Bremen airport is what I call a 30 minute airport by which I mean it’s entirely feasible to turn up 30 minutes before a flight when you are departing and most typical to be out of the place in well under 30 minutes even if…Read More

Bremen airport is what I call a 30 minute airport by which I mean it’s entirely feasible to turn up 30 minutes before a flight when you are departing and most typical to be out of the place in well under 30 minutes even if you have baggage. There are no long walks and moving walkways, no long lines for security and nothing not too much in the way of shopping to tempt you to be late to your departure gate. It’s also a really convenient place to get to – not one of those crazy airports that are so far away from the city that they’re practically in a different time zone. It’s entirely possible to get from the city centre to the airport by public tram – the number 6 – in just 11 minutes. Add a couple more if you’re travelling from the railway station.


There are two main parts of the airport; what I’d call the ‘airport proper’ and then the Ryanair Terminal. If you’re in the Ryanair part you’ll know – it’s brightly painted in blue and yellow like an IKEA airport. I don’t like the IKEA terminal at all. It’s rude, aggressive, full of stressed out people waiting in fear to be told off that their bag infringes some tiny ridiculous Ryanair rule and the lines seem to be designed to move as slowly as possible. In total Ryanair offer flights to more than 20 destinations so if you don’t hate the ultra-budget approach, it may be the cheapest way into and out of Bremen.


The main terminal is a much nicer place than the Ryanair building and despite not being enormous, it manages to have several zones. At one end you’ll find the check-in desks for Lufthansa and at the other end the desks for Air France and KLM. There are of course plenty of other airlines but for my travel these are the three that matter as I generally fly to Amsterdam, Paris or Munich before going on to somewhere else. In the space between the two check in areas you’ll find the arrivals area and a selection of shops and cafes. If you are hungry or thirsty, I recommend to eat and drink before you go through security as there’s very little once you get through to airside. The Kamps bakery offers lots of typically enormous German cakes and other sweet bakery and they also have reasonably priced sandwiches and rolls. For hot food there’s a small Italian place that does pizzas and pasta for a pretty good price too. Most of the shops are a bit lame and I can honestly say I’ve never bought anything from any of the shops at Bremen.


For a small place it’s surprising how well connected the airport is. In total you can get direct to around 50 different destinations from Bremen airport and a lot more by passing through one of the European hub airports. The airport handles a mix of budget, full-fare and charter flights and sometimes you’ll even see little two-seater planes and private jets at Bremen.


After you’ve checked in, you’ll need to head upstairs to the departure areas. Take care because there are two separate departure halls, one for the Schengen countries where you don’t need to show your passport and the other for the non-Schengen countries where you will need to go through passport control. I generally use the Schengen zone and there are up to four x-ray machines which keep the queues moving well. They have quite a nice system of asking people to give the person at the belt some privacy by waiting a few feet back. Don’t make the mistake of stepping forward or you’ll probably get a withering look and a few choice words of German. I have a shockingly bad record of being picked for allegedly random searches and have frequently been taken off to the room where they swab your computer or kindle to check it’s not explosive. The security staff are very pleasant and polite, neither things you can take for granted in most airports.


Once you’ve survived getting through security there’s really not much to do. There’s a small café, a vending machine and a rather unexciting duty free shop selling the same stuff you’ll find in every duty free shop.


If your plane is on an air-bridge you’ll be called to the departure gate and allowed to trundle down the air bridge and onto the plane. With more flights than bridges I find that more often than not – especially with small planes – you have to go down the stairs and onto a waiting bus for transfer to the plane. When you arrive if you are on an airbridge you’ll need to go downstairs to baggage collection or if you’re bussed in, they’ll deliver you straight to the lower floor. Why do I mention all of this? Just because I’ve never noticed a lift on any of my many visits though I’m sure they must be there. If you have any issues with mobility, I would strongly recommend that you tell your airline to make sure you get the support you need to get around the airport.


Many of the planes into Bremen are quite small so it’s likely you’ll have to put your baggage in the hold on many of these small planes. Fortunately the baggage handlers are fast and efficient and most bags come through within about 10 minutes of you getting to the baggage hall. I try not to put my bags in the hold as I usually travel via Amsterdam and the last two times I gave my bag in, it didn’t make it to Bremen. In each case I had to only wait a couple of minutes to report the non-arrival at the Lost and Found desk and the bag came in on the next flight and was delivered within an hour or two of the flight coming in.


If you visit Bremen regularly it’s worth knowing that the ‘Information’ booth sells strips of tickets for the tram into the city. I buy these ten at a time and usually save 20-30 cents on the standard price. If you want just one ticket you can buy from the machine at the tram stop or from the machines on the trams. If you have a vehicle, there are 4500 parking spaces so you shouldn’t struggle for space. Taxis are available directly outside the terminal and it costs around 15 euros to the city centre and takes about 15 minutes. People arriving on the Ryanair flights will find that there are transfer buses going from just outside the Ryanair terminal which go to several places including Hamburg. I’ve never used any of these.


Whilst it’s a bit annoying for me that it’s tricky to get to Bremen as there are few direct flights from the UK I'd still rate it as one of the easiest and least stressful airports in Europe.
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We were staying at a hotel just outside Dresden, 30 minutes or so along the autobahn from Bautzen. We had arrived there late afternoon, and after a quick shower decided to nip along the road to see what all the fuss was about.As with most…Read More

We were staying at a hotel just outside Dresden, 30 minutes or so along the autobahn from Bautzen. We had arrived there late afternoon, and after a quick shower decided to nip along the road to see what all the fuss was about.

As with most towns and cities, the approaches were instantly forgettable, although some of the towers and spires of the old town were visible on the horizon promising something more appealing than factories and suburban monotony. All this changes as you near the impressive bridge over the young River Spree.
The old medieval walls (the town is at least 1000 years old) rise steeply up from the banks of the meandering water and are studded with various watch-towers and look-out points. The town, which sits on a rocky plateau, takes on an almost fairytale appearance with countless Rapunzelesque minarets and turrets thrusting skywards like trees breaking through the forest canopy in search of light.

As soon as we had crossed the bridge however, we were soon dumped back in the 21st century with, not so much a thud, as a sigh. Although Bautzen didn't suffer the same level of devastation that most German cites did in 1945, there has still been some insensitive redevelopment. The first thing we encountered was a glitzy and shiny, ultra-modern, shopping mall - not a problem in itself, but when it's plopped in the middle of a medieval old town, with some magnificent baroque architecture for neighbours, it just seems so thoughtless and ill-planned, y'know?

Anyhoo, it had a multi-storey car park above it, so it wasn't all downhill...actually, it was very slightly uphill from here to the main square. So that's where we headed.

