Relaxing on the beach

Südstrand, Eckernförde

Normally I travel pretty far for celebrating my birthday and this year I planned to be in Moldova – but because of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic travel restrictions applied and social distancing became a pure necessity. At least I wanted to get away from home and decided to wake up at the sea, the Baltic Sea to be precise. Therefore, I booked a cube at the southern beach of Eckernförde near Kiel, Germany.

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Treib-Gut

Restaurant Treib-Gut, Altenhof bei Eckernförde

The restaurant Treib-Gut (flotsam) in Altenhof near Eckernförde, Germany, is a wonderful restaurant next to the Baltic Sea. It is located in a traditional house roofed with reed. Inside it is very cozy but it also has a nice terrace with good views on the sea. The service is good and in addition to the great fish and meat dishes, they also offer surprisingly good vegetarian options.

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Werdersee

Werdersee, Bremen

Every city has this recreation zone which locals get to for having a barbecue, swimming, doing sports or just for sunbathing. In Bremen, Germany, it is the Werdersee – an artificial lake created from 1953 on. It is connected to river Weser and has, therefore, a rather good water quality. Formerly it only contained water during high-water flood times, but human intervention made it a nice lake all year round.

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Café Sand

Café Sand, Bremen

It is one of the most relaxed places in Bremen, Germany: the Café Sand located next to the river Weser. Only some meters afar you can relax in the sun at the Weserstrand or walk some meters further on to the Werdersee. The coffee bar offers seats indoor and outdoor, is a self-service bar and the food is simple – but it is a very good place to hang out and enjoy the sunshine. It can be found in the southeast of the city centre on the other side of the river.

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Around the world

Übersee-Museum, Bremen

Bremen, Germany, has a long tradition in seafaring and trading – therefore it is no surprise that you can find the Übersee-Museum (overseas museum) directly next to the main railway station. It dates back to the year 1875 and is an ethnologic, natural history and trading museum covering different territories and cultures overseas in Asia, Africa and the Americas. It uses multimedia technology and also presents daily life (like local nutrition) in the discussed geographical areas.

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Sababurg

Dornröschenschloß Sababurg, Hofgeismar

The Sababurg is a wonderful old castle within the Reinhardswald forest and belongs to Hofgeismar, Germany. It dates back to the year 1334 and carried different names over time: first, it was the Zappenburg protecting pilgrims, as the Zapfenburg it was later used for hunting. Today you can find a hotel and a restaurant within the grounds of the castle.

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Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund

Grenzmuseum Schifflersgrund, Uder

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).

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Seeburger See

Seeburger See, Seeburg

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.

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Dransfelder Rampe

Dransfelder Rampe, Hannöversche Südbahn, Dransfeld

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.

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Burg Plesse

Burg Plesse, Bovenden

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.

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