“There is no world without Verona walls,
But purgatory, torture, hell itself.
Hence “banished” is banish’d from the world,
And world’s exile is death.”
– William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
The Walls of Verona
Hotel Torcolo
The Albergo Torcolo in Verona, Italy is a hotel I returned to multiple times during the last years. It is a very small and narrow hotel with old-style furniture – nothing really special one would say. But there are two reasons why I always love to be there; the first is the very friendly family running the hotel. You immediatly feel at home and it is possible to switch between Italian, English and German in just one sentence at the reception.
Train through the Alps
One of the most beautiful railway tracks I can imagine is the “Brennerbahn” (Ferrovia del Brennero) crossing the Alps from Germany via Austria to Italy. It dates back to 1864 and has a maximum inclination of 25%. While the train goes in slopes through the mountains you can sit back and enjoy wonderful views. Especially in winter time the fir trees loaded with snow look great.
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.
The Centrum
The Centrum in Erfurt, Germany is a music club in the capital city of the federal state of Thuringia. It is located close to the main railway station and the Juri-Gagarin-Ring. It is a small but wonderful place for concerts directly in the city center of Erfurt – easily reachable on foot.
Continue reading “The Centrum”Same procedure as every week
Wednesday. Every damn Wednesday. I have the feeling of having spent years in my life at the Thanner’s Tag & Nachtschänke in Göttingen, Germany. It is a rather dark but comfy bar directly at the Wilhelmsplatz. I was there every week during school and study times and while I was active in politics I told people that I would have my weekly consultation hours here – they were used frequently.