Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
Nörten-Hardenberg, Germany is a small town with 8.000 souls close to my hometown Göttingen. I never visited this spot unless a good friend of mine choose to marry here at the castle ruin above the town. The ruin is simply preserved and not restored – only the old cellar room has been restored to serve as a marriage registration office. Continue reading “Castle ruin”
A place in the centre of Berlin, Germany that is called the most beautiful place of the city. In the middle there is the Schauspielhaus, a theatre built in neoclassicistic style by famous architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel. On both sides it is framed by the two churches: “Deutscher Dom” (German Church), and “Französischer Dom” (French Church of Friedrichstadt). Continue reading “The Gendarmenmarkt”
What does a home-sick Bavarian do in Berlin, Germany? He checks out one of the many Bavarian restaurants in town – maybe the best can be found on the Gendarmenmarkt: the “Augustiner“. A place for good beer and a German specialty: knuckle of pork; delicious but nothing for a diet. Try the “Edelstoff“, a good beer served after 6pm. Continue reading “Bavarian safe-harbour”
I’m not in favour of staying at four star hotels, but sometimes my company books one of these places with a special kind of guests, strange atmosphere and chichi style. But this time I cannot deny that this hotel has a big advantage: the location. Directly at the Gendarmenmarkt it is perfectly placed. Continue reading “Hilton Berlin”
When moving by subway throughout Berlin, Germany you can discover something irritating when leaving at the station “Kochstraße“: In the middle of the street there is an US-American military checkpoint and a sign telling you that you’re about to leave the American sector. It’s the famous “Checkpoint Charlie” in front of the former border line and will, now invisible. Continue reading “Checkpoint Charlie”
One of those destinations I was visiting most often during my childhood and youth was Amsterdam, the Netherlands. That is because of a very good train connection leading there and my father being an employee of the German railway company (“Deutsche Bundesbahn“, later “Deutsche Bahn“). It was very cheap for us to travel by train, even internationally. Continue reading “Amsterdam again”
The story of Anne Frank, her hiding, deportation and of course her diary are well-known to the world. That is why everybody visiting Amsterdam, the Netherlands wants to visit that special place at the Prinsengracht where here family managed to hide for a longer time.
Continue reading “Het Anne-Frank-Huis”
There are approximately 200 canals with a length of 80 kilometers in Amsterdam, the Netherlands shaping the image of the city. Most important is the Grachtengordel – a system of four canals (Singel, Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht) surrounding the city core in rings. They are typically 27 meters wide and 2,4 meters in depth. Continue reading “Canal cruising”
The Vondelpark is an urban park in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and the Dutch equivalent to New Yorks Central Park – even though it is much smaller and less moulded. It covers 47 hectares and is named after the Dutch poet Joost van den Vondel (whose statue is visible within the park). You can access the green lung of Amsterdam easily close to the Leidseplan, but there are also many other gates along the stretched park. Continue reading “Vondelpark”
I’ve been to Amsterdam, the Netherlands many times during the last ten years but I never got the opportunity to explore the Rijksmuseum in its full beauty. On my last trip is was at least partly opened, since April 2013 the renovation works were finished. And that is why we could finally see every part of it – including “De Nachtwacht” (“The Night Watch“) of Rembrandt van Rijn. Continue reading “Reopened Rijksmuseum”