Erfurt, Thuringia’s capital

5 April 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

Haus 'Zum breiten Herd' and Guild Hall on Fish Market © TomKidd

Haus ‘Zum breiten Herd’ and Guild Hall on Fish Market © TomKidd

Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin within the wide valley of Gera River, a tributary of the Unstrut. To the south, the city is surrounded by the Steigerwald forest.   read more…

Sankt Augustin in the Rhineland

3 April 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Monastery of Divine Word Missionaries © Marcus Bentfeld

Monastery of Divine Word Missionaries © Marcus Bentfeld

Sankt Augustin is a town in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is named after the patron saint of the Divine Word Missionaries, Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430). The Missionaries established a monastery near the current city centre in 1913. Sankt Augustin is situated about eight km north-east of Bonn and three km south-west of Siegburg.   read more…

The Hackesche Höfe in Berlin

31 March 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Berlin Reading Time:  8 minutes

© Times

© Times

Berlin’s Hackesche Höfe (Hof means courtyard) – just off S-Bahn Station Hackescher Markt, is a heritage site consisting of eight communicating, restored rear courtyards accessible through Rosenthalerstrasse 40’s main arched entrance. The area, also known as the Scheunenviertel is one of Berlin’s top entertainment hubs, popular with Berliners and visitors alike and a magnet for club-goers since the 1990’s.   read more…

The Karl-Marx-Allee in Berlin

28 March 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Berlin Reading Time:  6 minutes

Frankfurter Tor © Dnsob

Frankfurter Tor © Dnsob

The Karl-Marx-Allee is a monumental socialist boulevard built by the GDR between 1952 and 1960 in Berlin Friedrichshain and Mitte. Today the boulevard is named after Karl Marx.   read more…

The Museum Island in Berlin

24 March 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Berlin, Museums, Exhibitions, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  9 minutes

© museumsinsel-berlin.de

© museumsinsel-berlin.de

Museum Island (German: Museumsinsel) is the name of the northern half of an island in the Spree river in the central Mitte district of Berlin, Germany, the site of the old city of Cölln. It is so called for the complex of five internationally significant museums, all part of the Berlin State Museums, that occupy the island’s northern part:   read more…

Cottbus, capital of Lausitz and gate to the Spreewald

22 March 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Branitz Palace © Martinroell

Branitz Palace © Martinroell

Cottbus is a city in Brandenburg, Germany, situated around 125 km (78 miles) southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree. As of 2010, its population was 102,091.   read more…

The Hermann Monument in the Teutoburg Forest

17 March 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

View from Bielstein towards Hermann Memorial © Max1235

View from Bielstein towards Hermann Memorial © Max1235

The Hermannsdenkmal (German for Hermann monument) is a monument located in Ostwestfalen-Lippe in Germany in the Southern part of the Teutoburg Forest, which is southwest of Detmold in the district of Lippe. It stands on the densely forested and 386 m tall Teutberg in the ring fortification located there, which is called Grotenburg.   read more…

The Baltic seaside resort of Travemünde

16 March 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Kurhaus Hotel © Asterion

Kurhaus Hotel © Asterion

Travemünde is a borough of Lübeck, located at the mouth of the river Trave in Lübeck Bay. It began life as a fortress built by Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, in the 12th century to guard the mouth of the Trave, and the Danes subsequently strengthened it. It became a town in 1317 and in 1329 passed into the possession of the free city of Lübeck, to which it has since belonged. Its fortifications were demolished in 1807.   read more…

The Holstein Switzerland

16 March 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Eutin Castle © Oliver Raupach

Eutin Castle © Oliver Raupach

Holstein Switzerland (German: Holsteinische Schweiz) is a hilly area with a patchwork of lakes and forest in Schleswig Holstein, Germany, reminiscent of Swiss landscape. Its highest point is the Bungsberg (168 metres above sea level). It is a designated nature park as well as an important tourist destination in Northern Germany situated between the cities of Kiel and Lübeck.   read more…

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