Germany Archives ⋆ Page 6 of 113 ⋆ The Passenger

September 9, 2023September 13, 2023

Deutsch-Französischer Garten

The Saarland is a border region in Germany that is very close to France and Luxembourg. From the city center of Saarbrücken it is a distance of less than five kilometers to our French friends. Half way you can find a nice park, the Deutsch-Französischer Garten (DFG) or Jardin Franco-Allemand. It was opened in 1960 by chancellor Konrad Adenauer and prime minister Michel Debré. It is a park used by French and German visitors to relax.

September 9, 2023September 13, 2023

Ludwigskirche

What is the most iconic building of Saarbrücken, Germany? In former times it might have been the castle with its towers and thick walls – but these structures are only barely visible these days. It came even worse in 1939 when the Wehrmacht destroyed multiple memorial towers (including the iconic Winterbergdenkmal) and church towers to irritate allied pilots during air raids. The most famous landmarks of the city are lost forever.

September 9, 2023September 12, 2023

Historisches Museum Saar

If you want to learn about the history of the Saarland then the Historisches Museum Saar, located at the Schlossplatz of Saarbrücken, will leave no questions unanswered. The Saarland is not only the smallest federal state of Germany, it also has a special history: it was created in 1920 caused by the Treaty of Versailles and became a separate state for 15 years under the coordination of the League of Nations.

September 9, 2023September 12, 2023

Little Blue Horse

Kleines Blaues Pferdchen, Saarlandmuseum, Saarbrücken

Franz Marc is the most important German painter working in Expressionism style. His best known works do focus on animals and especially on horses: the Blaues Pferd I can be found at the Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus at München, his Turm der blauen Pferde is considered lost since 1945 (after being confiscated as Entartete Kunst by the Nazis and taken by Hermann Göring). But there is another painting showing a blue horse, a cute one: Kleines Blaues Pferdchen has been painted by Franz Marc for Walter, the son of befriended painter August Macke.

August 23, 2023September 8, 2023

Art, peace & sauna

What do you think of when you hear the name Oslo? The Vikings? Edvard Munch and his Skrik? Ski-jumping on Holmenkollen? The Nobel Prize? The iconic opera house at the fjord? First of all Oslo is an amazingly green capital city that was in older days known as Christiania (or Kristiania). It has a city center with many ancient and beautiful buildings due to the fact that it wasn’t impacted by war for a long time. And it is a city offering an absolutely high quality of life: nature, art and mentality contribute to this.

August 21, 2023September 8, 2023

Oslo pass

I love to purchase tourist passes in advance. With them you typically can use public transport and visit the most important sights without paying every single time. If you get around a lot in a city it can save you a lot of money and that is quite important at Oslo as it is one of the most expensive cities in Europe. How does it work at Oslo currently? You just need to download the ‘Oslo pass‘ app from your mobile app store and within you can buy passes for different time frames. Once you arrived at Oslo you just need to activate it. The app shows two different tickets: one for public transport, one for visiting sights.

August 21, 2023September 8, 2023

Vigelandsparken

Gustav Vigeland was the most important sculptor of Norway. He was born in 1869 and died at Oslo in 1943; his connection to the capital city was strong: he gave the rights on his sculptures to the city administration and the city administration assured his means of subsistence. Vigeland was highly influenced by French sculptor August Rodin and his work focusses on the relationship between man and woman; maybe that’s why many people can relate to his work and enjoy seeing his sculptures.

August 12, 2023August 22, 2023

Central Club

I came to Erfurt last in 2015 for a concert in a club called Centrum, located in the city center, between the Anger and the Juri-Gagarin-Ring. Its perfect location became a problem as the landlord decided that he could earn more money by rebuilding the place instead of hosting a club. Half a year after my visit the Centrum had to be closed and Erfurt lost a wonderful concert hall.

August 12, 2023August 16, 2023

Thüringer Zoopark

Erfurt is the capital of the federal state of Thuringia and of course it needs to have a zoological garden. The Zoopark Erfurt is located on the Roter Berg (‘red mountain’) north of the city. It was opened in 1959 and is a home for 1,000 animals of more than 130 species. In contrast to other zoological gardens in Germany it is rather young, but you can see a lot of change there caused also by the end of the GDR.

August 12, 2023August 16, 2023

Petersberg

I’ve been to Erfurt multiple times, I’ve visited the Domplatz and the cathedral and I’ve always ignored the citadel next to it on the 231 meters high Petersberg mountain. I’ve not even seen it. Don’t do the same mistake as the fortification offers nice views on the city and different beer gardens to enjoy life. The Zitadelle Petersberg was created from 1665 on to prevent resistance against the Electorate of Mainz (whom the city belonged to after the Peace of Westphalia) and to suppress protestant forces.