Go Away With … Robert Lamm

By Jae-Ha Kim
Tribune Media Services
April 28, 2009

Robert Lamm knows a bit about traveling. In his four decades with the band Chicago, the singer-songwriter-keyboardist has been around the world multiple times.

“I could be a travel agent,” Lamm says, laughing. “If this music thing doesn’t work out…”

One of his favorite memories is of the trip he and his wife, Joy, took to Munster, Germany.

Whether it was enjoying a cappuccino while viewing modern art or visiting medieval castles, Lamm says they had a wonderful time and can’t wait to return to Germany again.

Q. What is your favorite vacation destination?
A. Chicago has toured around the world extensively and we always had a great time in Germany. My wife and I traveled to Munster, which is a smallish city in northwestern Germany that’s close to Belgium and Amsterdam. It’s quite historic, lush and beautiful. There are so many gorgeous castles there that are simply awe-inspiring.

Q. What are your favorite hotels and restaurants?
A. You can find anything in Munster. It’s a university town and the food is fairly international. We had some delicious gourmet pizzas and pasta at an Italian steak restaurant called Al Forno (Neubruckenstr, 35). They have amazing wood-fired pizza at Altes Gasthaus Leve (www.gasthaus-leve.de). We did seek out more of the traditional German cuisine because eating the local food is half the fun of visiting a foreign country. One of our favorite places to stay is Hotel Mauritzhof (www.mauritzhof.de), which is modern and has a great restaurant.

Q. Who do you travel with?
A. I really love to travel, but it’s so much more fun traveling with my wife. It’s amazing being married to someone who enjoys traveling as much as you do. For me, that’s one of the great pleasures in life.

Q. When you go away, what are some of your must-have items?
A. A tiny iPod Shuffle, a cell phone and a good book.

Q. What kind of souvenirs do you bring home?
A. We like to keep our suitcases light, but we’re always on the lookout for interesting candy, like crazy colored M&Ms or licorice jelly worms to bring back for the kids, who are old enough not to be complete candy addicts, but still enjoy eating them.

Q. How many bags do you check at the airport?
A. We are strictly carry-on people. I’ve learned from my wife how to pack for 10 days in one small bag. Joy is an elegant, beautifully styled woman and she is incredibly low maintenance when we travel. I see some couples with multiple bags and we look just as good as they do with our one bag! It’s all in how you pack.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT MUNSTER:

SISTER CITY: Nope, it’s not Munster, Ind. Fresno, Calif., is Münster’s U.S sister city.

SIZE: 117,000 square miles.

POPULATION: 280,000 (2004 census).

FACTOIDS: To read more about Münster, go to www.muenster.de/stadt/tourismus/en/