They call it the “Wahrzeichen der Stadt” – the town’s landmark, and photos of it can usually be found on many of the postcards from Bergen auf Rügen.  And yet, the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt Tower is not really near to the centre of the town and, in tower terms, is not really that tall.  So what is all the fuss about?

To understand the tower, it is an advantage to know who exactly Ernst Moritz Arndt was and why it was built in the first place.

He was a poet and a thinker, born in 1769 on Rügen at a time when the island belonged to Sweden.  His works reflect the beauty that he saw in the island, but he known in particular for criticising Napoleon’s occupation of Germany and fleeing into exile as a result. (more…)

Now that summer has finally arrived in Frankfurt, here are some ideas of things to do on a sunny day:

1. Visit the zoo.  The U-Bahn lines U6 and U7, tram line 14 and bus nr. 31 all stop there.

2. Take a ride on an open-top bus around the city centre.

3. Visit the Palm Garden and see the tropical and sub-tropical plants or take a ride on the Palmen-Express.

4. Spend a day at the Museumsuferfest (Museum Embankment Festival), 24th-26th August 2012. (more…)

The White Tower in Bad Homburg

Our last visit to a tower in this summer took us to Bad Homburg where we visited the White Tower (Weißer Turm). The tower is located in the middle of the castle, and it took us a while to find the right entrance and then where to get the key from.

Once we had the key, we had the tower almost to ourselves. The tower contains a museum so that rather than just climb to the top, you can read about its history at different levels on the way up.

Currently the tower costs 1EUR for adults and 50 cents for children to enter. The car park “Schloß” near the entrance and most of the buses that go through the town stop nearby.

To find out more, listen to the podcast:

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