Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
The zoological garden of Köln, Germany dates back to the year 1860 and is therefore the third oldest zoo in Germany. It is 20 hectares large and to see everything you have to walk long distances. What I liked is the round trip that ensures that you miss no species. The Kölner Zoo is visited by 1.7 million persons each year. Continue reading “Kölner Zoo”
The city of Köln, Germany grew and grew – and there were only limited green areas in the city center. And then the botanical garden close to the cathedral also had to close because this space was needed for the new main railway station. Therefore a new botanical garden was created close to the zoological garden and it opened in 1864 – called the Flora. Continue reading “The Flora”
I should name this post ‚The Great Currywurst Exodus of Cologne’. Last time I was at the Domstadt I enjoyed a restaurant that served different variations of high-quality Currywurst. As it is closed now I searched for alternatives but all entries in different recommendation lists were also closed. What’s happening here? Continue reading “Chasing Currywurst”
The main railway station of Köln, Germany is visited by 280.000 travelers every day and is therefore #5 of all German railway stations. It is special because it is located directly next to the cathedral and you‘ll already have stunning views when leaving the building. It has been opened in 1859 on the grounds of the former botanical garden. Continue reading “Vivid hub”
Sometimes I travel lots of kilometers to interesting places and sometimes I discover highlights just around the corner. One of the latter is the Hühnerfeld in Staufenberg, Germany – between Hann. Münden and Kassel. It is a natural reserve including a swamp area which you can cross on a nice wooden path.
Continue reading “Hühnerfeld”
Once a year I like to explore cities I normally wouldn‘t get to. To see the touristic highlights, to walk through the streets and feel the atmosphere and gain new insights. I did so with Erfurt and Jena in the last years and was always surprised how wrong my image of the city was. This time I took my wife to Kaiserslautern, Germany. Who would go there? Close to Germany’s smallest federal state – the Saarland, not far away from France and Luxemburg? Continue reading “Exploring Kaiserslautern”
The Reichsburg Trifels is a castle on mountain Sonnenberg close to the city of Annweiler am Trifels, Germany. It was built before the year 1081 within the Pfälzerwald between Kaiserslautern and Landau. It is surrounded by mountains and forests and you‘ve got a fantastic view from the tower of the renovated castle once you made your way up. Continue reading “Reichsburg Trifels”
The soccer stadium of Kaiserslautern, Germany was formerly named after the mountain it is standing on, the Betzenberg (a name every German soccer fan knows). The Stadion am Betzenberg was opened in 1920 and his home to the 1. FC Kaiserslautern which was playing for many years in the Bundesliga. To commemorate the famous German player Fritz Walter it was renamed on his 65th birthday to Fritz-Walter-Stadion. Continue reading “Fritz-Walter-Stadion”
The Gartenschau Kaiserslautern was opened in the year 2000 and formed – together with the Japanese garden – the first garden exhibition of the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatine. The grounds of a quarry, a spinning mill and a slaughterhouse in Kaiserslautern, Germany were transformed into a nice garden which is today an important park. Continue reading “Dinosaurs & Co.”
What to do with an old jail close to the city center? A lot of cities (including my hometown Göttingen, Germany) have to solve this question as these facilities often get to small and are rebuilt outside of the city. Often monument conservation laws prevent to change too much of the building. In Kaiserslautern, Germany they found a good way without denying the former usage. Continue reading “One night at Alcatraz”