As we were there late afternoon on a Saturday, it wasn't the best time to see any of the museums or attractions that the town has to offer. Probably the main attractions are the Sorbian museum and Folk-theatre. The Sorbians are a Slavonic people with their own language and culture who still inhabit this part of Germany. I would've liked to learn more about them, but them's the breaks.
There are also a couple of prisons which date from the communist era of the GDR. These are classified as monuments to the follies of totalitarian regimes, and many people suffered here under the auspices of the Stasi - the GDR's infamous secret police (not exactly secret, as the whole world knew of their existence!).
The town also has a city museum, art gallery, and various other attractions.

As I said, we didn't really have time, or good timing, to visit anything like that. So what did we do?

Well, we had a little look-see in the Dom St. Petri, the cathedral which dominates the old town. There has been a church on this site for a millennium or more, but the present granite building dates from 1497, although much of it was rebuilt after a fire in 1634. It's both a catholic and protestant cathedral. It wasn't the most ornate, or elaborate religious building I've ever been in, but it was still impressive. There was a service going on, so not wishing to disturb or interfere with anyone's beliefs, we didn't hang around long.

The cathedral is at the highest point of the town and everything radiates downwards from there. Don't get the idea you need the calf muscles of a mountain goat though, it doesn't get steep until you're at the old walls.

We also had a wander through the main shopping streets, although most of those were beginning to shut as well. Still, with the wife in tow (a woman who knows how to flex a credit card till it squeals), that was a blessing in disguise.
All the old town is picturesque and atmospheric, but the main streets and squares are particularly stunning. Baroque is the order of the day here, with elaborate rococo facades in a wide variety of pastel shades demanding attention at every turn. The restoration of the town was pretty complete and quite magnificent.

Heading down towards the ancient walls, the streets narrow somewhat and take on a more medieval tone. The views from the walls over the Spree valley are impressive, and one can really get a feel for the impregnability of the old fortifications - not that they were impregnable, Bautzen has suffered from many attacks over the centuries, particularly during the Thirty Years War, attacks by Napoleon, and in 1945. having said that, fires have probably played a more significant part in reshaping the town over the years.

Just a few steps from the cathedral, at the heart of the old town, is Hauptmarkt which is dominated by the Rathaus or Town Hall, another quite splendid baroque edifice. Originally built in 1213, it was destroyed by fire in 1634 and again in 1704 before taking its present form in the 1730s. Managing to keep smoke-free since then, it's a daffodil-yellow colour with the ubiquitous tower and delicate stonework. Perhaps its crowning glory is the massive sundial on the front of the tower, just below the two clocks - no excuses for tardiness around here.
Incidentally, there are a number of sundials on various building around the town, some of them pretty spectacular.

Here was where the highlight of our visit was. It being a balmy Saturday evening, the town was gearing up for some al fresco fun in the main square. Stages had been erected, beer tents piped in, and hot food stands abounded.
Perfick!

There can be few more pleasurable ways to spend an hour or so than soaking up the last dying rays of sunshine in such aesthetically pleasing surroundings - a little atmospheric 'Oompah' music, a foaming glass* of Radeberger Pilsner in one hand, a foot-long bratwurst in another, all the while holding your best girl's hand...wait, I've only got two hands - something had to go. Tough call, but ya gotta eat-n-drink, y'know?

* It can still be called a glass even though it's plastic, can't it?


In conclusion, I thoroughly enjoyed my brief, all too brief, visit to Bautzen. If we had arrived a little earlier we might have been able to see a bit more, but what we saw, we liked. Also, if we had been staying in the town, I might have been able to sample a few more beers, but we weren't so I didn't.
Bautzen is a stunningly attractive little town with no end of architectural gems and a good deal of history thrown into the mix.
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Göerlitz is the main centre of Lower Silesian Upper Lusatia, or, to the less geographically motivated among you, it lies slap-bang on the border between Germany and Poland, just an inch or so north of the border with the Czech Republic (that'll be on a…Read More

Göerlitz is the main centre of Lower Silesian Upper Lusatia, or, to the less geographically motivated among you, it lies slap-bang on the border between Germany and Poland, just an inch or so north of the border with the Czech Republic (that'll be on a 1:10,000 scale map, of course). In fact, the Polish town of Zgorzelec is but a short stroll across the River Neisse (via the bridge - much drier). These towns were once united.

This town has a wealth of history, which I'm going to whizz through as fast as cheetah on sulfate.
The first mention of Görlitz was in 1071, but it wasn't until the 13th century that there was anything resembling a town here. After an initial period of prosperity, mainly because of its strategic position on two trade routes, the town declined after the Thirty years War - I think it supported the wrong side. There then followed a period of very little development before some substantial growth during the 19th century due to industrialization. Surprisingly, considering its location, the town suffered very little damage during WWII, and the town was divided in two when the border between Poland and Germany was redrawn along the River Neisse.

We visited on a Sunday morning which was probably a pretty good time to do so as the roads were quiet and, apart from a few like-minded tourists, we had the place to ourselves. Having said that, as the day wore on, the town became increasingly busier and by lunch time it was quite a detailed enterprise trying to find a table somewhere - chairs you couldn't give away, but tables?...

Being a Sunday, the more modern, commercial centre of town was deathly quiet (apart from the incessant pealing of church bells), so we quickly found our way to the Obermarkt and parked the car. Most of the shops here seemed to specialize in antiques and a few were open. One of the streets leading off this square is Brüderstrasse, and this is where you'll find the tourist office. It's not a large building, but it has everything you need and the small staff were very helpful and laid-back. Suitably equipped with a nice, 3-D map, we ventured on.

Brüderstrasse is probably the main shopping street in the old town, although it's not somewhere you'd go for Groceries or a pair of trainers. No - arts-n-crafts, souvenirs, and all manner of weird and wonderful things are on offer along this street. It's definitely aimed at tourists, and the fact that almost every single shop was open testifies to this.

Perhaps the most photogenic and atmospheric part of the old town is where Brüderstrasse meets Untermarkt. This is where you'll find the Schönhof. This dates from 1526 and is the oldest secular renaissance building in Germany, according to the guide books. It's a magnificent specimen of renaissance architecture in vibrant ochre and subdued grey, with an arched arcade on the ground level. It's home to the Silesian museum which features both the Polish and German history of this area.

On the opposite corner is the Rathaus which occupies several buildings, the oldest dating back to the 13th century. It's another corker of a building in salmon-pink but for me the best part of it has to be the winding staircase. The intricately carved decoration is an absolute treasure and it's not hard to imagine proclamations being declared from the small balcony at the side of the door.

