Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
A Taxiteller is a substantial German takeaway dish, usually consisting of chips topped or served alongside currywurst, a portion of gyros, tzatziki, onions and often mayonnaise. Recipes vary from one snack bar to another: some replace the gyros with döner meat, while others add extra sauces or salad. It is best understood as a generous combination of familiar Imbiss favourites rather than a strictly standardised recipe.
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Zeche Zollverein in Essen was once one of the world’s largest and most advanced hard-coal mines. Together with its enormous coking plant, it formed a highly efficient industrial complex where coal was extracted, processed and converted into coke for the steel industry. Its striking winding tower, steel framework and red-brick buildings make it an outstanding example of modern industrial architecture.
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The Ruhrmuseum in Essen is the regional museum of the Ruhr area, housed in the former coal-washing plant of the Zeche Zollverein colliery. Rather than being a conventional industrial museum, it presents the entire natural and cultural history of one of Europe’s largest conurbations, from the formation of coal hundreds of millions of years ago to the present-day transformation into a modern metropolitan region.
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The Stadium am Millerntor is FC St. Pauli’s home ground, situated beside the Heiligengeistfeld in Hamburg’s St. Pauli district. It is one of Germany’s most distinctive football stadiums, not because of its size or luxury, but because of its atmosphere, urban setting and close connection with the club’s supporters. The ground’s stands rise almost directly from the surrounding streets, giving match days a lively, neighbourhood feel.
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The Universitätsreitstall, also known as the Akademisches Reithaus, was a remarkable Baroque complex built between 1734 and 1736 for the newly founded University of Göttingen. It included a covered riding school, stables, an outdoor riding arena and accommodation for the university’s riding master. This was not merely a practical facility: equestrian training formed part of the education of young aristocrats, while riding demonstrations could also serve as prestigious public events.
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The Cyclassics in Hamburg are one of Germany’s best-known road-cycling events, combining a WorldTour professional race with mass-participation rides through the city and its surrounding region. The race began in 1996, quickly gained prestige, and has since become a major fixture in Hamburg’s sporting calendar.
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Dittsche – Das wirklich wahre Leben is a German comedy series centred on an unemployed Hamburg man who regularly visits a local snack bar. Wearing a dressing gown, jogging bottoms and bathing sandals, Dittsche exchanges empty beer bottles for full ones and then launches into elaborate theories about politics, sport, science and everyday life. His arguments are based on what the programme humorously presents as dangerously incomplete ‘half-knowledge’, making him both exasperating and oddly endearing.
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Planten un Blomen is a large public park in the heart of Hamburg, extending across roughly 47 hectares between the city centre, the exhibition grounds and St. Pauli. It is far more than an ordinary urban green space: visitors find landscaped gardens, ponds, lawns, fountains, mature trees and quiet paths, all within easy walking distance of Hamburg’s main shopping streets and transport connections. The park is often regarded as one of the city’s greenest and most attractive public spaces.
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The Hamburger Michel is the affectionate name for Hamburg’s principal church, St. Michaelis, a magnificent Baroque building near the harbour. Its striking copper-covered tower rises 132 metres above the Neustadt district, making the church one of the first landmarks visitors notice when approaching the city centre. With its bright white interior, spacious nave and imposing clock, the Michel is among the most recognisable buildings in northern Germany.
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The Bucerius Kunst Forum is a compact international exhibition centre in the heart of Hamburg, situated at Alter Wall opposite the Rathaus courtyard. Rather than maintaining a permanent collection, it presents around four carefully curated exhibitions each year, bringing together works from museums and private collections around a particular artist, theme or period. Its purpose is to place familiar works in fresh contexts and to reveal connections between different eras and artistic disciplines.
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