Kassel Archives ⋆ The Passenger

October 18, 2022December 7, 2022

Casa Manolo Segundo

The city of Kassel, Germany, has many good restaurant options for different tastes. And if it comes to original Spanish tapas, these small portions of delicious food, you need to search a bit: the Casa Manolo Segundo is your best option and located close to the city center, but it is slightly hidden ‘hinter der Kömodie‘, behind the theater in the Friedrich-Ebert-Straße. The good thing about this is that you’ll always find a parking lot in front, once you find the right crossroad.

August 22, 2022February 9, 2023

Neue Kaskade

One of the two multiplex cinemas in the center of Kassel, Germany, is the Filmpalast. It was formerly known as CineStar but received a complete redesign and rebranding in 2019/2020 – shortly before the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic in Germany. They were able to re-open for one week and than had to close-down again for months. But they opened a virus testing lab inside and lead all clients through the cinema to show off the new beauty. Fair enough, the Filmpalast is by far the best multiplex of the region and my most favorite cinema.

August 15, 2022December 7, 2022

Filmladen

The Filmladen (lit. ‘movie shop‘) is an arthouse cinema at the city quarter Vorderer Westen of Kassel, Germany. It was opened in 1981 and created by a student movie initiative. The resulting non-profit organization Verein Filmladen Kassel e. V. is still today operating this rather non-commercial cinema; and that’s amazing as the cinema shows all the films that you would never see in a multiplex cinema but are really worth being screened.

August 12, 2022December 7, 2022

Wehlheider Kirmes

When I moved to Kassel, Germany, I was offered a flat at a city quarter called Wehlheiden. It was advertised with the words ‘During the Wehlheider Kirmes you’re at the center of action‘. Fortunately, a local friend told me that you don’t want to live in the center of this event and decided to move to the Vorderer Westen instead (mostly because of the brothel next door). But this shouldn’t be too negative as the Wehlheider Kirmes is really beloved by the Kasseler, Kasselaner and Kasseläner.

July 30, 2022November 30, 2022

Zissel

The inhabitants of Kassel like to party and after 2.5 years of pandemic limitations it was time again for the biggest party, the Zissel. It is unclear were this name comes from but the best guess is that it originates in the Low German language where it means something like to spend money for having fun. The Zissel is celebrated since 1926 and always happens on the first weekend of August from Friday to Monday. It starts with attaching the Zisselhäring (a large herring) to the Rondell on Friday and ends with removing and releasing the herring to the water on Monday evening.

July 20, 2022November 30, 2022

Bahnhofslichtspiele

The railway station of Kassel is a place that many people pass by, but it is also the Kulturbahnhof; a location to spend time at with bars, the Caricatura and also a cinema. When you pass through the main hall of the railway station you’ll see the entrance to the BALi, which is the abbreviation for Bahnhofslichtspiele. I came here for a show of three editors-in-chief of the famous German satirical newspaper Titanic: Oliver Maria Schmitt, Thomas Gsella and Martin Sonneborn.

July 6, 2022November 20, 2022

Alles von der Kunstfreiheit gedeckt

Since 1986 the Kulturzelt is a tradition at Kassel. Every year in summer well-known and lesser known artists fill a large tent close to the orangery with music. And the area next to river Fulda gives you the chance to spend a nice evening outside with friends and a good drink. This year I came here to see a solo performance of Daniel Pongratz, also known as Danger Dan, the singer of the left-wing hip-hop band Antilopen Gang.

June 26, 2022August 16, 2023

Wasserspiele

The highlight of the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe at Kassel are the historic water features or water games. To show their power, the landgraves were even taming the elements and in this case controlling water: behind the Herkules monument, water is collected in large basins. At dedicated points in time it is floating down the hill without any electricity, creating sounds and fountains. This event happens every Wednesday, Sunday and on public holidays from May 1st to October 3rd.

June 21, 2022September 21, 2022

documenta fifteen

The fifteenth version of the contemporary art exhibition documenta happened in Kassel from June 18th to September 25th, 2022. It was curated by ruangrupa, an Indonesian artist collective that applied the principle of lumbung, the Indonesian tradition of a collectively used rice barn.

June 3, 2022June 14, 2022

Water & light

Beleuchtete Wasserspiele, Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, Kassel

The highlight of the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe at Kassel are the historic water features or water games. To show their power the landgraves were even taming the elements and in this case controlling water: behind the Herkules monument, water is collected in large basins. At dedicated points in time it is floating down the hill without any electricity, creating sounds and fountains. Twice a year this event is started at dawn and the places in the Bergpark are beautifully enlightened – this is called the ‘Beleuchtete Wasserspiele‘.