Going to Austria and Germany. What should I get and where?

Hey Gang,

My job has me headed to Düsseldorf, in June. I've been there, before, but not since I started wet shaving and it's associated AD's. Wondering what sort of shave stops are available in DUS. Can I get a good deal on a Merkur...or are they just as cheap, here, in the US? I hope to find some Tabac. What other brands should I look for?

Solingen doesn't seem far away. Is it worth a day trip? I've taken the train to Koln, in previous trips. Could I watch a straight being made (and then buy it)?

Thx!
Jim

I'm afraid I can't give you specific info on Düsseldorf or Solingen, but I can tell you that excellent products are widely available in Germany. All larger (and some smaller) drugstores ("Drogerien") and department stores should carry a full range of Speick, Tabac and Weleda products as well as some harder-to-find items (4711 After Shave, anyone?). Oh, and some guys swear by Florena products, also to be found in a lot of places, including large supermarkets.

You may also want to look out for some of the blades available in Germany, discussed here.

Razors might be a little cheaper there (not sure, though); unless you find a huge "Parfümerie Douglas" like that in Frankfurt, your best bet is a knife shop or "Messerschleiferei", which can be found in most towns.

While you're there, pick up one of Oskar's scuttles.

Hope you have a good time there!

P.S.: If you're going to Cologne, you might want to pick up some Farina Gegenüber EdC.

Duesseldorf is one of the premier cities in the world for high-end men's clothing and everything associated with it. You should have no problems finding a number of stores where you can get anything high-end, covering all areas between the tips of your hair and your toe nails. Best - MM

Don't know about shaving shops there, but Dusseldorf = good alt beer.

Hey Gang,

After seeing a post about Dovo.com and their email address, I sent one with two questions:

1. Where in Düsseldorf can I buy Dovo products?
Their answer:
You can buy DOVO products in Düsseldorf from

F. W. Boergermann
Berger Str. 15
40213 DÜSSELDORF

2. Is Solingen a good tourist destination? Are there factory tours and/or shaving shopping available?
Their answer:
Although Solingen offers some very nice tourist attractions (castle of Burg, our famous railroad bridge "Müngstener Brücke", the old quarter of Gräfrath), factory tours are unfortunately not available. And although there is a store in Solingen offering shaving products, Boergermann offers the wider selection. Direct sales from the factory are not possible.

So I guess I'm off to Boergermann's upon arrival in Düsseldorf. I'm a little disappointed that I can't watch a razor being made and then buy it.

Any other suggestions are still welcomed!

peacefrog, I'll have at least one alt for ya. It's quite a contrast in the German culture to go from Liter Beer Steins in Munich to the small Alt Glasses in Düsseldorf

-Jim

Hey Gang,

Just an update to those that are curious or search for this, in the future. My trip was pretty successful on the shaving front:



I started at Boergermann's. This is a small shop in Altstadt, close to the Fish Haus. They sell Dovo, Merkur, Zwilling, Wustof. Amongst mostly cooking knifes, they do have a couple of shelves of shaving product. I only saw a couple of Vision sets. I asked if they had more Merkur razors and they pulled two cases out of a cabinet. They didn't know what a Slant was. We dug into the Merkur catalog. I pointed to the Slant and they found one, using the code. It cost a little extra, than what's available in the US, but I have the novelty of purchasing a German razor in Germany. It lost some of it's shine, because I shaved with it, the next day. They also had the small Alum Block. It's French, relatively inexpensive, and a good size for travel. I asked where to find Shaving Soap. She lit up and said, "we have some." They had eShave, and no-scent brand that I didn't recognize. Having already over-paid for the Slant, I didn't want to buy any more stuff that I could get back home. She pointed me towards a Perfumerie. Turned out to look just like Sephora...internationally-known colognes and perfumes. She showed me Aramis and Jack shaving products. When I asked about Tabac, she wrinkled her nose and sent me around the corner to a small grocery, D&M. There, I found the Weleda & Tabac shave stick. They also had some of the cheaper stuff, like Palmolive. The only DE blades were Wilkinson's.

