Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
The castle of Devín (Theben) is some kind of national sanctuary to the Slovaks. It was the centre of power of the Great Moravian Empire, the first independent Slavian state. Today you can visit the remains of an old castle with a good touristic infrastructure.
Continue reading “Devínsky hrad”
A green Danube river, beautiful forests and swamps full of domestic animals – nothing at the point where river Morava flows into the Dunaj close to Devín could make you think about borders, escape and death.
Continue reading “The Iron Curtain”
You can reach the main sights in Bratislava on foot, you can go to the Danubia Meulensteen Art Museum by boat and to the castle of Devín by bus. But if you want to see the Červený Kameň castle, explore the little Carpathian mountains or simply don’t have enough time to wait for ships and busses, it is time for car rental.
Continue reading “Renting a car in Bratislava”
If you’re not going by plane to Bratislava or Vienna airport, the ride to Bratislava is pretty long. I went on a 7,5 hour train passage from Göttingen via Würzburg, Regensburg and Passau in Germany; Linz and St. Pölten to Vienna in Austria. In Vienna main station I had to switch to a regional train going to Bratislava.
While for most travel destinations you get good books in German or English from companies like Baedeker, Marco Polo or lonely planet, the variety goes down when looking at eastern Europe. One might even say that there is no choice.
If you are in Hannover, Germany and need to get your head clear you can enjoy a relaxing day in the AquaLaatzium in Laatzen, a small town in the south of Hannover. It offers different saunas, quite good infusions, nice bars and a restaurant and is maybe the best spa in the region.
Continue reading “This is Finnish but not the end”
The Expo Plaza is the open space between TUI Arena (a concert hall and sports venue) and Deutscher Pavillion at the Expo park south east of Hannover. In the year 2000 the World Exhibition (EXPO 2000) took place here and nowadays the buildings and places are used for different purposes.
Continue reading “Expo Plaza Festival”
During the last years a lot of bars were coming and going in the Ritterplan. The street is simply a less crowded street without direct access to the pedestrian zone. People don’t come here by accident. But now there is a restaurant that is here to stay: the Abessina, serving food from Ethiopia and Eritrea and thereby closing a gap within the already broad variety of restaurants in Göttingen.
Continue reading “Expedition to Ethiopia & Eritrea”
The Westfalenstadion (nowadays called “Signal Iduna Park”) is a soccer stadium in Dortmund, Germany and home to the Ballsportverein Borussia (BVB). It has been built in 1974 and has space for 80.000 supporters. Special feature is the “yellow wall” on the south side, huge stands for the frenetic supporters of BVB, forming an impressive background.
Continue reading “Westfalenstadion”
“I fell in love with football as I was later to fall in love with women: suddenly, inexplicably, uncritically, giving no thought to the pain or disruption it would bring with it.”
– Nick Hornby