Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
The first question is always: why does one stay in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany? Not the Frankfurt in the heart of Germany, the one with lots of skyscrapers of banks and Äppelwoi, but the one close to the border to Poland. At first it has to be said that even Frankfurt (Oder) has some nice city quarters and a good university – but for me it was only a good stop because on the next day I had to travel early to Bremen for a soccer match.
When you were a child, did you read the book “Krabat” of Otfried Preußler? The one in which a child becomes apprentice in a mill not knowing that the black arts are teached there? Not expecting that in the end every year one of the young residents has to die to keep the master alive? And where only true love could save you from death? If yes, then the name Schwarzkollm (Čorny Chołmc) does ring a bell to you.
Continue reading “Visiting the wizards”
The Spreewald in Germany is a very special place. One you normally only visit to get a canoe to travel on the long and branched river network. Or to cross the area by bike. But some people even come here for a specialty that was once imported from the Netherlands: sour pickles.
Continue reading “Pickles, canoeing & mosquitos”
There are not many train stations that are directly located at the shore. One of these dead-end stations is the terminus of Lindau, Germany. It is very impractical but of historical value. If you leave a train here you only have to walk approximately 100 meters to get to the harbour of Lindau and have a wonderful view on Lake Constance.
Konstanz, Germany is a very good starting point to discover Lake Constance (in Germany called “Bodensee“). It is a very big lake with a surface of 536 km² and river Rhein is running through it. Three countries have access to the waters: Switzerland, Austria (with the town of Bregenz and the theatre at the shore) and Germany with Lindau, Friedrichshafen and Konstanz as the most important cities.
Continue reading “Lake Constance”
The Black Forest (“Schwarzwald“) in Germany is a legend: because of the original cuckoo clocks, the special and very tasty ham and the strange outfits the natives wear on public holidays. And it is a very interesting landscape you can best enjoy from the coaches of the “Schwarzwaldbahn” – a railway crossing the Black Forest.
The castle of Heidelberg, Germany is well known to the world – because of its beauty and because of the big amount of US soldiers stationed in nearby Ramstein that visited it. It is first mentioned in 1225 and was until 1697 seat of the Palatine prince-electors. Today it is a wonderful ruin in Renaissance style made of red freestone.
If you follow the Panamericana from Puerto Montt down to the south it will end suddenly and you need to take a ferry boat to the island of Chiloé. It is a wonderful place where you have the possibility to see penguins in their natural habitat. A very good place for this seems to be Puñihuil beach – you can reach it if you turn west after the ferry usage and pass the town of Ancud; and then simply continue through empty landscapes.
In most parts the Panamericana seems to be a road running straight down to the south. Especially at the southern end of Chile this changes because of the natural conditions. Close to Puerto Montt, before entering the area with the main natural preserves of Chile, the Panam – here called Ruta 5 – cannot simply lead on. You’ll need to cross the waters to Chiloé island by ferry boat.