I could go on forever describing some of the architectural gems that greet you on every corner (don't panic, I won't)- some of the restoration work is magnificent and very sympathetic. Certainly, around the Obermarkt, Brüderstrasse and Untermarkt, and the streets in the immediate surroundings, everything looks clean and fresh and almost as though it was newly built. The various colours of the different buildings only adds to the effect, and as you'd expect from architecture of this period, the embellishments and ornamentation of the facades is spectacular. Add to this the profusion of elaborate sundials on many of the buildings, and there's always something to catch the eye.

You don't have to go far, however, to find plenty of buildings that haven't yet been brought back to their former splendour. Varying shades of grey, crumbling masonry, and derelict shop-fronts hint at how the town looked during the communist era. I think this actually adds to the character - there's nothing worse than an overly restored town-scape. Göerlitz still feels like a real town and not a movie-set.

We took a stroll down past the Renthaus, which dates back to the 12th century, and along the banks of the river. It's not exactly manicured parkland, but still provides a pleasant green oasis. What's interesting as you walk along, is to look to the right and see the expertly restored ancient buildings sympathetically mingling with the contemporary apartment blocks - then glance across the river to your left and see the dilapidated state of the town on the Polish side.
To be fair, there's quite a bit of reconstruction on the Polish side now - it's just that they've got quite a bit of catching up to do.

We couldn't very well come this far and not take a Sunday morning stroll into Poland...as you do. Most, if not all, of the bridges were destroyed by the retreating nazis in 1945, but thankfully new ones have been built, and are continuing to be built. Walking across and into Poland couldn't have been easier.

Unfortunately, being Sunday, Zgorzelec was closed for the day. Maybe it's generally like a ghost town, but I couldn't help thinking that they were missing an opportunity. By the time we crossed over, there were literally throngs of tourists doing the same thing. Fat wallets bulging with euros, traveller's cheques and plastic, there was nothing to spend your cash on. OK, not strictly true. There were a couple of grocery stores open but that was it. No cafes, no bars, no restaurants. Oh well.
Zgorzelec was like a different world. Granted, it had its own charm - in a run-down, post-industrial, washed-out fashion, but it was nowhere near as pretty as Göerlitz...it wasn't much prettier than Airdrie! It had more of an industrial, work-a-day town compared to its neighbour.

Still, it was an experience, and since there was nowhere to spend any money, a very inexpensive one.

Back to Germany...

We returned to the Untermarkt for some lunch and, although there are a multitude of bars, cafes and restaurants (you're not in Poland now), they are quite low-key. in Göerlitz the town squares aren't completely given over to pavement cafes.
Anyway, we eventually settled for a bite to eat at a place that occupied the building of the former town pharmacy. The Ratsapotheke is still adorned in the style of a 16th century dispensary (albeit one with hordes of people happily munching away). Very nice it was too.

A point of interest next door to the Ratsapotheke is the Flüsterbogen (Whisperin Arch). This is a portal from the 15th century that is characterized by strange acoustics...hence the name. It really is quite surreal. Nowadays this houses a courtyard of craft shops and cafes.


Suitably fed and watered, we finished our time in Göerlitz and headed back to our hotel. Of course, we didn't head straight back. Oh no. We went via the Czech Republic...as you do.
But that's another story...    Close

This wasn't the first time I'd been to Eisenach you know. Not a bit of it. I'd stopped there on route to Poland a couple of years ago. However, on that occasion, I didn't do much more than sink a couple of beers and get…Read More

This wasn't the first time I'd been to Eisenach you know. Not a bit of it. I'd stopped there on route to Poland a couple of years ago. However, on that occasion, I didn't do much more than sink a couple of beers and get my head down in my hotel and consequently, all I saw of the town was what was visible from the autobahn.
All that was about to change in September when we were touring Germany.

EISENACH is situated in the state of Thuringia, pretty much slap-bang in the centre of Germany (although until 'the wall' came a-tumbling down, it was fairly close to the frontier with the West.) It lies on the A4 autobahn, which is the main route from Frankfurt-am-Main to Dresden (and on to Krakow), making it a perfect spot to break a journey.

But there's more to Eisenach than a convenient stopover...much more.

The town has been around for nearly 1,000 years and in all that time has been dominated by the brooding presence of WARTBURG CASTLE which towers menacingly above. Actually, it doesn't really look all that threatening. It appears that the castle is perched on a gentle hill just to the south of the old town. An object lesson in not trusting first appearances!

We arrived there mid-afternoon which gave us plenty of time to check in to our hotel, freshen-up a little, then head for the picturesque Old Town for a look around and a bite to eat.

On approaching the old town, you could be forgiven for thinking you'd made a horrendous mistake in choosing Eisenach as a destination. Some of the surroundings are a little 'past their best', to say the least. There's a great deal of derelict industrial land, especially towards the Railway station. but I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that much of the DDR industry wasn't really efficient and many changes have taken place since re-unification, not least working practices.

All that changes though when you finally arrive in the ALTSTADT.
We entered through the St. Nicholas Gate which immediately brings you into Karlplatz, a wide market-place lined with bars and restaurants, the centre-piece of which is a statue of a certain Martin Luther who lived here as a child and later, while staying in Wartburg Castle, translated the bible into vernacular German.
The main shopping street, Karlstrasse, leads off from here and is pedestrianised although when we were there, work was in progress re-laying the cobble setts. This made it a little awkward getting around in some parts, but it looked like work was near completion, so that shouldn't be an issue now.

I wouldn't describe the shopping as tourist-orientated, which is surprising, as I'm sure Wartburg is one of Germany's premier attractions (although don't quote me on that). Having said that, there were plenty of unusual little shops and it certainly wasn't confined just to run-of-the-mill chains.

At the far end of Karlstrasse is the picturesque Marktplatz which is lined with administrative buildings and intricately adorned patrician houses. This is also where you'll find the Rathaus (town hall) which was a tavern until its conversion in 1596. It was thoroughly renovated in 1996 and now, with it's salmon-pink rendered walls and beautiful, golden sandstone lintels topped by a bold, black clock-tower, it's amazingly photogenic.

It's not the most impressive building in the square though. Some would say that honour goes to the baroque Ducal Palace which houses the Museum of Thuringia, others would point to St George's church (although I can't comment on that because it was covered in scaffolding and wasn't open to the public at the time).

Me? I though the most impressive building was one that was just slightly off the Markplatz, Luther House, which is thought to be the oldest of Eisenach's many half-timbered buildings. I thought it was an absolute belter of a building, and what's more, you can go inside where you can view exhibitions about Martin Luther and a history of the Protestant Vicarage. Nice building, boring exhibition.

