Tag: Germany
What’s so special about Magdeburg?
I went to Magdeburg to research my first book and not primarily to travel.
Most tourists don’t find much that is special about this city, which is why they decide to skip it during their trips to Germany. Truth be told, if you take an inter-city express train from Berlin and land in Magdeburg a couple of hours later, chances are that you will find it boring after the throbbing vibe of Berlin.
But there is way more to this sleepy city that meets the eye. Magdeburg, incidentally, celebrated its 1,200th anniversary in 2005.
Those into art, architecture and history will find enough in the city to keep you interested. Continue reading What’s so special about Magdeburg?
Germany’s sausage-themed B&B: Celebration of favourite food
Berlin (TAN): If you have a thing for sausages and quirky décor, the perfect place awaits you in a German village. Located in Rittersbach near the Bavarian town of Nuremberg, Boebel Bratwurst Bed and Breakfast could be the world’s first sausage-themed hotel.
The seven-room accommodation, decorated with sausage wallpapers and bratwurst-shaped cushions, happens to be the brainchild of 48-year old Boebel. A fourth-generation butcher, Boebel also runs his family’s butcher shop along with the bed and breakfast.
Celebration of favourite food
Boebel admitted to bratwurst being his favourite German dish. “I like to travel around the world – and when I travel around the world, I like different foods, food culture. And I thought: ‘Why only abroad?’ I made a place where people meet in Bavaria in my home and eat typical food and connect together,” CNN Travel quoted him as saying. Continue reading Germany’s sausage-themed B&B: Celebration of favourite food
Make a booking at the world’s tiniest bed & breakfast
Hamburg (TAN): How tall are you? If the answer is two centimeters or less, you are in for a treat.
Airbnb and Miniatur Wunderland welcome guests who are two centimeters and under, to stay at the world’s tiniest bed and breakfast in a small German town.
The classic two-storied redbrick German house, as tall as a lunchbox, is located in the tiny town of Knuffingen, right in the middle of Miniatur Wunderland. Miniatur Wunderland is a model railway attraction in Germany’s Hamburg.
Continue reading Make a booking at the world’s tiniest bed & breakfast
Suspension Train in Germany’s odd tourist destination list
June 26 (TravelAndy): The Suspension Train in Wuppertal, locally known as The Wuppertaler Schwebebahn, has been included in a list of “10 odd tourist attractions in Germany you shouldn’t miss” by The Local, Germany.
The Schwebebahn station is right next to the Wuppertal hauptbahnhof. You see the stairs going up on the left just as you leave the station. The beautiful hanging tram, which runs over the river Wupper (from which the town gets its name), feels like a large cable car as it gently sways while running.
It is the world’s oldest railway of it’s kind — 117 years old and still in regular use, the report adds. [Also read: Ride the Schwebebahn in Wuppertal, Germany] Continue reading Suspension Train in Germany’s odd tourist destination list
What really happened to this Van Gogh masterpiece?
A lot of people go to Germany for war tourism. I go because I love the food and the people there. But this time, I went to research my first novel. The historical fiction novel is called ON THE ROAD TO TARASCON.
The Internet had different and sometimes conflicting versions of the bit of history I was interested in. So, I decided to go to Magdeburg — a town one hour and 40 minutes by train from Berlin — and find out for myself the circumstances in which a Vincent Van Gogh masterpiece had gone missing on April 30, 1945.
If you have an idea about the World War 2 history of Magdeburg, you would know it was completely flattened by the British Royal Air Force bombings in 1945. As I got down from the intercity express and walked into the city to find a tram to take me to my hotel, I kept imagining how the place would have looked in the early months of 1945. Continue reading What really happened to this Van Gogh masterpiece?
Ride the Schwebebahn in Wuppertal, Germany
WHY I WENT
Acclimatizing. It was my first trip to Europe and I had an Indian friend staying there on the day of my arrival. I decided to spend the first day there with my friend to get a hang of all the newness around me.
WHY YOU SHOULD GO
To take a ride on the Schwebebahn, the hanging tram.
Robots guide visitors at Berlin’s travel fair
March 12 (TravelAndy): Two robots are welcoming visitors to the International Tourism Trade fair in Berlin (ITB).
Chihira Kanae, the robot, is extending warm welcome to the tourists. She is also guiding them to the right direction. She has been joined by her male counterpart, Mario, who is also functioning as a guide to the visitors.
The robots have become one of the prime attraction of ITB fair in Germany’s capital. Continue reading Robots guide visitors at Berlin’s travel fair
Germany opens its first bicycle highway
January 1 (TravelAndy): Germany has thrown open the first five kilometres of what is set to become a 100km bicycle super highway, said reports.
This route, situated built on the unused railway tracks in the Ruhr industrial area in west Germany, will connect ten cities of Duisburg, Bochum and Hamm along with four universities.
This bicycle highway system, once fully functional, is expected to provide a commuting route to more than two million people, as a result there could be 50,000 less cars on the road in the area. Continue reading Germany opens its first bicycle highway
Greetings: Kiss, hug or shake hands?
I was quite surprised the first time I saw two grown men greeting each other with loud kisses on the cheek on a pavement in the university area of Paris.
I had the idea that in the West, when two men exchanged greetings, they shook hands, a man and a woman greeted each other by kissing both cheeks of the other person and girls just hugged each other. So, I decided to ask my French friend Géraud about it. Continue reading Greetings: Kiss, hug or shake hands?
Schengen visa guide for Indians
Germany has recently outsourced its visa application cell to VFS, which handles the visa process of several other countries, and it appears, the process has become simpler and faster.
I spoke to my friend Piyush, who has just returned from a terrific trip to East Europe, on the visa process. Continue reading Schengen visa guide for Indians