2021 - September - Hannover

There is this strong prejudice against Hannover that it is the 'capital of boredom'. The city vehemently opposes this, for example with actions like the current '2nd Experimentierraum'. This is taking place these days (August 30th to September 12th, 2021) and many signs are appearing in the city. Or a large blue surf station is being set up in front of the opera house. This is supposed to simulate a standing wave and make people curious about the so-called 'Leinewelle'. In the coming years, Hannover wants to build a river wave for surfers, similar to the Eisbach in Munich.

I personally find a rather old idea of city marketing more innovative, the over 50-year-old 'Roter Faden'. Since 1970, this red line painted on the ground has been leading visitors to many interesting points in the state capital of Lower Saxony. It is over 4.2 km long and starts directly at the main train station and ends there as well. In theory, you can enter and exit the tour at any point along the route. There is now also a smart solution for the mobile phone available at:

https://www.visit-hannover.com/Sehensw%C3%BCrdigkeiten-Stadttouren/Stadttouren/Der-Rote-Faden-Hannover/Karte-zum-Roten-Faden

An undoubtedly important stop on this route is the castle-like New City Hall. It is beautifully situated by a lake surrounded by Maschpark.

In addition, the building even has an elevator to the top. From there, you are supposed to have an excellent view of the surroundings, theoretically at least. Of course, we were ready to explore it, but due to Corona and/or construction work, it was and is currently not possible. Additionally, we couldn't visit the interesting interiors either, as the postal voters currently occupy all the space. Be that as it may, we enjoyed the exterior view.

If you are once in Maschpark, behind the New City Hall, I can also recommend deviating a bit further from the 'Roter Faden' and visiting the even larger Maschsee a few meters away.

You will certainly be able to find your way back to the New City Hall from there, as you won't quickly lose sight of it with its height of 97.73 m. You can also see it from many places in the city.

What certainly immediately catches the eye of every visitor to Hannover's city center is that the city was heavily destroyed during World War II and there is little old architectural structure. In fact, Hannover was 50% destroyed by bombing attacks and is thus one of the most affected cities in Germany. An important memorial for this is the ruins of the Aegidienkirche. While the bell tower still stands, only the side walls of the church remain.

Another interesting stop along the 'Roter Faden' are the so-called Nanas. These are very striking sculptures by the artist Niki de Saint Phalle.

Otherwise, the route also goes through the city center and over the Kröpcke. This is a distinctive intersection with the even more distinctive Kröpcke clock. It is often used as a meeting point and is of course one of the landmarks of Hannover.

Another landmark and also a meeting point is the tail of the equestrian statue of Ernst August von Hannover at the train station. What? Yes, the common citizens of Hannover actually like to meet 'under the tail' and now you know what that means.

Speaking of names that may sound strange to foreign ears: In Hannover-Linden you will find the 'Drei warmen Brüder'. However, this description does not mean anything indecent, but simply refers to the three chimneys of a power plant. Incidentally, Hannover-Linden is a lively and interesting district and therefore worth a visit. How about letting a local guide show you around here? We did that and found it very interesting.

What we unfortunately didn't manage to do this time is visit the truly remarkable zoo. But we did visit the Herrenhäuser Gärten. I have written a report about it. You can find the link to it here:

https://vakantio.de/reisetante/2021-september-hannover-herrenhauser-garten

And now back to the alleged 'capital of boredom': Which city has music playing manhole covers? Hannover has them! So there you go, not at all boring.