Having spent ten days last year writing about the Hessentag in Oberursel, my curiosity got the better of me and I decided to visit the event this year in Wetzlar.  Although I did not set out to do a direct comparison with last year, the headline in the Oberurseler Woche claiming “Oberursel war schöner” (Oberursel was nicer) intrigued me as well.

And so it was that I set off on Friday morning to drive to Wetzlar, which is about 45 minutes by motorway from Oberursel.

I followed the signs from the motorway exit to the car park, and my heart sunk when I saw which one the route had taken me to: P12.  The furthest car park away from the Hessentag area!

Luckily there was a shuttle bus to take me into town.  Unluckily it did not actually leave from the car park, so my Hessentag experience started with a short walk through a field alongside a river, to where the bus was waiting.  It must say something about the distances involved that there were even toilets laid on for people waiting for the bus at this point. (more…)

With the Hessentag taking place in the town, I have spent most of the past week either travelling by train or walking, either to my IT appointments or to cover the Hessentag itself.  Only once have I used my car in that time, so that I could get home after the last train had gone if necessary.

Which fitted in rather nicely with the idea of encouraging people in Hessen to walk more.

The Mühlenbachweg in Oberursel

And to encourage visitors to Oberursel to walk even more this week, the Hessian Social Ministry came up with an ingenious idea.  They are asking people to walk from either die nature park “Natur auf der Spur” or the exhibition “Landesausstellung” to the Hohemark clinic at the northern end of Oberursel, a journey that takes them along the Mühlenbachweg where the old mills of the town used to be located. (more…)

There is a bit of a misconception when it comes to the word “Hessentag”, not just among foreigners.  Even some German native speakers do not quite understand the term the first time they hear it.

The problem is the word “Tag”.

Ask anyone what “Tag” means in English and they will probably tell you it means “Day”.  As in “Sonntag” – Sunday, or “Tag der offenen Tür” – Open Day, or simply in “Guten Tag“..  This leads to people thinking that the Hessentag is just for one day, which of course it is not – it lasts for 10 days.

And yet there is another meaning, and that is literally “to meet” or “to sit”. (more…)