Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
Things went too fast in Praha, Czech Republic when the Iron Curtain fell. Located one and a half hours by car away from the German border this city was immediately flooded by tourists and the city council had to take many fast decisions. Multi-storey car parks arose everywhere in the town, hip-on-hop-off busses appeared and the city lost a bit of its bohemian atmosphere.
The bar and restaurant Lohmann’s in the Königstor street in Kassel, Germany claims to be the oldest restaurant in the city – dating back to 1888. It is not far away from the city center in a calm side street and offers a restaurant and a beer garden where you can enjoy some fresh air in addition to your meal and drink.
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I’ve seen a lot of concert locations during the last months – but none of them seemed as odd as the Stadthalle in Göttingen, Germany. A much too high ceiling, a too bright atmosphere, medium quality sound, people sitting on the upper floor and a supporting act playing in front of a plain white banner. Not the best preconditions for a nice evening.
The Batschkapp in Frankfurt am Main, Germany is a legend: a left-wing rock music club founded in 1976. It was first located in Eschersheim and moved to a new place in the city district Seckbach in 2013. There it has been enlarged to a modern music club which can also host big concerts – and even the old Batschkapp has already been a stage for R.E.M., Nirvana and Die Toten Hosen.
Some cities in Germany have their own events and special times of the year: like Karneval in Cologne, Oktoberfest in Munich or the Canstatter Wasen in Stuttgart. In Bremen it is time for the Freimarkt in the last two weeks of October; always beginning on a Friday. It’s a tradition reaching back to the year 1035 and as the typical limitations and monopolies of markets in the city where revoked within this time frame, the name free market was established.
After two gorgeous trips to Brazil and Israel this year I had only time for a short trip to Spain. The main reason to choose this destination was, that I had merely seen Barcelona so far – but nothing of the rest of this wonderful country. While I was in New York last year, I saw a reproduction of the Mezquita and decided to visit the original; at this point in time not knowing anything about the history of Andalucía.
The Centre Pompidou in Paris, France is one of my favorite museums. It is a unique place for discovering modern art and entertaining every time I’m there. That’s why I was really surprised to find another Centre Pompidou – at Málaga, Spain. It wasn’t inside my guidebooks as it was pretty new: it opened in 2015 and shall be open for five years – the future not yet decided.
Pablo Picasso, the great Spanish painter, was born in Málaga in 1881, left early and never returned. Nevertheless a museum was created for home at the city center, close to his birthplace (which can also be visited). At his an ancient building with a big courtyard in Arab style. The few exhibits are arranged in the wings of the house.
When visiting Málaga, Spain you’ll directly see a fortification on the hill above. The Alcazaba (Arab for “citadel”) has been built by the Moors in the 11th century CE. It is beautifully repaired for touristic reasons (which includes, that the reparation works are not always historically correct) and you can tour the houses and courtyards of this castle – which is especially nice because of the water flows realized throughout the area.
One of the most beautiful stops during my road trip throughout Andalucía was Ronda. No big motorway leads there. It is necessary to take streets winding through the huge mountains. But the time to travel there is invested very well: Ronda lies on the back of two lofty plains and you can stand directly at the chasm and enjoy views on the landscape surrounding the city.