I must admit: I’m in love with Verona, Italy. A small, ancient city with a beautiful city center located at the river Adige. And in fact the only real city of love – being the stage for William Shakespears Romeo and Juliet. I always enjoy living here for a day or two, roaming the city, having a relaxed time. And if it once gets to small you can easily travel further on to the Lago di Garda (by bus) or the laguna di Venezia (by train).
Sant’Anastasia
The church of Sant’Anastasia is the biggest church in Verona, Italy. It is a gothic style church you will come across on your way to Ponte Pietra and the Teatro Romano. The church dates back to 1280 CE and has a 72 meters high bell tower. It is a quite simply sacral building which fascinates me mostly by the different stones in various colours used to build it.
Piazza delle Erbe and its surroundings
If you visit Verona, Italy you might think that the Piazza Brà with the Arena di Verona is the main square of the town – but that is wrong. It was once outside of the main city and was included later on. To find the citys core you’ll have to walk along the crowded shopping street (Via Giuseppe Mazzini) to the Piazza dell Erbe – a long stretched market place with wonderful old houses, market stands, a wale tooth and a column with the symbol of the Republic of Venice; the lion.
Casa di Giulietta
Verona, Italy is known to be the city of love – mostly because it is the stage to William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet; or in Italian: Romeo e Giulietta. Couples come here to find their traces and can visit three places: the house of Romeo (Via Arche Scaligere, 2; not open to the public), the tomb of Juliet (Via del Pontiere, 35; containing a museum) and most important: the house of Juliet – la casa di Giulietta.
Al Arena di Verona
The Arena in Verona, Italy is the town’s landmark and directly located at the Piazza Brà – a main square that you’ll reach when entering the town from the railway station Porta Nuova. It dates back to the year 30 CE and is the third largest Roman amphitheatre after Rome and Capua. It has 45 tiers and can hold up to 22.000 spectators.
Like Firenze
The Krämerbrücke is a bridge with multiple houses on it in Erfurt, Germany. According to the word “Krämer”, meaning grocer, a lot of merchants were located here. It is one of the town’s landmarks and it reminded me much of the wonderful Ponte Vecchio in Firenze, Italy. Even though it is less high and there isn’t so much water running under it – the Breitstrom, a part of the river Gera is just a small flow.
Moaning with Bernd
All around Erfurt, Germany you will find statues of characters from television series for children – this is because of the fact that Erfurt is home to the German children television channel (“Kinderkanal“, KiKa). One of the most visited is that of “Bernd das Brot“, a grumpy and depressive tin loaf located at the fish market close to the city hall.
Continue reading “Moaning with Bernd”Humid tropics
The egapark in Erfurt, Germany is a landscape and garden park with some special features. It is 36 hectare large and has been built on the ground of an old castle and fortification. It was opened in 1950 with a first horticultural show and from 1961 on the Internationale Gartenbauausstellung (iga), an international garden show of the socialist states was located here.
Erfurter Dom
The cathedral of Erfurt, Germany is a huge catholic church located on a hill in the center of the city. Next to it the Severinskirche can be found. It is said that the building dates back to the year 725 CE. During the many years different changes have been applied to the building, mostly gothic style elements have been added.
Continue reading “Erfurter Dom”First German-German meeting
When you leave the main railway station of Erfurt, Germany you’ll immediately see a building with the words “Willy Brandt ans Fenster” (“Willy Brandt to the window”) on top. It is the Erfurter Hof, a former hotel in which the very first steps towards the German reunification were made. On the 19th of March, 1970 the chancellor of the FRG, Willy Brandt, met here with the prime minister of the GDR, Willi Stoph.