please."

Berlin will host the World Cup final on July 9.

-- Munich: The World Cup begins here June 9 with Germany's match against Costa Rica.

For non-soccer sightseeing, duck into the Alte Pinakothek museum, stuffed with works by Duerer, Van Dyck, Rubens and Rembrandt. Or stroll the English Garden (warning: nude sunbathers); visit the Deutsches Museum technology exhibits, or watch the Glockenspiel statues -- animated figures on the Rathaus, or city hall, ring the hour at 11:00 a.m., noon and 5 p.m.

The Hofbraeuhaus, dating to 1589, is the epitome of a Munich beer hall, with long benches and big mugs of suds. Locals like hefeweizen, or wheat beer, naturally cloudy with yeast, just slightly sweet and perfect on a hot day.

Touring the Dachau concentration camp, about 20 minutes from the central station by S-Bahn, or local train, is a very worthwhile break from mere tourism.

--Nuremberg: Stroll the old town, restored after World War II to near its medieval splendor, and head up to the Kaiserburg fortress atop the hill, residence of German rulers from 1050 to 1571.

The city has sobering reminders of the Nazi past; the Nazi parade grounds remain, with a documentation center. At the Nuremberg Palace of Justice, in the north part of town, you can tour Room 600, where the Nuremberg war crimes tribunal tried Nazi leaders.

The U.S. team plays Ghana here on June 22.

-- Cologne: The awe-inspiring Cologne Cathedral, its twin gothic spires soaring 518 feet tall, stands next to the train station. Leave at least an hour to roam the inside, home to a gilded sarcophagus holding what tradition says are remains of the Magi _ the wise men who paid tribute to the newborn Jesus. The Roman-German Museum a few yards away from the cathedral has spectacular floor mosaics and other archaeological finds from the city's days as a Roman outpost.

The taverns clustering the cathedral area offer Cologne's trademark Koelsch, the frothy, faintly bitter beer served in what look like large shot glasses.

Portugal plays its former colony, Angola, in Cologne on June 11.

-- Hamburg: Walk two hours around the Aussen Alster lake, for pedestrian-only views of the city and its parks. A $13 boat tour of the harbor connects you with the great northern port's maritime role and history.

You can go to the famed Reeperbahn red-light street in the St. Pauli district if you must, but it's jammed with tourists and has lost much of whatever charm it once had.

Labskaus -- a stew of potatoes, corned beef and beets with a fried egg on top -- is said to have been served aboard ship because the ingredients would keep.

The Czech Republic and Italy, two of the strongest soccer teams, face off in Hamburg on June 22.

-- Frankfurt: The Roemerberg, the medieval town square rebuilt after its destruction in World War II, makes a lovely break from the city's skyscrapers, and is ringed by restaurants with local fare such as Frankfurt's green sauce, a creamy herb sauce served with potatoes or hard-boiled eggs. But if you order a frankfurter, you'll get two long, thin sausages with mustard and a hard roll instead of an American-style hot dog.

The traditional brew here is Apfelwein, a tangy apple wine that goes straight to your head.

Walk it off by hiking across one of the two pedestrian bridges spanning the Main River, to a row of museums on the south riverbank, just a few blocks from the main train station.

Frankfurt will host a quarterfinal match July 1.

--Kaiserslautern: Not a major tourist stop, K-town, as the thousands of American soldiers stationed nearby call it, will host the U.S. team's game against Italy on June 17. The city center and Renaissance castle make a pleasant stroll, but the best move might be to drive to Trier, home to the Porta Nigra, or Black Gate, built by the Romans -- some of the best Roman ruins north of the Alps.

If you go

World Cup soccer tournament: June 9-July 9, in 12 German cities including Berlin, Cologne, Munich, Nuremberg, Hamburg and Frankfurt. U.S. team opens June 12 against the Czech Republic, Gelsenkirchen; plays Italy, June 17, Kaiserslautern; and Ghana, June 22, Nuremberg.

Tickets: Tickets allotted to the U.S. Soccer Federation for sale to American fans are sold out, but some tickets may be available through ticket brokers and tour operators. Games will be shown live on big screens in parks and other public places at fan festivals.

¶ 24/05/06 8:43 PM //

Prospects do not look good for Africa at this year's World Cup soccer tournament in Germany. Two of the five African qualifiers, Togo and Angola, could not make it to the quarter-final stage of the African Cup of Nations in Egypt. Ivory Coast and Tunisia have qualified, while Ghana's fate will be known later this week.

The failure by Africa's traditional powerhouses, Nigeria, Senegal, Cameroon, South Africa and Egypt, to qualify for the World Cup in Germany in June, meant that there would be great interest in the progress and performances of the newcomers to the World Cup. Those who failed to qualify had something to prove - Cameroon easily qualified for the quarter-finals in Egypt, while World Cup-bound Togo and Angola who were in the same group found the going too tough.