Incidentally, although there are plenty of cafe/bars/restaurants around Markplatz, there are two between the church and Luther House that I would say were the best. These were old, authentic Bierkellers and as so, were very atmospheric.

There are many more museums in Eisenach worth investigating, after all, this is also the birthplace of JS Bach and his house is now a memorial to him. As well as exhibits there are concerts and lectures. Being more of a Debussy-type, I gave this a miss.
There's also the Reuter-Wagner Museum which apparently has the second most important exhibition (after Bayreuth) devoted to Wagner - the opera, Tannhäuser, has connections with Wartburg.


There are other buildings worth visiting too, although they can't be all that worth it as we never visited them! We didn't actually venture into many of the museums for two reasons: firstly, we weren't all that interested in the thematic content; and secondly, the weather was absolutely glorious and it seemed a shame not make the most of it.
Besides, we only really spent late afternoon/early evening in the town both days we were there.
There are various other things to do and see in the surrounding area, but I think I've covered more than enough for now.    Close

The Hanseatic League, also known by its Latin name Liga Hanseatica, or simply as Hansa or Hanse in the Germanic dialects of the low countries, was an association of merchant cities and trading guilds that run, and more or less dominated, the trade, particularly the…Read More

The Hanseatic League, also known by its Latin name Liga Hanseatica, or simply as Hansa or Hanse in the Germanic dialects of the low countries, was an association of merchant cities and trading guilds that run, and more or less dominated, the trade, particularly the sea trade of Northern Europe. Its member cities were either inhabited by Low German merchants or funded on the Magdeburg Law, but it also incorporated numerous trading posts (called ''kontor'') as far as London, Paris and Novgorod. As a political and trading body it was particularly influential in the southern Baltic, from Tallinn in the east to Bremen in the west, and stretched inland to Breslau (Wroclaw), Krakow and Cologne; with the main period of activity falling in the Late Middle Ages and early modern period.

The heritage of the Hansa can be clearly seen now, from the Northern Gothic and Flemish Renaissance architecture of many cities to their strong Protestant influences, long-standing commercial traditions and a certain affinity with each other.

This heritage is also still celebrated in many towns of the former Hansa, either as a historical memory to be proud of or as an official designation. Among German cities, several bear the name of the ''Hansestadt'' (the Hansacity), which is even prominent on their car registration plates with Hamburg for example bearing HH and Lübeck, HL. The latter, now the second city in the land of Schleswig-Holstein, was for several centuries the "capital" of the League and still remains a busy and prosperous port.

For a visitor, it's one of the most attractive cities in Northern Germany, small enough to be manageable and pleasant, while big enough to be interesting. It is also very beautiful, with painstakingly restored and, because of its Northern Gothic architectural monuments. It is, in fact, on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Situated picturesquely on the river Trave, Lubeck has many lovely buildings to admire and explore, of which the most interesting are all examples of the Northern Gothic.

The Holstentor (Holstein Tower or Gate) is an icon of the city; a massive brick-built gate with two round towers and conical helms; influenced by Flemish architecture and emblematic of the Romanticised version of the Brick Gothic. Inside holds a museum devoted to the history of the city, including a model of Lubeck as it was 300 years ago.

Peterkirche (St Peter's Church) has a tower that is by far the best viewpoint in the city, offering fantastic views over the monuments of Old Lubeck. The viewing platform is some 50m above ground and you can see all the iconic monuments, with St Mary's and the Holstein Gate, the canals and the cathedral. There is a lift up and the price of 3 Euros is really very reasonable for such a vantage point (and no need to climb). Highly recommended.

Other two fabulous Brick Gothic churches that add to the city's skyline are St-Marien-Kirche (St Mary's Church) and Dom zu Lübeck (the cathedral), each of these boasting sky-high towers on the front façade, with slender, copper-green pinnacles.

Heiligen Geist Hospital is also a fascinating place to visit, another Gothic building but this time not a church, but a former medieval hospital, or perhaps more of an alms-house, a combination of a care home, hospice and hospital dating to 1286. The inhabitants received bed and board, and from 18th century onwards were even entitled to eights hot baths a year! Nowadays the Hospital is a care home, but it's possible to visit a large former chapel, with interesting frescoes and generally beautifully decorated interior.

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Picture of Holsten Torr by JonMcAlister, via flickr, under Creative Commons licence.   Close

I would imagine that everybody's heard of Hamelin, or to give it its more correct, German spelling, Hameln. At least, I should think everyone's familiar with the legend of The Pied Piper of Hameln. Just in case you're not, here's a brief summary:The story goes,…Read More

I would imagine that everybody's heard of Hamelin, or to give it its more correct, German spelling, Hameln. At least, I should think everyone's familiar with the legend of The Pied Piper of Hameln. Just in case you're not, here's a brief summary:

The story goes, that in 1284 a strange man appeared in Hameln and was taken to be a rat catcher. After a fee was agreed, he played his pipe and attracted all the mice and rats of the town then led them into the Weser river where they all drowned. The townspeople, now free of the vermin, refused to pay him.

He returned a while later and again played his pipe. This time it was the town's children who assembled, not rats. They followed him into the hills and were never seen again. Only two children returned: one was blind and could not show where the others had gone, the other dumb and not able to tell where they had gone. It was said that the children were led into a cave and emerged in Transylvania.
It's thought the legend stems from the fact that in those days many people from Low Germany were emigrating to East Europe and inhabitants of a town were referred to as 'town children'. This has somehow been connected to the very real practice of the rat catchers of that period.
Either way, it's a Grimm story.

The town lies around 50km south of Hanover in the state of Lower Saxony, northern Germany. It straddles the Weser river and is the cultural and economic capital of the Weser area. In fact the town owes its prosperity through the ages to the Weser river and the trade that passed along it. This led to local merchants building some elaborately decorated houses which have survived to this day and are one of the main attractions of visiting here.

Approaching Hameln you could be forgiven for wondering what the fuss is all about. A series of drab suburbs does nothing to excite the newly arrived. However, at the edge of the inner ring road, there's a large park and the visitor centre. If you're sensible, you'll turn right here, drive the 1-200m towards the Rathaus (town hall) where you'll find a car park, and deposit said car safe in the knowledge that the rest of the day is yours. Or, you could drive into the old town's narrow, one-way streets, eventually find a spot to park, then discover that the parking meters only allow 30 minutes at a time. I recommend the former.

Hameln's not very big - there are around 60,000 inhabitants, but they're mostly dispersed throughout the many suburbs - so it doesn't take an awful long time to fully explore it. The booklet we were given in the tourist office actually states that you can 'do' the town in an hour. Not being in a rush, we decided to stretch it out a little longer than that.

