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June 17, 2020June 21, 2020

Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund

When you’re exploring the area around Göttingen, Germany, you will soon find traces of the former inner-German border. South of the city – near Friedland – three occupation zones met: the American (including Kassel), the Russian (including Heiligenstadt) and the British (including Göttingen). When Germany was separated into the FDR and the GDR the border was therefore also close-by: only 18 km south of the city (between Friedland and Kirchgandern).

June 16, 2020May 25, 2024

Seeburger See

It is called the Eye of the Eichsfeld (the region it is located in) – the lake Seeburger See named after the city Seeburg next to it. You can use this natural lake for boating and swimming but it is rather flat with a maximum depth of 3.5 meters. Better test upfront how deep it is before you jump into the water. 😉 The Seeburger See is a famous tourist destination and you will find good infrastructure at its shore.

June 16, 2020June 21, 2020

Dransfelder Rampe

If you look at satellite data of the area west of Göttingen, Germany, you can see some unusual slopes of trees. It is the track of the former railway connecting Göttingen to Kassel (Hannöversche Südbahn). via Dransfeld and Hann. Münden – a route that was suboptimal because of the very high inclination in a section called Dransfelder Rampe (‘Dransfeld ramp’). It was nevertheless built because it was the only route from Göttingen to Hann. Münden without leaving the territory of the Kingdom of Hannover. The new route opened in 1876 switches between the German federal states Lower Saxony (formerly Kingdom of Hannover) and Hesse (formerly Kurfürstentum Hessen) several times.

June 13, 2020January 13, 2025

Burg Plesse

A famous hiking destination for people living at Göttingen, Germany, is the Burg Plesse – it is a castle ruin high above the village Eddigehausen belonging to Bovenden. It was first mentioned in the year 1015 and offers fantastic views on the valley of the river Leine. You can visit the castle free of charge and there are two towers; you can climb onto one of them to have even better views. On the castle grounds, there is also a restaurant, the Burgschänke.

June 7, 2020June 7, 2020

Boreal

If you like the bustling and colourful Nordstadt of Kassel, Germany (including its special and sometimes a bit freaky inhabitants) then the Boreal beer garden might be a good choice if you want to spend some time outside. It belongs to the Kulturzentrum Schlachthof and is located between this cultural institution and the Nordstadtpark.

June 6, 2020June 6, 2020

Glückliches Bergschweinchen

The mountain piglet after which the eatery ‘Zum glücklichen Bergschweinchen‘ in Kassel, Germany, is named is happy – as only vegan food is served there. Most important dish is vegan kebap; normal kebap is named Döner in Germany (after the Turkish word for ‘rotating’) and therefore the vegan variation is called Vöner. But they also serve delicious burgers (called ‘Börger‘) and homemade fries.

May 30, 2020April 22, 2022

Mühlenplatz

If you want to feel like a giant you need to get to Gieselwerder belonging to Wesertal, Germany. Close to the village, you will find the place where once a mill was standing and the small stream Lumbach running down the hill. Today it is an outdoor exhibition with hand-made miniature buildings named ‘Der Mühlenplatz‘ which started as a hobby in 1969. In the centre of the 3,000 m2 large area, there are several small mills which are powered with water taking from the Lumbach. Surrounding it you can see copies of castles, town halls and churches of the region – and some well-known from further away.

May 30, 2020June 5, 2020

Optical illusion

Of course, water can only float down a hill due to gravity – but at Gieselwerder belonging to Wesertal, Germany, it looks like it is running up the hill. Close to the town you can find the Mühlenplatz where formerly a mill was located (today it is an open-air museum with miniature buildings). Above this place, there are water channels that brought the water to the mill in earlier days. Next to these channels a road can be found (the L763) which is pretty steep – it has an inclination of 10 % over 3 km (the pure horror, if you ride a bicycle). Because of that, the water seems to conquer gravity; a phenomenon called ‘Wasser bergauf‘ (water uphill).

May 24, 2020June 1, 2020

Schlachtschiff

When you’re cycling between Melsungen and Rotenburg an der Fulda, Germany, you might be surprised to see a large pirate ship next to a lake – the Heinebacher See. It is the Alheimer Schlachtschiff, a battleship that includes a bar and a restaurant. The Schlachtschiff is something between a beer garden and a restaurant, with prices close to those of a beer garden. The unique selling proposition is the location; it is the only restaurant between these two cities and beautifully located at a lake – including a small beach.

May 22, 2020May 23, 2020

O Captain! My Captain!

There are many good reasons to search for a nice beer garden: maybe you don’t have an own garden and just want to hang out, maybe you just want to have a beer in the sunshine. The beer garden named Käpt’n Tom at Fuldabrück, Germany offers an additional reason as it is located close to the river Fulda and the bicycle path R1 bringing you from Kassel to Melsungen or the Edersee lake. Everything there looks handmade and a little bit improvised but that makes up the cosy atmosphere.