Zur Post

Gasthof zur Post, Kiefersfelden

I don‘t know how often we have crossed the Alps when I was a child. Every year I‘ve seen the Brennero on our way to Alto Adige, Italy – and many other families did so, too. We always drove the complete way from northern Germany – but if you want to split the long way in two the Gasthof Zur Post at Kiefersfelden, Germany is a good option.

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Zwehrenturm

Zwehrenturm, Kassel

The Zwehrenturm is just a tower next to the Fridericianum at the Friedrichsplatz of Kassel, Germany – why wasting a word about it? Well in fact it is not only a tower, it is the last preserved ancient city gate. It was built in 1330 in gothic style and served as the gate in the direction of Frankfurt, Germany. The building was also used as a prison and from 1709 on landgrave Charles of Hesse-Kassel made an observatory out of it.

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Stadtmuseum

Stadtmuseum, Kassel

I don’t know how many times I passed the entrance of the Stadtmuseum of Kassel without entering it. It is located within the old Karlshospiz at the Ständeplatz but has the entrance in the rear. Maybe it were the windows closed with bricks that kept me from entering the building with the nice portal. At least I didn’t expect too many interesting things inside.

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QWERTZ

Letter from QWERTZ-Buchstabenladen, Hannover

All around us in cities there are illuminated letters: company names, advertisements, signs. But where do they go when they’re not needed anymore? Some of them have a second life, get refurbished and decorate the homes of people. A nice place where you can buy your initials in different shapes, colors and sizes – from twenty centimeters to two meters – is the QWERTZ-Buchstabenladen in Hannover, Germany.

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Halitplatz

Halitplatz, Kassel

If you’re visiting the north of Kassel, Germany along the Holländische Straße you might wonder about a strangely named place: the Halitplatz. It is a public space with a small memorial in front of a flower shop and it is named after Halit Yozgat, a former inhabitant of the city and owner of an Internet shop.

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Along river Ahne

Ahne, Ahnegraben, Kassel

The Naturpark Habichtswald close to Kassel, Germany offers numerous nice hiking trails. One of the best leads along the river Ahne – beginning at its source near the Essigberg. Following this trail you will pass a three kilometers long chestnut alley (the ‘Kastanienallee‘), you can make a detour to the Silbersee lake and you will see the Ahnegraben; an area where the river floats through a deep valley and creates little waterfalls.

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Silbersee

Silbersee, Habichtswald, Kassel

From the year 1880 to the year 1936 basalt was gathered at a quarry named ‘Igelsburg‘ (after a former wooden castle close-by) in the Habichtswald near Kassel, Germany. It existed there because of volcanic activity millions of years ago. Basalt was in the past used for buildings like the Herkules monument or the Löwenburg castle – but it is an imperfect material that deteriorates fast. As there was no need for the quarry anymore the area filled with water and a new lake was created: the Silbersee (‘silver lake’).

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