Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
Some month ago we decided to visit friends in Cuxhaven, Germany. Our last trip to Berlin, Germany had ended only two weeks ago but we made it possible to travel to the North Sea for a prolonged weekend. The city is a health resort that seemed to be fully booked months in advance – but in the end we found a small away home in the center of the city quarter Döse – not too far away from the sea. Continue reading “Visiting the coast”
If you’ve got no time or money for travelling around the globe – try the Klimahaus in Bremerhaven, Germany. It is a museum located in a futuristic building within the Havenwelten complex educating about the impact of humans on the planet. It was opened in 2009 by the Irish musician Bob Geldof. The biggest section is a journey along the 8th degree of longitude east, the other two areas are called perspectives and chances. Here you can for example learn how to reduce your personal carbon footprint. Continue reading “A journey through desert and ice”
In earlier days the families and friends of seamen went to the “Alte Liebe” (old love) near the harbour of Cuxhaven, Germany to welcome or say farewell to ships passing the rivermouth of the Elbe. Today this area – marked by the old lighthouse – is still a good place to watch ships. From 10 am to 7 pm the “Schiffsansagedienst” (ship announcement service) also tells you which ship is passing, where it comes from and where it is going to. Continue reading “Watching ships”
The “Windstärke 10” is a maritime museum in Cuxhaven, Germany – telling stories about the fishing industry and ship wrecks. It is located in a nice building close to the harbour but doesn’t contain too many exhibits. It has been created in 2013 as a combination of two former museums. The museum shows the problems of seafaring, you can learn about quotas for fishermen and their nets and knots. Continue reading “Windstärke 10”
At the most northern part of Lower Saxony you can find the Kugelbake, the town’s landmark of Cuxhaven, Germany. It is a maritime sign marking the point where river Elbe floats into the sea. It is 28 meters high and was first built there in 1703 when a flood destroyed a group of trees marking the area. As it is built of wood it had to be repaired every 30 years. Continue reading “The Kugelbake”
When we visited Cuxhaven, Germany I immediately noticed the special situation in the city. It is a health resort (in German: “Kurort“) where you go to recover. You’ll have to pay a small amount of Kurtaxe for every day you stay there – but they use the money well. In the summer there are often concerts to entertain the visitors, there are public and clean toilets everywhere and some supermarkets are open even on Sundays. Continue reading “Ships & penguins”
The Wadden Sea (or German “Wattenmeer“) is a 450 kilometers long section of the North Sea in the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. The fauna in this area is formed by the tides: at low tide you can walk through the Watt which is flooded twice a day. Therefore you have to check the current schedule of the tides – they are shifting every day. Lots of animals live there and are an important source for birds and fishes. Continue reading “Wattenmeer”
When we received the keys for our away home in Cuxhaven, Germany we were quite happy: by incident we found a place directly at the old center of the city quarter Döse – with a bakery, a bank and two restaurants next door. One of them was the Parlamento – an Italian ristorante serving good pizza and pasta. Continue reading “Parlamento”
Most people that know the Indian restaurant Madras Vanakam in Göttingen, Germany seem to know it from ordering food online: it appears in all the online ordering websites. But not so many people seem to visit the restaurant itself and that’s because it is located between a residential zone and a not so beautiful industrial area. Continue reading “Excursion to India”
The Himmelsstürmer is one of the most famous art works in Kassel, Germany – originally named Man walking to the sky by the artist Jonathan Borofsky. It was created for the art exhibition documenta IX in 1992 and was placed by that time on the Friedrichsplatz in Kassel. It is a 25 meters long steel tube, inclined at 63 degrees with a man (in yellow trousers and a purple shirt) on it. Continue reading “Man walking to the sky”