Dr. Stefan Christmann

August 20, 2024January 18, 2025

Verōnika

If you’re looking for a great bar or high-class restaurant at Berlin, the Verōnika at the Oranienburger Straße is a very good option. Apart from good food and drinks this place offers a very special atmosphere which is created by murals, graffito and the historic architecture the restaurant resides in. Berliners know this place as the Tacheles-Gebäude, a cultural center created by the artist group Tacheles by occupying the building in 1990 before it could be torn down. At lasted in this place until 2012.

August 11, 2024January 18, 2025

Carcassonne

Some younger people in Germany may just know Carcassonne as a very famous board game published in the year 2000 (and translated into 20 other languages thereafter). But there is a reason why the game developers chose this name: the Cité of Carcassonne is one of the biggest medieval fortifications that you can still visit. It is located on a hill and protected by high walls and towers; Carcassonne is so unique that the historic city is protected as a UNESCO world heritage site.

August 11, 2024January 18, 2025

Canal du Midi

When you’re travelling through the Languedoc you’ll probably see a lot of water channels and water gates. Especially at Toulouse you can’t overlook this as the city is the starting point for a fantastic masterpiece of engineering: the Canal du Midi. The 240 kilometers long channel connecting Toulouse with the Mediterranean Sea was finished in 1681 and was very important for the economic development of the region. Today, the channel is UNESCO world heritage and that for very good reasons.

August 11, 2024January 18, 2025

Les Abattoirs

Well, yes: as the name already says this place at Toulouse was once a slaughterhouse built in 1823. Since the year 2000 it hosts something completely different, an art museum exhibiting modern and contemporary art. The work of Fernand Léger in front of the building is just a small appetizer, inside you’ll find around 3,800 works of art.

August 10, 2024January 18, 2025

Saint-Sernin

When I told people that I would travel to Toulouse they didn’t fully understand why. The city is not known for its nice city center and beautiful sights, but I enjoyed being there very much. I loved sitting at the river Garonne near the old Port de la Daurade, had fun while exploring the large Place du Capitole in the evening hours and visiting sights like the Basilique Saint-Sernin which is an icon of the city and has a wonderful tower with a special architecture.

August 10, 2024September 1, 2024

Face à la gare

It is maybe just another nice hotel of the ibis chain, but it is definitely in a prime location: the ibis Gare Matabiau. From there the main railway station (Gare Matabiau) and the main bus terminal (Gare Routière) are just across the road or better said just across the Canal du Midi. That’s of course especially great if you arrive or leave early in the morning. With that you’re having fast access to places like Andorra or the rest beautiful French cities surrounding Toulouse. You might have to figure out the right road, but it is also only just 15 minutes on foot to the city center and already around the hotel you’ll find good bars and restaurants.

August 10, 2024January 19, 2025

Up in the mountains

On my mission to visit the remaining microstates in Europe, Andorra was probably the hardest nut to crack. It is located secluded in the Pyrenees mountain without having an airport or a railway station. Your only chance is to fly to Barcelona or Toulouse and do a long bus ride into mountains. I decided for the latter and made my way up to the small country I only knew as a tax haven and from Max Frisch‘s book title. Was it worth it? Sure, but not for the shopping-oriented city of Andorra la Vella – more for the history, the ancient city center and for the nature of the Pyrenees.

August 10, 2024January 19, 2025

Museu Carmen Thyssen

Andorra is a small country and you won’t expect to find many great museums here. But that doesn’t mean that your visit can’t include some art (and history). Thanks to art collector Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza there is at least a small art museum at Escaldes-Engordany, close to the capital city Andorra la Vella. Small here only refers to the size of the exhibition rooms located on the ground floor of a hotel, the art exhibited here is typically from well-known artists and often includes famous works. But also regional artists are on display at the Museu Carmen Thyssen throughout the year.

August 10, 2024January 19, 2025

Casa de la Vall

It is said that the country of Andorra was created by Charlemagne in 788 CE, but officially it was established in the year 1278 and by then always reigned by two people: a Spanish bishop and a French count. In the year 1419 a first parliament was established, the Consell de la Terra (later named Consell General de les Valls). They met on public squares or even the cemetery to discuss important political matters related to the country.

August 9, 2024January 19, 2025

Pirineus

The Pyrenees (or Pyrénées, Pirineus) mountains are more than 430 kilometers long and form the perfect border between central Europe and Iberian peninsula, between France and Spain. They reach nearly from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean and are much less known, much less discovered and much less populated than the Alps. Concerning its shape the Pyrenees are also very different as in contrast to the Alps as the various valleys are located in parallel to the main mountain range.