There are places with bargains to be found all over Germany. Find a map of Germany and start planning your trips.

Let's start with a close one, the Steinbach nutcracker factory just two hours south of Hamburg in Hohenhameln. You may purchase nutcrackers, music boxes and smokers at a discount. This is a small showroom so you have to call Mrs. Meyer (05128/ 944 90) to make an appointment to shop. They prefer no more than 10 people at one time.

The next closest is Erika, the candle outlet in Fulda. You can't go into the factory but they have a walk-up window where you can buy candles. Some of these are seconds, but the prices are great and 99% of the candles are usable.

The city of Giengen is home to the Steiff teddy bear factory. This town is about 35 kilometers north of Ulm. You will save maybe 10% off the retail price. They also have a museum that you can tour for a small fee.

The city of Mettlach is home to the Villeroy and Boch factory outlets. The whole town is V&B and you can find some good buys, but watch out: some of the stores charge retail, same as here in Hamburg.

The WMF outlet in Geislingen/Steige is called the Fischhalle, which makes no sense because the name has nothing to do with WMF products. Once you are in the town, follow the signs to the Fischhalle for the bargains. You can save 30% or more on good quality stainless steel, silver, glassware, etc. They are open 5 days a week until 6 p.m. and on Saturdays until 4 p.m.

My favorite place to buy glass Christmas ornaments is the town of Lauscha. This town is located north and east of Frankfurt. My favorite is the factory store at Krebs Glas. They have a large Santa out front; you can't miss the place. If you click on www.Lauscha.de you can get more information on the town and what they sell. The prices compared to U.S. prices are very good and they have every type of ornament you can imagine.

The town of Selb is home to the factory stores of Rosenthal and Hutchenreuter. The porcelain is wonderful. They have many different patterns and very good prices. They also have Versace and Thomas porcelain. The two factory outlets are across from one another on the same street and have good parking. There is also a Bohemian crystal outlet store right off the main highway as you first come into the city. They have low prices on glass items (casserole dishes, drinking glasses, etc.).

South of Regensburg are the towns of Bodenmais, Spieglau, Frauenau and Zwiesel. These towns are on the famous Glas Straße. You will find so much crystal you will overdose in a very short time. Some things are good buys, others are retail; you will have to know your product prices ahead of time.

Coming north on the Glas Straße is the town of Neustadt a.d. Walnaub, home of the Nachtmann crystal factory. This town is shop after shop of crystal. We have found good buys at most of the stores and have shopped here more than once.

Going a bit further north of Neustadt a.d. Walnaub is the small town of Windlich Eschenbach, home of the Eschenbach porcelain factory. Great prices on the porcelain.

The town of Tirchenreuth has a nice but small factory outlet. They of course sell Tirchenreuth porcelain. There is another shop on the far side of the town that has a nice selection of items at good prices.

The town of Seiffen in the Erzgebirge Mountains is home of original wooden toys, nutcrackers and smokers. This small mountain town is always worth the trip. Some of the showrooms put on demonstrations of the wood working. You can buy any type of wooden item you desire. The Nutcracker factory on the hill has wonderful original nutcrackers. The town is one small shop after another up and down the hilly street. Wear good walking shoes. This is a favorite stopping place for tour buses. We found that coming in the night before and shopping first thing the next day beats most of the crowds.

One more tip is the Reidel crystal factory in Kufstein, Austria. These are supposed to be the best wine glasses in the world (their saying, not mine). They have some beautiful stemware as well as other items. I will say that the items I purchased were of a very good quality. This town is located between Munich and Salzburg, a few miles across the border into Austria. The factory is easy to find; just follow the glass signs.

I have had fun looking for bargains with the gals. We have filled the cars to the very top more than once and really didn't spend a lot of money. Get some friends together and plan your trip. This is a great way to see more of Germany and to make some new close friends.

For those of you who can read German, go to any bookstore and pick up the book called: Schnäppchenführer Deutschland. This is a complete listing of all of the factory outlets with directions, shopping hours and what they sell. The book has a bright yellow cover and the author is Fink-Kümmerly and Frey.

[WebEd Note:] This book can be ordered directly from Amazon.de. Simply click on the image of the book cover (below), and you will be taken directly to the book's page at the Amazon.de site. The page will open in a new browser window. If you put the book into your "shopping basket" and order it right then, AWC will receive a 15% rebate on the price of the book (thank you!).

• Heinz Waldmüller, Armin E. Möller, Schnäppchenführer Fabrikverkauf. Deutschland 2002. Die besten Marken, Geocenter ILH Verlag, ISBN 3936161003, Taschenbuch - 336 Seiten.

Happy Shopping!