Unsurprisingly, for a town who's main claim to fame is about some guy wearing funny clothes, whistling on a flute and being followed by plague of rats, or some humans of the immature variety (sounds a bit like an Orange Walk in Airdrie), there are pointers to the legend at every conceivable point. Obviously, nearly every shop sells some sort of rat-based thingummybob, from tiny badges, through baked goods, to cuddly toys...and everything in-between. Pied piper figurines are not forgotten though. After all, he's more famous than the rats!

The old town is a circular shape, the boundaries being formed by the inner ring road and the Weser river. The main streets form a sort of cross with the Marktkirche St Nicholai (market church)roughly in the centre - most of these streets are pedestrianised making for a pleasant, traffic-free stroll. On entering the town (which can be done through subways from the Visitor centre,avoiding the busy ring road) you're immediately submerged into a time gone by...well almost. Internet cafes, mobile phone shops and the click of digital cameras tend to shatter any olde-worlde charm.

Remember how I mentioned the profusion of all things rat-like? Well the guide-book from the tourist office (which incidentally was very good) has a map with all the major points of interest marked on it. These follow what is called...wait for it...the rat trail. Yes indeed, just when you thought it was safe to go down in the sewers, up pop those beady-eyed rats from every orifice. Actually, the rats in question are just little painted signs on the ground. Simply follow the little rodents around and you can soak up the history of the town while you're at it.
Suffering from a lack of rats? Don't worry, at almost every street corner there are human-sized statues of rats. But not ordinary rats (like human-sized rats are ordinary). Oh no, these are rats in all forms of fancy-dress. There are punk rockers, school teachers, policerats, pirates...the list goes on.

So, is there anything to do or see in Hameln that's not associated with the Pied piper and his legions of vermin? Well, there's the town museum. It's housed in a quite magnificent building called the Leisthaus - it's more like two buildings but who's counting?...apart from me, obviously.
Actually, now I come to think of it, the main display in the museum is all about the legend. There's just no escaping those rats! Not to worry, there are plenty of exhibits that have absolutely nothing to do with rodents, and at only 3 euros entrance fee, it's not a bad little distraction.

Me? I couldn't give a rat's arse for legends, but I do enjoy medieval and renaissance architecture so instead of looking down at little rat figures, I was looking up at the intricate façades of the many half-timbered, and sandstone buildings. But even here it was hard to escape the legend. Buildings like the Rat Catcher's house are adorned with inscriptions relating to the piper and his friends.

Having said that, some of the architecture is quite stunning. I don't know what sort of damage the town suffered during WWII, but it was completely restored between 1969 and 1993 and is now a pristine example of Weser Renaissance architecture.

Although it's the most important town for shopping in the local area, I wasn't overly impressed. I would describe it as fairly standard, and souvenir wise it was actually quite poor with not much to be had, legend-orientated-tat aside.

Eating and drinking was an altogether different kettle of fish (not literally). As this is a busy destination for day-trippers, there's a veritable plethora of take-aways, snack-bars and cafes, with bars and restaurants not being much thinner on the ground. We had a gorgeous lunch at what is claimed to be the oldest pub in town, the Rat Inn (where DID they get that name from?), but the choices were almost limitless.

One last thing. If you haven't tired of the continual rodent them by this time, there's an open-air performance of the legend every Sunday, mid-may to mid-Sept, at noon. Around 80 actors perform the story of the procession of the Hameln children in a 30-minute performance. This takes place on the terrace in front of the Hochzeitshaus (Wedding House) in the centre of town.
Thankfully, it wasn't Sunday.
Also, three times a day, there's a clockwork figure display on the façade of the Hochzeitshaus.


In conclusion, Hameln is a beautifully restored ancient town which is atmospheric and evocative. It suffers from pied piper overload, but if it pulls in the visitors, then good luck to them. Personally, I would've visited for the architecture alone - it was magnificent, and I thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent there. Like the guide book said, you could probably 'do' the place in an hour, but we actually spent a good deal longer than that. And yes, we did buy lots of tacky rat-based trinkets.

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On a trip to the north of German I made a stopover in Hannover. I arrived mid-morning, left my luggage in a locker and went out onto the Ernst-August-Platz (Platz = square) in front of the Central Station with the enormous statue of King…Read More

On a trip to the north of German I made a stopover in Hannover. I arrived mid-morning, left my luggage in a locker and went out onto the Ernst-August-Platz (Platz = square) in front of the Central Station with the enormous statue of King Ernst August (1771-1851, the fifth son and eighth child of George III and Queen Victoria's uncle) on horseback. The spot under the horse's tail is a famous meeting point for the Hannoveraners. A glance back at the station is worthwhile. It's a pompous and imposing building in the Neo-Renaissance style. When it was rebuilt after the bomb raids in 1943, it was done in this style so that it now looks older than it really is. It's a busy station with lots of shops, there can't be much you can't get there. It's a befitting entry to the capital of the Land Lower Saxony and a city of more than half a million inhabitants.

Crossing the Ernst-August-Platz slightly to the left one comes to the Tourist Information Office where friendly women hand out brochures. Hannover has a Red Thread (4.200 m long) running through the city connecting the most important sights, a good thing I haven't seen in any other German city. The city map with the Red Thread is free, a brochure with detailed information on the sights costs 3 Euro.

Maybe 100 m away from the Tourist Information Office is the Kröpcke, the central square of Hannover, its heart so-to-speak. I was puzzled when I got there. I think I stood there open-mouthed and gaping, because a man approached me asking if he could help. I told him that I couldn't believe that this ugly place was dear to the Hannoveraners. A dangerous remark, he could have been a fierce local patriot, but I couldn't help myself. He agreed with my judgement, however, and even apologised! As in so many German cities and towns post-war architecture is of indescribable ugliness. The buildings are more or less only concrete boxes. He pointed out the Opera which stands in the vicinity. It was completely destroyed inside but the facade remained and was restored in the original style. This looked much better. I have nothing against modern architecture, on the contrary, but the post-war style seems to be no style at all.

The Red Thread led me along the Georgstraße, a boulevard with nice and expensive shops on one side, to the Aegidienkirche (Kirche = church). It was bombed at the end of the war and has been kept as a ruin ever since, without roof and windows. It serves as a monument now. I like the idea. The next sight was the New Town Hall, a grandiose and majestic building with an enormous dome. As the ground is swampy, it was erected upon 6026 beech-tree piles. It was opened in 1913, is the seat of the mayor and houses scale models of Hannover through the ages. At the back of the building is the restaurant Gartensaal (Garden Hall) overlooking an idyllic pond surrounded by a park in the English style.

