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Rose Heights – colourful rose garden in Darmstadt
During my first trip to Darmstadt I discovered a lot of interesting places, eg. Waldspirale, Garden of Prince George, Mathildenhöhe. I still have so much more to see, so now I regularly visit this city. I was in the Rose Heights (Rosenhöhe) park before, but in winter season, so obviously I had to come back to see it when all the flowers blossom. There are different options how to reach the park: it is just 5 minutes walk from Mathildenhöhe – along the Olbrichweg and through the Lion Gate another entrance is just close to the Ostbanhof – train station, so you can arrive by train or by one of…
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Externsteine – magical rocks in the Teutoburger Wald
Is it a scenography for a new The Flinstones movie? No – these are 70 million years old rocks in the middle of the Teutoburger Wald forest – Externsteine. Half way between Dortmund and Hannover, in the heart of the Lippe region you find a nature reserve with the unique natural monument. Externsteine is a rock formation, which was formed in the Early Cretaceous age. For centuries the place was treated in a special way. People believe it has some magical features. It is thought it was used as an astronomic observatory or a temple. There are 7 rocks in total. There is a possibility to climb the…
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Ustka Mini Guide
Wind in your hair, golden sand in your shoes and gentle sun on a face – summer at the Baltic Sea. We visited Ustka for the first time in 2002 and since then we are there almost every summer. In this very personal Mini Guide I show what we fell in love with in this city and what makes us come back. Ustka is divided into east and west part by the Słupia river and the harbour. We always stay in the western part, because it is less popular, so way calmer. When we want to experience a bit more crazy city life we just go to the eastern part…
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Hiking in the Rhine Valley – Stahlberg Schleife
Rhine Valley with the beautiful Rhine Castle Trail offers endless attractions. The main trail is over 200 km long, but it is connected with countless local paths, which makes it very flexible to be explored. The trail I am introducing today – Stahlberg Schleife, starts in Bacharach. This small city is so charming that it is worth to stay there for a few days. It is a circular tour, so it finishes where it starts. It is about 12,6 km long and should take around 4h, however time strongly depends on weather, number of stops and your fitness. If you need a map or some additional information you can find it…
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On the German Timber-frame Road #1 – Hoechst
Do you know where to find the oldest church in Frankfurt or its only ferry? These sounds like cool quiz questions, but actually they are just not so obvious attractions hidden in the suburbs in the place called Hoechst. City of Hoechst was integrated into Frankfurt in 1928. It takes just 10 minutes by train from Frankfurt Hbf to reach it. It is beautifully located on the banks of the Main. Therefore, it is popular among cyclists who make trips along the river. Hoechst is well known for its industrial park with company of the same name and the porcelain manufacture. My main impression is that it is a place…
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Treasure hunting at Saturday flea market in Mainz
Every Saturday morning hundreds of people come to the University Mainz campus to hunt for treasures at the flea market. It starts at 7 a.m. and lasts until 13, which may depend on weather – on rainy days there is less choice and it closes earlier. This market is opened every Saturday whole year round. It’s easy to access by bus or tram from city centre. The closest stops are: Friedrich-von-Pfeiffer-Weg, Hochschule, Staudingerweg. There is also plenty of parking space around. What can you find there? Everything! Which strongly depends on personal needs. There are private sellers, who just want to get rid of their belongings. They have mostly clothes,…
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Colours of Darmstadt and how to find a secret garden
I knew from friends that Darmstadt is grey, sad and boring. I also never heard of anything worth visiting there. But living so close I had to give it a try. This time without any plan. I was just wandering around looking for colours of Darmstadt. Here is what I found. It is going to be a walk around the city, which can be done in one day and covers a lot of places. It can be also combined with bus or tram trip if walking is too much. Hauptbahnhof and Mornewegstrasse Let’s start at the central train station (Darmstadt Hbf). From here a lot of buses and trams leave, but…
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Berlin in autumn
Warm Sunday afternoon is a perfect time for a long autumn walk. Let’s go to the biggest park in Berlin – Tiergarten. More or less in the middle of our walk there is a magnificent monument The Victory Column and it is possible to go to its top to enjoy the view of the city. At the very end of a park there is the Brandenburger Tor at Pariser Platz, from where we can move towards the Bundestag. Nearby there is the Spree river, where we can take a boat trip joined with a city tour or just sit on the banks and enjoy the view.
