Dr. Stefan Christmann

September 1, 2020October 4, 2020

Nyhavn

If you’re looking for a restaurant or a nice bar to hang out – take a look at the new harbour of København. The Nyhavn was finished in 1673 and already by that time a lot of taverns for the sailors lined up there. Today the tattoo studios and the dark sides with prostitution, burglary and bar fights are gone. If you get there you can see a lot of colourful small houses along the water, enjoy some old ships placed there and take a look at the beautiful illumination in the evening.

August 31, 2020April 14, 2022

CopenhagenCard

Should I buy it or not? That is the typical question you’ll have to ask yourself when you are travelling to a major city in Europe and you discover that they are offering a tourist card (and most of them do!). The answer isn’t always simple because you need to analyze what is included in the ticket and it heavily depends on what you’re about to do in the city. København offers a tourist ticket which they call the CopenhagenCard – and it is available as a hard ticket (which seems to be fading out) and as a virtual ticket in a mobile application for smartphones.

August 31, 2020April 14, 2022

Getting cash

When getting to Denmark you might be surprised that the country doesn’t use the Euro but still has its own currency: the dansk krone (DKK), divided into 100 Øre. It is at least strongly bound to the Euro and the exchange rate that is aimed for is 1 Euro = 7,46038 DKK. In 1992 and 2000 the Danish voted against the introduction of the Euro but this topic might come up again in the future.

August 31, 2020October 3, 2020

Den Lille Havfrue

The absolute and unquestioned icon of København, Denmark, is a little mermaid located in the harbour of the city. In Danish, it is called Den Lille Havfrue. People often imagine it as much larger but it is a rather small bronze statue (125 cm, 175 kg) sitting on a stone – which becomes more beautiful when it is illuminated at night. It can be found at the Langelinie, north of the city centre.

August 31, 2020October 3, 2020

Tivoli

Whenever I talk to people about København one of the first things that come to their minds is the Tivoli. It is quite surprising that an amusement park is a major sight of a capital city but this one is really known throughout the world and it is even one of the oldest in the world. Maybe København is also the only capital city that has such a funfair so close to the city centre – it is located directly next to the main railway station and not far away from the town hall.

August 31, 2020September 22, 2020

Andersen Boutique Hotel

Getting by train to København, Denmark, is easy and highly recommended – when coming from central Europe you’ll cross the water on long bridges two times (Lillebælt and Storebælt). When doing so it is always nice to have a hotel close to the railway station. One of these is the Andersen Boutique Hotel conveniently located only three minutes on foot from the København H main railway stop. It is a beautiful boutique hotel with nice rooms and friendly staff.

August 16, 2020August 17, 2020

Glitzerschwein

Fortuna Ehrenfeld, acht&siebzig, Hannover

The Coronavirus changed everything in 2020. From one day to the other many things making life enjoyable became impossible and that included for sure also concerts. It is still absolutely unimaginable to stand in large crowds, sing and dance. All events are moved into 2021 and bands, concert venues and tour organizers are facing pretty tough times. After half a year without live music, I‘m also suffering and realizing what a luxury culture is.

August 8, 2020February 9, 2023

Kurbad Jungborn

When it is getting hot outside the people in Kassel, Germany, gather on both sides of the river Fulda running through the city. The Fulda is used for swimming and all kinds of watersports and bathing in the river has a very long tradition. In earlier times there were Flußbadeanstalten – supervised places dedicated to swimming in the river. One of them is today the Auebad, the largest indoor and outdoor pool of the city. Another one you will automatically see when moving close to the Orangerie and the Spitzhacke: the Kurbad Jungborn which is today a museum and a coffee bar.

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.