An elderly man watched me taking pictures and accosted me with the hint from where the view was best. I don't like such pieces of advice but we started talking. I told him that I intended to walk to the Maschsee (See = lake) [thus leaving the Red Thread] of which I already knew that it was an artificial one created in the flood meadows surrounding the river Leine. "Adolf built it," he said. I didn't know that. Of course, Adolf didn't built it but had it built. I asked him why and what for. He told me that it was one of the work-creation programmes of the Third Reich. Before we parted, I asked him if it was far from the Maschsee to the old quarter of the city which I also wanted to see. He denied this and pointed in the general direction I'd have to take. Then he said, "Haarmann lived there, too. Do you know about him?" He was clearly disappointed when I nodded, he would have liked to tell me the story.

Fritz Haarmann was a serial killer who was executed in 1924 for sodomising and killing 24 young men by biting their throats. Strangely, he's entered folklore. Three film were made featuring the man and his crimes, books and articles were written. "In 2007, the Hannover Tourism Board caused controversy by including Haarmann in its cartoon-style advertising calendar, along with other well-known people from the city. The calendar became a best-seller, and the initial print run of 20,000 calendars was expected to run out in November 2007, rather than lasting through Christmas as planned." (Wikipedia). And then there is the song sung to the tune of a well-known operetta. "(rough translation) Wait, wait a while, soon Haarmann will come to you, too. With his small chopper to make mincemeat of you. From the eyes he makes aspic, from the bottom he makes lard, from the intestines sausages and the rest he throws away." In 1961 a Dixiland version of the song was the No 1 hit in the charts for several weeks. Sick humour is a British thing? Think again!

The Maschsee is about 0.3 sq miles large and an ideal place for all kinds of water sports. And this within walking distance of the city! If I lived in Hannover, I could often be found there, I'm sure. No water sports for me in the short time I had on that day, though, but a visit to the Sprengel Museum which is alongside the Maschsee. I had already heard good things about it and found wonderful artefacts of the 20th century there. Many great names all aficionados know. The museum has a good restaurant (not cheap) with a terrace overlooking the lake. Unfortunately there's a busy street between the museum and the lake, but I enjoyed sitting and eating there nevertheless.

Surprisingly, the day was blazing hot, a rarity for the north of Germany. So I treated myself to taxi ride to the Old Town Hall behind which the so-called old quarter of the city can be found. Also largely destroyed during the war it was rebuilt in what is called North German Brick Gothic. It's quite picturesque and serves as an attractive background for photos of couples coming out of the registrar's office which is located inside. Some steps further on is the Marktplatz (Market Square) with the Marktkirche. One look inside and it's clear that it is a Protestant church with its severe strictness or strict severity. Both expressions fit.

The old quarter is a sad affair in my opinion. It's tiny, one could say it's condensed in the Kramerstraße with its pubs, restaurants and boutiques. After the bombing raids there was almost nothing left and what we see now is very touristy.

Another friendly man (I only met friendly, talkative people who were keen on enlightening me on their city) told me that I had come too early. The following day (29th June) the Schützenfest would begin, the biggest of the world. The dictionary gives these translations: 'fair featuring shooting matches' or 'marksmen's funfair' which means nothing to the uninitiated. Read what Wikipedia has to say: "The highlight of this funfair is the 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) long Parade of the Marksmen with more than 10.000 participants from Germany and all over the world, among them around 5.000 marksmen, more than 100 bands (playing oompah music) and more than 60 wagons, carriages and big festival vehicles. More than 1,5 million people visit this funfair every year. The landmark of the funfair is the 60-metre (200 ft) tall Steiger Ferris wheel which can carry 420 people in its 42 passenger cabins." No need to go to the Oktoberfest in Munich any more now that you know this!

My last destination were the three Nanas by the late French artist Niki de Saint Phalle standing beside the river Leine (which is more a brook than a river). These are gigantic female figures with distorted bodies painted in loud colours and child-like patterns. They seem frozen in some kind of dance only they know the music of. They make every onlooker smile. I was disappointed to see them standing forlornly between the river and a busy street. I had just been to an exhibition of artefacts by Niki de Saint Phalle and know how positive their impact can be if they're presented in the right surroundings. First they were a shock for conservative Hannoveraners, now they're one of the landmarks.

Time was up and I returned to the Central Station to continue my journey. I was content with the day, I hadn't imagined to see so much and so many things I liked. There was no time for Herrenhausen, the baroque castle and garden. Maybe next time.








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Our nicest Christmas present was a parcel from England containing a self-made book, half diary, half photo album. It came from a family in St. Ives, Cornwall, Brian and Pam Baker and their 13-year-old twins Nick and Debbie we had met and befriended last summer…Read More

Our nicest Christmas present was a parcel from England containing a self-made book, half diary, half photo album. It came from a family in St. Ives, Cornwall, Brian and Pam Baker and their 13-year-old twins Nick and Debbie we had met and befriended last summer at a ‘Hock’ (meaning ‘sitting‘ in the Swabian dialect), a festivity during which the people of a village put tables and benches onto the streets, sit together and chat, eat the local specialities like Spätzle (the Swabian variety of pasta) with lentils and sausages, salt pretzels or home-made bread and dripping and drink beer, but also the wine and cider and the fruit schnapps of the region.

Brian had been stationed in Germany with the British army, travelled a bit at that time, fell in love with the landscape of the Land Baden-Württemberg in the southwest of Germany and decided to show it to his family one day. The day had come, they had put their tent on the camping site near Göppingen, a town between Stuttgart and Ulm, and were exploring the area.

As Pam wrote in her foreword, they had decided that each member of the family should write a piece on what had impressed them most.

As you can imagine, their accounts differ widely from each other; I’ve edited them, smoothed away some of the twins’ grammatical constructions and spellings in case they were too original, I hope I haven’t introduced new mistakes, though.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

BRIAN: TRAINS AND TECHNOLOGY. I must admit I wasn’t completely honest when I talked my family into these holidays. I raved about the beauty of the Swabian Alb, not that it isn’t beautiful, it is (hills and forests), but what I was really interested in was the Märklin Museum in Göppingen. When I was a boy I used to go to a neighbour’s and play with his Märklin model railway, I loved it! Later I somehow forgot about it, but then I chanced upon a newspaper article describing the museum and my childhood memories came back to me. I simply had to go there!

I didn’t tell Nick about it, so that it was a surprise when we went there, and what a surprise! Boys will be boys (no matter their age!) We bought a mini club locomotive and some wagons as a souvenir and start for our own collection.

