The Passenger ⋆ Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.

July 19, 2020July 28, 2020

Elefantenklo

A strange building made of stone hidden behind high trees in the forest. A temple? A ruin? If you walk around the building on the Klausberg in Göttingen, Germany, you will spot a tiny inscription: ‘Gedenkstein für Otto von Bismarck‘, a memorial for the former imperial chancellor. It is officially called ‘Bismarckstein‘ but the locals have a different name for it: ‘Elefantenklo‘ (elephant loo). Bismarck was very famous by his time even though his role in history has a lot of dark sides – but the people were willing to donate for memorials to commemorate him.

July 19, 2020July 22, 2020

Mintrop-Kugel

When you’re hiking on the Warteberg mountain in the east of Göttingen, Germany, you can come across an old earthquake observatory. It is the so-called Wiechert’sche Erdbebenwarte named after the former director Emil Wiechert. The university gave up the building in 2005 but now a private association cares about the legacy of the scientist, including different seismographs that still work. A highlight of this place is a four tons weighing giant: the Mintrop-Kugel.

July 19, 2020July 21, 2020

Kleiner Reinsbrunnen

Everybody in Göttingen, Germany, knows the Schillerwiesen – a long stretched park in the East of the city leading up the hill. Most people only know the lower section where people meet for picnics and barbecues, to do sports or play miniature golf. Some get a little bit higher and also see the Jérôme-Pavillion where you can also have your wedding ceremony. Not many people get further on to a more quiet part where you can see the Merkelstein (remembering the former mayor Georg Merkel) and the Kleiner Reinsbrunnen – a nice spring hidden in the forest.

July 18, 2020July 19, 2020

Café Hemer

It is a little bit aside and a little bit hidden: the Café Hemer in the southern part of Göttingen, near the Leinekanal. And this little bit of remoteness makes the coffee bar a wonderful place with great coffee, delicious cake and most often a free table if you decide to just get there spontaneously.

July 5, 2020July 9, 2020

Relaxing on the beach

Normally I travel pretty far for celebrating my birthday and this year I planned to be in Moldova – but because of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic travel restrictions applied and social distancing became a pure necessity. At least I wanted to get away from home and decided to wake up at the sea, the Baltic Sea to be precise. Therefore, I booked a cube at the southern beach of Eckernförde near Kiel, Germany.

July 4, 2020July 5, 2020

Treib-Gut

The restaurant Treib-Gut (flotsam) in Altenhof near Eckernförde, Germany, is a wonderful restaurant next to the Baltic Sea. It is located in a traditional house roofed with reed. Inside it is very cozy but it also has a nice terrace with good views on the sea. The service is good and in addition to the great fish and meat dishes, they also offer surprisingly good vegetarian options.

June 27, 2020June 27, 2020

Werdersee

Every city has this recreation zone which locals get to for having a barbecue, swimming, doing sports or just for sunbathing. In Bremen, Germany, it is the Werdersee – an artificial lake created from 1953 on. It is connected to river Weser and has, therefore, a rather good water quality. Formerly it only contained water during high-water flood times, but human intervention made it a nice lake all year round.

June 27, 2020June 27, 2020

Café Sand

It is one of the most relaxed places in Bremen, Germany: the Café Sand located next to the river Weser. Only some meters afar you can relax in the sun at the Weserstrand or walk some meters further on to the Werdersee. The coffee bar offers seats indoor and outdoor, is a self-service bar and the food is simple – but it is a very good place to hang out and enjoy the sunshine. It can be found in the southeast of the city centre on the other side of the river.

June 27, 2020June 27, 2020

Around the world

Bremen, Germany, has a long tradition in seafaring and trading – therefore it is no surprise that you can find the Übersee-Museum (overseas museum) directly next to the main railway station. It dates back to the year 1875 and is an ethnologic, natural history and trading museum covering different territories and cultures overseas in Asia, Africa and the Americas. It uses multimedia technology and also presents daily life (like local nutrition) in the discussed geographical areas.

June 21, 2020June 21, 2020

Sababurg

The Sababurg is a wonderful old castle within the Reinhardswald forest and belongs to Hofgeismar, Germany. It dates back to the year 1334 and carried different names over time: first, it was the Zappenburg protecting pilgrims, as the Zapfenburg it was later used for hunting. Today you can find a hotel and a restaurant within the grounds of the castle.