Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
The capital city of Romania is full of ancient buildings that are beautifully illuminated at night. One of these is the Romanian Athenaeum, a concert hall built between 1885 and 1888 by a French architect. It is one of the most important concert halls in Europe an seat of the philharmonic orchestra of București.
Continue reading “Ateneul Român”
The union square is one of the biggest places at București, Romania. It breathes the spirit of socialist times and was in former times a giant marketplace. People from all of Walachia came here to sell their goods. A reminder of these times is the restaurant Hanu’ lui Manuc north of the square where foreigners could eat and rent a room. Still today a lot of shopping malls are surrounding the Piața Unirii.
Continue reading “Piața Unirii”
I like to end my days in sky bars with good views on the city I’m currently visiting. During the coronavirus pandemic this also became a security factor as the infection risk is much lower in open spaces. At București there is unfortunately no such place on a high building, but at least there is the Nomad Skybar at the heart of the old city center.
Continue reading “Nomad”
The international airport Henri Coandă is a medium-sized airport and the biggest hub of București, Romania. It was formerly called Otopeni and therefore it carries the airport code OTP. The airport was opened in 1968, has two runways and one terminal; it is named after Henri Coandă, a Romanian physicist and flight pioneer.
Continue reading “Aeroportul Internațional Henri Coandă”
It is one of the most representative buildings of Göttingen, Germany: The Deutsches Theater (DT). After the old theatre building at the Wilhelmsplatz burned down in 1887 this new house was built in Italian Renaissance style and opened in 1890. On the roof a winged Thalia (as the goddess of poetry and comedy) takes care of the theatre.
Continue reading “Since 1890”
When the Nazis took over power at Germany in 1933 they immediately prepared for war. Ammunition production was restricted by the treaty of Versailles and therefor they requested the German industry to create factories in rural areas that should be ready to be activated in case of war. One of these was the Sprengstofffabrik Hirschhagen (explosives factory) or Munitionsfabrik Hirschhagen (ammunition factory) of Hessisch Lichtenau.
Continue reading “Endless ferroconcrete”
A steep ascent from Retterode (Hessisch Lichtenau), a lengthy line of steps in the forest, a gap in a circular rampart and then you see it: the castle keep of the Burgruine Reichenbach. It was built in the middle of the 11th century CE and was important in the past as it is close to the border between the states of Hesse and Thuringia.
Continue reading “Burgruine Reichenbach”
The Odenberg is a 381 meters high mountain close to Gudensberg, Germany. It is fully covered with trees, and you can find some wild garlic in the northern part. Getting up there might be interesting for archeologists, as there are the remains of two circular ramparts. But for everyone it is worth hiking up because of the wooden tower standing there, the Odenbergturm.
Continue reading “Wooden ladders”
When Germany was divided, a seven-hundred-kilometer-long border from the Baltic Sea to the Czech Republic existed. Without human life, but with a chance for nature to recover undisturbed. After the German reunification nature protection organizations worked on keeping this area as a nature protection zone and as in important migration path for animals. They called it Grünes Band (green stripe).
Continue reading “Grünes Band”
If you grow up in nowadays Germany you can’t imagine anymore that this country was once divided. That there was a well-protected and visible border through the country, visible as an illuminated stripe at night. That people were dying between BRD and DDR, along the iron curtain. There are some places throughout Germany where you can learn about this. The best I’ve seen so far is located south of Duderstadt: The Grenzlandmuseum Eichsfeld at Teistungen.
Continue reading “Grenzlandmuseum”