We train freaks will be back for the biannual meeting of the friends of Märklin model railways, count on us! I’ve learnt in the museum that the average number of participants is 40.000 (in a town of 50.000 inhabitants!), that train-maniacs come even from Japan and that Christie’s once auctioned off an old locomotive for 100.000 pounds!
P.S. I’ve started playing the lottery.


NICK: FOSSILS AND HAMMERS. When Debbie and me heard about hiking up and down stupid German mountains we just thought, "Yuck! Not our idea of summer hols." But then Dad told us to find out about bus routes, buy tickets and plan routes, and we changed our minds. We’ve only just started learning German, but Dad has forgotten so much and Mum’s German from school is so rusty that we are the ‘one-eyed among the blind’ (as the Germans say).

One day we climbed up the Hohenstaufen near Göppingen, 682 m (2236.96 feet!). We had never been so high up before and were very proud, of course. A man who could talk English told us that millions of years ago the whole area was covered by a deep ocean. Crazy! He told us to go to the village of Holzmaden and visit the museum there and to take hammers with us. Funny idea, to smash the exhibits or what?

The Museum Hauff is fabtastic! Outside they have some terrible plastic dinosaurs for kiddies (well, we liked them, too!) and inside maps showing that the area was covered by an ocean reaching south up to the Alps. There wasn’t much oxygen in it, dying animals sank to the bottom and didn’t rot there. They were covered by mud and when the water had gone and millions of years later people began to dig out the fossils they found alligators and fish nearly completely intact, teeth, scales and all. There is a tree trunk on the wall, 8 metres long with sea anemones clinging to it. They look like dainty flowers, but are animals really. Boy, were we impressed.

But the highpoint was a hole in the ground opposite the museum, heehee! You buy a ticket and rent a hammer, if you haven’t got one, and then hammer along, and you can take all the fossils you find with you. I found two plates of slate with the imprint of ammonites, I really did! I showed them off at school, you bet. When we go to Germany again, my parents can drop me there, do whatever they like and fetch me again at the end of the hols, I want to find a real ammonite!

DEBBIE: CAVES AND CASTLES. We learnt from a book that the Swabian Alb rising up south of Göppingen is a kind of plateau, Dad says that’s like a plain, but not on sea level, which then declines towards the Alps. It’s full of caves many of which you can visit and explore. I was a bit frightened at first, but then I liked it. I want to become a spelaeologist (specialist for caves, looked that up!). Then I can explore the caves with oxygen flasks on my back like the men had we saw one day.

Or I’ll become a painter, I don’t really know. I haven’t written so much, I’m including my sketches of the many old castles near Göppingen. It’s so wonderful, you stand on a mountain in the ruins of a castle, look round and see one or more other castles. I like the Wäscherschloss, Hohenrechberg, Stuifeneck, Reußenstein and Teck best (Malu helped us with the pronunciation). Or I’ll invent a time-machine and become a princess, I think it must have been romantic to live in such a castle. Nick, the old spoil-sport, keeps telling me to imagine life without a bathroom and central heating, well, I’ll be a princess only in summer then!

My best day out was when we went to the Gutenberg Höhle (cave) and the Paper Museum in Oberlenningen. They’ve got wonderful things made of paper there. My fingers got all itchy, and when nobody was looking, I touched them all. Mum tells me I’m a paper fetishist, I’m not sure I know precisely what that means, but I love paper, I really do.

Next year I want to do water colours.

PAM: HISTORY AND HEALTH. I did know about the Staufer dynasty whose cradle stood at the foot of the Hohenstaufen; as its most powerful member, Frederich II was born in Germany, but lived his whole adult life in Italy, there aren’t any really impressive castles in the area, only the small ones belonging to minor members of the clan, but I didn’t know about the Romans being here. We learnt about them when we went to the small town of Lorch to see the Romanic cloister (a bit of culture doesn’t hurt kids) and found the reproduction of a Limes tower. Unfortunately there wasn’t any time left to go to Aalen to see the Limes Museum. We’ll do that next time. Better having something to look forward to than being bored, is what I say.

While the others were looking for fossils I went to one of the spas of the region, to Bad Boll, entered the sulphur spring which has about 90°F, indulged in a fango (mud) bath and had a massage afterwards. I felt reborn!

Our host pointed out the buildings of the firm Wala in the neighbouring village of Eckwälden, famous for anthroposophical medicine and Dr. Hauschka cosmetics which has already reached Hollywood. Julia Roberts uses it! I herewith declare publicly that I’m going to brush up my German, I simply must be able to follow a tour through the firm next year.

Everyone we met asked us if we had seen the famous towns Tübingen and Ulm, if we’d been to Stuttgart, but no, we didn’t want to do them during our first (short) visit, we just wanted to get a feeling for the area and enjoy the ‘simple’ things. The only town we visited beside Göppingen (which is nothing much to write home about, sorry, Göppingers) was Schwäbisch-Gmünd on the other side of the Hohenstaufen, a small town with a nice market square with a fountain and baroque houses, two impressive churches, a Romanic and a Gothic one, lots of half-timbered houses, in one word: a German town out of the holiday brochure.

As you can see, dear readers of these pages, we’ve hit on the perfect holiday region, each member of our family has found something to her or his heart and wants to come back. What more can one want?

Auf Wiedersehen!

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Every blog, discussion board and book I read said all the restaurants and attractions were closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Munich. We nearly altered our plans because so many reviews said Munich was a ghost town these two days - I'm glad we…Read More

Every blog, discussion board and book I read said all the restaurants and attractions were closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Munich. We nearly altered our plans because so many reviews said Munich was a ghost town these two days - I'm glad we didn't.

Christmas Eve

Shopping on Christmas Eve is crazy. The good news is that shops are open till around 2 PM, so you will be able to get those last minute gifts or food for your hotel room. The bad news is that everyone is doing the exact same thing - stores are packed and lines are long. Around 3 PM all stores are closed and the city shuts down - the perfect time for an afternoon architecture stroll.

As we know, Eurpoeans celebrate the holiday on Christmas Eve, unlike those of us in the United States. The most difficulty we had was finding a place for dinner. Before we left home we called numerous restaurants to confirm hours and hotels asking for recommendations. Nearly every hotel was quick to suggest their own restaurant - the menus looked tasty, but with price tags between €75 and €150. The Novotel (where we stayed) offered a buffet for around €75 and featured 'American party shrimps'. We were unable to find any open restaurants other than the Hofbräuhaus. While I was apprehensive to visit the popular tourist spot, the meal was solid. The place was packed. If you make a reservation arrive very early as you will have to seek out a specific woman with the list. It took us nearly 25 minutes to find her and when we did she almost didn't seat us because we were late.

Christmas Day

While the blogs were right about Christmas Eve, they were wrong about Christmas Day - we found plenty to do.

