1 October 2009 continued
Jason says: Bielefeld is the largest city near where we wanted to get to…the town of Spenge and the village of Hucker Kreuz. My expectation was that the city would be forgettable but, to my surprise, it was more pleasant, attractive and seemingly wealthier than I thought it might be. It was downright charming and pretty.
Bielefeld has a castle on a hill overlooking its regional kingdom and churches with tall spires that stretch way up into the sky. The city center is quite posh with Bang & Olufsen, Hermes and designer shops and maintains a sense of efficiency, order, cleanliness and, interestingly, openness. It is the type of community politicians around the world aspire to create for their cities, states and nations.
After wandering around, we challenged ourselves to avoid the safety of eating at our hotel where we knew we could speak English but, instead, to try an attractive Mediterranean restaurant that appeared full of locals. We chose wisely. Even though we sheepishly muttered our orders in German, the waitress was kind and replied back in English. Then she brought out a fine meal of fresh made bread, padron peppers and beautifully prepared fish.
We were off to a good start.
Catherine says: Bielefeld does not suffer from the 'clone' effect that so many regional cities and towns do in the UK and US. There seemed to be many independent shops alongside some of the usual (inter)national brands. As far as I could tell there were at least two theatres and lots of cultural activities going on, probably not too surprising for a university town. Being Oktoberfest season, Jason was on the lookout for a local version of the Bierfest. Our limited grasp of German led us to believe that such an event was being held in a local hall. Flushed with success and after a vigorous 45 minute walk out of town we arrived at the hall where we were able to watch local Bielefeldians practice their badminton strokes. Clearly we had confused Bier and Badminton. Better for the liver but less fun. I couldn't help wondering if the Mollrings past had journeyed into town for a spot of badminton on a Thursday night....
Jason says: Bielefeld is the largest city near where we wanted to get to…the town of Spenge and the village of Hucker Kreuz. My expectation was that the city would be forgettable but, to my surprise, it was more pleasant, attractive and seemingly wealthier than I thought it might be. It was downright charming and pretty.
Bielefeld has a castle on a hill overlooking its regional kingdom and churches with tall spires that stretch way up into the sky. The city center is quite posh with Bang & Olufsen, Hermes and designer shops and maintains a sense of efficiency, order, cleanliness and, interestingly, openness. It is the type of community politicians around the world aspire to create for their cities, states and nations.
After wandering around, we challenged ourselves to avoid the safety of eating at our hotel where we knew we could speak English but, instead, to try an attractive Mediterranean restaurant that appeared full of locals. We chose wisely. Even though we sheepishly muttered our orders in German, the waitress was kind and replied back in English. Then she brought out a fine meal of fresh made bread, padron peppers and beautifully prepared fish.
We were off to a good start.
Catherine says: Bielefeld does not suffer from the 'clone' effect that so many regional cities and towns do in the UK and US. There seemed to be many independent shops alongside some of the usual (inter)national brands. As far as I could tell there were at least two theatres and lots of cultural activities going on, probably not too surprising for a university town. Being Oktoberfest season, Jason was on the lookout for a local version of the Bierfest. Our limited grasp of German led us to believe that such an event was being held in a local hall. Flushed with success and after a vigorous 45 minute walk out of town we arrived at the hall where we were able to watch local Bielefeldians practice their badminton strokes. Clearly we had confused Bier and Badminton. Better for the liver but less fun. I couldn't help wondering if the Mollrings past had journeyed into town for a spot of badminton on a Thursday night....
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