Angola were a touch unlucky: they were tied with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) following their 3-2 victory over Togo in their final Group B match, but lost out on goal difference. The World Cup will pose far greater challenges to Angola and Togo and it is doubtful whether they will be able to rise to the occasion. The DRC qualified despite losing 2-0 to Cameroon in last night's other Group B match.

¶ 30/01/06 3:14 PM //

 Savo Milosevic, forward at Spanish league team Osasuna, told Spanish media on Friday that the country's World Cup group which also features Argentina, Cote d'Ivoire and the Netherlands, was the "group of death" for his nation.

    "We call our group the group of death, but we came out top in the Spanish group in the phase, so we are not afraid of anyone," the player said.

    Milosevic is more positive about the 16-nation Euro 2008, saying it will be "something completely different."

    Serbia is in the same group as Portugal, Poland, Belgium, Finland, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.

    "There are strong teams in this group but two qualify directly from each group and that changes things a lot," he said. Enditem

¶ 30/01/06 3:13 PM //

Consumer optimism in Germany climbed to the highest in eight months in January, driven by excitement about the World Cup soccer tournament and increasing confidence in Chancellor Angela Merkel's government.

GfK's confidence index, based on a January survey of about 2,000 people that aims to forecast household spending one month ahead, climbed to 4.6 from last month's revised 4.0, the market- research company said in an e-mailed statement today. The index's three components gave readings higher than zero for the first time since May 2001, GfK said.

``Everything points to 2006 being better for consumption than last year,'' GfK economist Rolf Buerkl said in the statement. ``Consumers appear to have more trust in the new government, and the World Cup is strengthening that optimism.''

Merkel's popularity has risen to the highest since she took office, and Adidas-Salomon AG, the world's No. 2 maker of sporting goods, lifted earnings forecasts after it won orders for the soccer World Cup, which Germany is hosting this year. The HDE retail association said sales in the country, Europe's largest economy, may rise for the first time in five years in 2006.

Merkel, who took office in November after weeks of coalition negotiations with the Social Democrats who ruled Germany since 1998, plans to spend 25 billion euros ($31 billion) over four years to fund tax breaks for small businesses and construction projects to reduce unemployment. A poll from Jan. 18 showed support for her party at the highest since elections in September.

ECB Rates

Her plans also include raising the sales tax to 19 percent from 16 percent next year, encouraging shoppers to bring forward purchases. GfK's gauge of consumers' willingness to buy climbed to 20.3, the highest since May 2001.

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet noted Jan. 12 that consumer confidence in the dozen countries sharing the euro ``is improving.'' Should the optimism contribute to higher consumption, the ECB may have room to further raise interest rates after increasing them for the first time in five years in December.

The HDE association said that business in the week after Christmas rose ``slightly'' in Germany, helping industry revenue during the holiday season meet the previous year's level. HDE also said retail sales may rise as the World Cup soccer tournament, which takes place in June and July, adds around 2 billion euros in revenue.

Ifo 5-Year High

Retailers' optimism has increased for three months and business confidence is at the highest in more than five years, the Ifo institute in Munich said Jan. 25. The German government this week raised its forecast for German growth this year to 1.4 percent from a previous 1.2 percent estimate.

The GfK sub-index measuring confidence in the economy rose to 23.5 from 11.9, reaching the highest level in almost five years.

Germany depended on exports and investment for its 0.9 percent growth last year. Consumption stagnated after barely gaining or falling the previous three years, the Federal Statistics Office said Jan. 12.

Shoppers expect the brightening outlook at companies such as Siemens AG, Europe's largest engineering company, and carmaker Bayerische Motoren Werke AG to lead to higher pay, the GfK survey showed. An index of optimism about future incomes rose to 4.5 from minus 11.3 last month.

Less Savings?

That may result in less savings. Rising unemployment and concerns about changes to the economy prompted Germans to leave more than a tenth of their disposable incomes in the bank the past three years, the statistics office said Jan. 12.

``Consumers could raise spending by digging into savings, there's room,'' said Sandra Petcov, an economist at Lehman Brothers International in London. ``Though it may not be the most important thing right now, the persistent weakness in the labor market will weigh on confidence again.''

German unemployment, while it fell the most in 15 years last month, is still at 11.2 percent, or almost twice as high as the U.K. rate, according to International Labor Organization standards. DaimlerChrysler AG, the world's fifth-largest carmaker, on Jan. 24 announced plans to eliminate 6,000 white-collar jobs.

``There's a sales-tax effect and a World Cup effect, but the lack of jobs is preventing a strong turnaround,'' said Gertrud Traud, chief economist at Helaba Trust. ``We'll see a bit of an improvement in consumption this year.''

GfK carried out its survey of consumer confidence in January and passes on its data to the European Commission, which it uses in its report on consumer confidence in the 12 countries sharing the euro. By definition, the indictor's long-term average is zero, GfK says.

¶ 30/01/06 3:12 PM //