Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
The city quarter ‘Blloku‘ of Tirana, Albania is the place to be for young Albanians in the evening hours. Here you can find good bars and restaurants, next to the right places for nightlife. But that wasn’t always like this – the city quarter was during communist times reserved for the representatives and truest followers of the party (Partia e Punës e Shqipërisë, PPSH).
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When you’re walking through the city center of Tirana, Albania you might see a strange structure made of metal and plastics in front of the art gallery (Galeria Kombëtare e Arteve). It is called ‘REJA‘ meaning ‘The Cloud‘ – you can climb on top or take a seat underneath. Currently it is used for different cultural events.
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The airport of the capital city of Albania is located seventeen kilometers outside of Tirana. It is the biggest airport of the region (which doesn’t mean that it is actually big), has one runway and transports nearly 3 million passengers a year. It was built from 1954 on and was always also used by the Albanian Airforce. In 2003 it was renamed in honor of Mother Teresa who’s parents came from Albania and who is a national hero.
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The Marmorbad is the last preserved representative bath in late baroque style. It is located in a building next to the orangery at the Karlsaue in Kassel, Germany. It was built between 1722 and 1728 by the order of Landgrave Carl of Hesse-Cassel. It has three floors and a pool at the center – but it was never used for its orginal purpose.
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The Naturpark Habichtswald close to Kassel, Germany offers numerous nice hiking trails. One of the best leads along the river Ahne – beginning at its source near the Essigberg. Following this trail you will pass a three kilometers long chestnut alley (the ‘Kastanienallee‘), you can make a detour to the Silbersee lake and you will see the Ahnegraben; an area where the river floats through a deep valley and creates little waterfalls.
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From the year 1880 to the year 1936 basalt was gathered at a quarry named ‘Igelsburg‘ (after a former wooden castle close-by) in the Habichtswald near Kassel, Germany. It existed there because of volcanic activity millions of years ago. Basalt was in the past used for buildings like the Herkules monument or the Löwenburg castle – but it is an imperfect material that deteriorates fast. As there was no need for the quarry anymore the area filled with water and a new lake was created: the Silbersee (‘silver lake’).
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It is the largest castle ruin of northern Hesse and you can’t overlook it because it is located on the 492 meters high Weidelsberg mountain: the Weidelsburg at Wolfhagen, Germany. It has been built somewhen around the year 1111 CE and was important because of its strategic location between the landgraviate of Hesse, the electorate of Mainz and the principality of Waldeck. From the 16th century on it was not used anymore and became a ruin.
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South of Kassel at a town called Fuldabrück, Germany you can find a nice restaurant next to river Fulda – the Fährmann (ferryman). Since the summer of 2018 it has new owners and a new fresh concept, therefore it was time for a visit. They have a guest room on two levels, a wonderful outdoor terrace and in summer they also serve the cyclists and hikers passing by along the river from a bar (called ‘Fullebude‘) outside. It’s now a very modern yet cozy place and worth a visit.
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The horrors of World War I seem far away and are overshadowed by the successor of this war. Between 1914 and 1918 around 17 million people lost their lifes. Even if this feels far away in time sometimes it’s pretty close in space: at the city quarter Niederzwehren of Kassel, Germany you can find two large cemeteries for soldiers of World War I – one for the British, one for the Russians. It is quite far away from civilization but you might spot it from the motorways A44 and A49.
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If you’re a fan of comic art or just want to kill an hour of time waiting for your train at the Kulturbahnhof at Kassel, Germany, the Caricatura – Galerie für Komische Kunst is the right choice. It is an exhibition space founded in 1984 and maintained by a private association. They present two to five changing exhibitions of comic art every year.
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