Restaurants were not open for breakfast, so take advantage of your hotel breakfast - the Novotel was quite tasty and only €25. A handful of restaurants are open for lunch in the old town, so you shouldn't have a problem satisfying your midday hunger. And your choices for dinner are even greater - some restaurants that are normally a la carte have prix fixe menus and may require a reservation. Even if a reservation is needed, you should still inquire - one such place was able to squeeze us in for dinner. Here is a list of restaurants that were open during our visit:

Wirtshaus Kleine Schmausefalle
Mariahilfplatz 4
81541‎ Munich
Germany
+49 89 44218821
http://www.kleineschmausefalle.de
(Read my review)

Wirtshaus in der Au
Lilienstraße 51
81669‎ Munich
Germany
http://www.wirtshausinderau.de/
(Read my review)

Nürnberger Bratwurst Glöckl Am Dom
Frauenplatz 9
80331‎ Munich
Germany
+49 89 2919450
http://www.bratwurst-gloeckl.de/

Hofbräuhaus
Platzl 9‎
80331 Munich
Germany
http://www.hofbraeuhaus.de/
(Read my review)

Finding things to do on Christmas Day is a bit trickier. We woke up late and had a lengthy breakfast before heading out. There were a more people walking around the old city than I anticipated.

Our first stop was the Frauenkirche. We wandered into all corners to take in the exquisite architectural detail. Even though there were many people in the church it was quiet and very peaceful.

I had read online that the Glyptothek was open on Christmas Day, so even though we were a bit skeptical we walked over. To our delight it was open, and only cost €1. See more about this visit in my review.

On our walk over to the Englischer Garten we passes the Haus der Kunst - modern art museum in one of the only Nazi built buildings in Munich still used for its original purpose. There was quite a few people inside, but it was such a nice day out we wanted to have more time outside. Entrance was around €10.

Just east if the Haus der Kunst where a river enters the Englischer Park a natural series of waves are created and frequented my surfers. We read about this happening before coming but had no idea they would be surfing on December 25! About six guys clad in wet suits took turns riding the waves - some unsuccessfully, but most stayed upright for a while. If the bridge is too crowded move over to the west side of the river for an unobstructed view.

There were more locals than tourists wandering around the park, which we liked. The Englisher Garten is enormous! We walked along the canals and then over to the Chinesischer turm, the park's famous beer garden. To our complete surprise and delight, there was a Christmas market! You cannot imagine the level I excitement I was feeling having sadly had what I thought was my last cup of Gluhwein the day before. Roughly half the stalls were closed. The remaining stalls were selling Gluhwein, crepes, waffles and, of course, sausages. I grabbed a waffle slathered in Nutella - a perfect afternoon snack. In the center of the beer garden was a carousel for kids and horse drawn carriage rides were departing every few minutes.

With a couple hours till dinner we walked back to our hotel. I could not think of a better way to spend Christmas day in Munich!

Frauenkirche
Frauenplatz 12
80331‎ Munich
http://www.muenchner-dom.de/

Glyptothek
Konigsplatz 3
80333‎ Munich
http://www.antike-am-koenigsplatz.mwn.de/glyptothek/

Haus der Kunst
Prinzregentenstraße 1
80538‎ Munich
http://www.hausderkunst.de/

Englischer Garten
Chinesischer turm
http://www.muenchen.de/sehenswuerdigkeiten/orte/120242.html   Close

The Kiel Canal, or as the Germans would have it, Nord - Ostsee (North - Baltic) Kanal is one of the busiest artificial waterways in the world, saving the craft that use it about 450km of sailing around the Jutland peninsula, including the dangerous waters…Read More

The Kiel Canal, or as the Germans would have it, Nord - Ostsee (North - Baltic) Kanal is one of the busiest artificial waterways in the world, saving the craft that use it about 450km of sailing around the Jutland peninsula, including the dangerous waters of the Kattegat and Sakgerrak.

This is exchanged for an uneventful journey along a wide, straight canal. The canal cuts through the bottom of the Jutland peninsula starting (more or less) in Kiel and ending near the mouth of the Elbe river, not too far from Hamburg (that lies deeper inland).

The canal is almost 100km long and incorporates three locks: one at the entry (though Baltic is not tidal), one in the middle and one at the Elbe/North Sea end. This last one separates the calm and steady-level waters of the canal from the tidal and often turbulent area in the mouth of the Elbe. Sailors from the Baltic, not used to sailing on the tidal seas, should be particularly well prepared for this change of conditions – as well as massive amount of shipping, traffic going up and down the river to and from the busy Hamburg docks.

I went along the Kiel Canal on family sailing holidays several times, as in those days Germany was the first place that you could sail ''abroad'' from Poland (by abroad we meant, of course, the West, beyond the Iron Curtain and to the land of colourful supermarkets and clean public toilets).

Only one of those occasions was made memorable by my not-yet-20-year old self getting distracted in my steering by a book (!) placed conveniently near to the land the rudder and thus driving, at full ahead, into the shore. It took some efforts of a friendly and helpful German moto-sailer to pull us off - and my father was understandably livid, as much with embarrassment at finding himself stuck on the canal bank and having to ask for help in such a strange situation as with potential damage to the boat. He still made me steer later though!

Apart from that bit of self-inflicted excitement that happened just once, the journey was usually uneventful, the flattish shores of Schleswig-Holstein rolling past, the crossing punctuated only by a variety of bridges.

There are 11 fixed bridges over the canal, all with a clearance of 42 meters so allowing a passage of quite high vessels. Of these, Rendsburg High Bridge and Levensau High Bridge are particularly attractive. The former, at 2,500m is the longest railway bridge in Europe.

The locks in Brunsbüttel open onto the Elbe mouth near Cuxhaven, this is directly connected to the North Sea and thus tidal - as I said, a strange and a worrying thing for a sailor coming from the tide-less Baltic. Add to this choppy sea and the huge ships travelling to the port of Hamburg up the river Elbe, one of which we managed to almost collide with, and you have a less-than peaceful introduction to this part of the journey.

From there, we travelled up the river from Brunsbüttel to Wedel, a suburban district at the end of one of the rapid transit lines where the massive Hamburg marina is located.

**

It's possible to visit the locks at both ends of the canal, though I wouldn't make a special point to make a trip, but if you are nearby – why not. I am not sure whether there are any leisure trips by boat, though a crossing by a yacht is cheap in relation to other canals for example the Corinth one. You have to motor across.

Built during eight years and opened in 1895, it is one of the extensive network of German (and Low Countries in general) waterways that, unlike the UK ones, are still very much in use by commercial rather than just leisure traffic.    Close