The De Vergulde Hand was a favor, called in from a Belgium co-worker, who also covers the Netherlands. I sent him after the soap and/or creme. He could only find this soap, and the "canned" foam version. Not having room for the large aerosol can, and knowing I wouldn't use it, I left it for the maid.

On our last night, we went to Cologne (Koln, to the locals). Right off the Cathedral (Koln Dom) Square, opposite of the Hbd, was a Zwilling J.A. Henckels shop. They had a couple of Henckels str8ts, and some really cool manicure tools and sets. We've all probably received manicure sets, as gifts. But, I didn't know that you can pay hundreds of dollars for a high end Zwilling manicure set. A couple of the individual manicure tools, look pretty cool. The strangest was a double-ended tool...one end for blackheads and the other for whiteheads This shop was smaller than Boergermann's and only carried the one "brand". A couple of doors down from that shop was a Koln Dom gift shop. Interestingly, they had a whole wall split between Tabac and 4711. They had every variation of Tabac, including shave soap in the jar and soap refills. 4711 is the original cologne of Cologne. They had this in everything from tiny 2Euro glasses, to huge multi-liters...but only after shave, for shaving products. A colleague asked if 4711 is for males or females. They said, back then, they didn't differentiate...it was unisex (Take That, CK1!). I bought a couple of the smallest glasses for my girls, who say that it is very lemony and probably a reason why it's not available world-wide.

So that's the final report, from Düsseldorf/Cologne. I didn't make it to Soligen...knowing there were no factory tours or outlet stores. I don't think Germany knows the meaning of outlet or even discount. Although Düsseldorf does a have an Ikea.

-Jim

Sounds like you had some fun- funny what we seek as being European or old worldly- the natives just crinkle their noses at- may be why old spice and brut used to sell well on the bases to the natives- very 'American' for them

Wil said:

Sounds like you had some fun- funny what we seek as being European or old worldly- the natives just crinkle their noses at- may be why old spice and brut used to sell well on the bases to the natives- very 'American' for them

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Exactly my thought, at the time, "Tabac must be the Old Spice of Germany" Although, every store that had any kind of a shaving products section...even "cans of goo" had several shaving brushes to choose from. They were all under 10Euro and (I suppose) painted to look like Badger.

-Jim

I have been to London so many times, I lost count. Now that I am wet shaving (6 weeks now) I will probably never be in London again. All those times I could have picked up MWF or Trumpers locally and didn't even know they existed. Now I am going to Germany for the... well I forget how many times it has been, and I don't want to miss out on getting some good soap (or cream). I will be in Austria for a few days and then Germany for 9 days or so. What should I get and where would I find it?

Thanks

Speick and Tabac - especially the Tabac shaving stick if you're a stick fan, as they're very hard to find.

Also, there's the German and Austrian Pitralon aftershaves that are worth trying.

When in Germany, check out Drogerie Mueller, DM pharmacies and Douglas perfumeries. You will find Nivea, Tabac, Florena, Weleda, Palmolive, Speick, Pino Silvestre, 4711, Badedas, Fa, Irish Moos, Aigner, and others. In Austria, you should be able to get similar items, and you should also find Knieze.

Go wild!

Best - MM

If you go to Germany and you don't get any Tabac, then your mission has failed!

Don

Great! Thanks.

This a is a business trip and I may not get any time to do anything but work but I am going to try to do some shave supply shopping.

Bring me some Alt Innsbruck after shave! Oh, and get a bottle for yourself....

Hey, are there any good shops for shavers in Vein? Address please! What are the best things there?

Hun said:

Hey, are there any good shops for shavers in Vein? Address please! What are the best things there?

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Where is Vein? Or did you mean "Wien" (Vienna)?

Best - MM

mozart said:

Where is Vein? Or did you mean "Wien" (Vienna)?

Best - MM

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Hell, yeah! Exactly!

Groundhog said:

Bring me some Alt Innsbruck after shave! Oh, and get a bottle for yourself....

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I will be at the Innsbruck airport and then on to Ischgl but I will look for it. I am driving back to Germany (Hannover) with our German salesman. Hopefully he will give me some time to look around. We will see.

If you know what I mean,... And I think you do.

A girl. German girls are fantastic. I am partial to mine!!