Chad Is Everywhere

Not everyone relates to travel in terms of what nature did you see. For these other travelers I'd like to repeat the South African story in a language you may understand. Beer! In South Africa I these beers were consumed. Some were consumed repeatedly. While others just repeated on me.

Alas all good things come to an end. And well my 6 weeks away from work had run it's course. On my final full day in Germany I was off to Göttingen. Another fine choice made by my guide Lina. This place is mainly known as a university town. However I better remember the place for 2 things. 1) The City Hall. The artwork on the walls was fantastic. And 2) It was freezing that day. It snowed. In the middle of spring. The city also allowed me to mark off another state of Germany in my visit. Not that we get to know the states of Germany so well. After visiting Lina's sister who also lives in Göttingen we went for a drive. To nowhere it would have seemed, as we had no idea where we were going. Nor a map to help us. We were in search of a historical castle associated to the Brothers Grimm. Lina had visited there once before. Eventually after stopping to ask for directions we found our way. To the castle which was officially shut for the winter, but open if you ...

Castles and Kassel I had decided upon Kassel as a stop in Germany on the basis of it being described by former Couchsurfers, and my former flatmate Lina as a must. Lina was again my host and guide for my stay in Kassel. I can't thank Lina enough for her hospitality during this trip. Kassel was literally the surprise package of Germany. Alas in saying this I need to identify that emphasis was on the word "package". Because in Kassel that's what they seemed to have focused on in the past. Let me explain. Hecules i on a pedestal in Kassel You see Williamshöhe Park, is the most important park and castle built on the side of a hill on the edge of Kassel. This Palace was the vision of Jerome Bonaparte, the other other brother of Napoleon. Jerome was appointed the King of the region by his more famous brother. During his time Jerome spent up big on partying and castles. Yes I had never heard of Jerome before either. And well after seeing the park I ki...

Warning: this article contain graphic depictions of Soccer Ball Abuse. I went on to travel from Dusseldorf to Dortmund. Partly because I was thinking I'd catch up with a former couchsurfer, and partly because I wanted to cover off the whole of the west side of Germany. Dortmund is afterall an important city. Dortmund was very "new". Just like many of the cities on this side of Germany the allies in World War 2 didn't leave much in original condition. So my experience here was somewhat walking the streets enjoying Europe. I tried to be cultured by going to the Dortmund U. Their Modern Art museum on the edge of downtown. However I struggled enjoying this outside of one or two exhibits. From there I followed the real culture of Dortmund, the Football. Everywhere you look, everywhere you walk, there was the Yellow and Black. Bumblebee's everywhere. This city was sure proud of it's football team. In the stores you could get everything Dortmund. I even saw Dor...

The one rule of Dusseldorf I learnt to fit in with the locals was to say "I like Altbier. I don't like Kolch." After trying the beer I was at least able to say this without lying through my teeth. Sorry Cologne I wasn't just baiting you in my previous post. However another thing I learnt. Was if you actually play "Menu Russian Roulette" with the chef you'll probably lose. I ordered the "I'll eat what the chef puts in front of me" from the menu. The was whilst out at dinner with my couchsurfing host who had taken me out for the night to introduce me to Dusseldorf. Actually wasn't disappointed that much, although I do hate liverwurst. It was a fun item to see on the menu. It just proves that I don't enjoy all German food.   Dusseldorf is a nice city. It has it's old town centre, the Aldstadt, and all the new buildings. One thing I have taken away from this trip is that in WW2 we didn't miss much. Every city in ...

After planning my trip and how many days here and there within the Western side of Germany I was planning my former flatmate Lina added in, "You should go to Essen for a day". So a lesson on Essen is what I had. I lived it up here. Stayed in a hotel as compared to the normal hostel stops I make when traveling normally. It was a good change. But alas I didn't know anyone in Essen. And it was Sunday night. No one goes out Sunday night in Essen. Then during the Monday I did a very cultural thing. I visited a historically listed mine site. Zollverien. The experience was somewhat lost on me as it's "Industrial history". Very cold feel. It's not natural beauty. It's not historical architecture. And well I now know it doesn't interest me. To me it was just a former coal mine site. Alas part the failure was me. Because I don't speak German. However the tourist information people in Essen didn't assist the situation. They suggested I go h...