Hints Archives ⋆ Page 53 of 255 ⋆ The Passenger

October 8, 2022December 11, 2022

Elisabethkirche

The Elisabethkirche of Marburg an der Lahn, Germany is a special one: it is the oldest purely gothic-style church in Germany. Isn’t that a reason to get to this small university town in the middle between Frankfurt am Main and Kassel? The church was built from the year 1235 on and was consecrated in 1283. This construction project was done by the Teutonic Order (a.k.a. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem). They’ve built the church on top of the grave of Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia (1207-1231). She was a Hungarian princess married to Louis IV, Landgrave of Thuringia.

September 30, 2022December 7, 2022

GÄMIE

When you’re walking through the pedestrian zone in the city center of Göttingen, Germany, you might be surprised to see a beautiful arrangement of Asian lanterns next to the Nabel statue. What was formerly a butcher’s shop has been transformed into an Asian fusion restaurant; a bit too small, a bit too loud – but with extremely delicious meals and extraordinary decorations.

August 22, 2022February 9, 2023

Neue Kaskade

One of the two multiplex cinemas in the center of Kassel, Germany, is the Filmpalast. It was formerly known as CineStar but received a complete redesign and rebranding in 2019/2020 – shortly before the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic in Germany. They were able to re-open for one week and than had to close-down again for months. But they opened a virus testing lab inside and lead all clients through the cinema to show off the new beauty. Fair enough, the Filmpalast is by far the best multiplex of the region and my most favorite cinema.

August 21, 2022December 7, 2022

Tränke

You can be born in a city and live there for thirty years and you still can’t have seen everything: I was quite surprised when I learned about a fountain called ‘Tränke‘ (watering place) at my hometown Göttingen, Germany. It is a fountain that dates back to the year 1776 (!) and is today a protected memorial. The water comes from the Ratsbrunnen well and runs via a large stone into a trough.

August 17, 2022December 7, 2022

Museum für Komische Kunst

Need something to laugh? The Caricatura – Museum für Komische Kunst at Frankfurt am Main is a museum for comical art and exhibiting mainly cartoons with the intention to make the viewers laughing out loud. This special museum exists since 2008 and it is well-located in this city which has a long satiric history. The ground floor is used for changing exhibitions and while I was there cartoons by Klaus Stuttmann where shown, leading continuously back through time and German history and politics.

August 15, 2022December 7, 2022

Filmladen

The Filmladen (lit. ‘movie shop‘) is an arthouse cinema at the city quarter Vorderer Westen of Kassel, Germany. It was opened in 1981 and created by a student movie initiative. The resulting non-profit organization Verein Filmladen Kassel e. V. is still today operating this rather non-commercial cinema; and that’s amazing as the cinema shows all the films that you would never see in a multiplex cinema but are really worth being screened.

July 20, 2022November 30, 2022

Bahnhofslichtspiele

The railway station of Kassel is a place that many people pass by, but it is also the Kulturbahnhof; a location to spend time at with bars, the Caricatura and also a cinema. When you pass through the main hall of the railway station you’ll see the entrance to the BALi, which is the abbreviation for Bahnhofslichtspiele. I came here for a show of three editors-in-chief of the famous German satirical newspaper Titanic: Oliver Maria Schmitt, Thomas Gsella and Martin Sonneborn.

July 12, 2022December 7, 2022

Café Regatta

A simple coffee bar at the sea, close to the Sibeliuksen puisto of Helsinki. Located in a small shed which is 120 years old, with many seats outside. Offering coffee and other drinks, small dishes, vegan and gluten-free options. A quite place with a fireplace and no alcohol. Get here to relax at the shore, to fry sausages on open fire or to rent a canoe, a rowing boat or a SUP.

July 12, 2022December 7, 2022

Oodi

Is the central library Oodi at Helsinki a place you should really visit? Of course! Because it is like a blueprint how libraries should be everywhere in the world. The new building was opened in 2018 and the fantastic architecture acts as a bridge between the analog and the digital world. Oodi combines the classic library offering printed books with a digital library, with 3D printers, a cinema, with a recording studio, with video games… It creates so many good reasons to visit the library.

July 12, 2022December 7, 2022

Kansallismuseo

Time to learn more about Finnish history? The Finnish national museum (or Suomen kansallismuseo) of Helsinki is a great place to do so. It is not a boring history museum; it is immersive, playful, simply great. The exhibition shows all about Finnish history, from stone age to the 21st century and is presented in an amazing historical building from 1910.