This entry is PART 2(2) in my A Month In Europe series. If you haven't, check out PART 2(1) here.
Hallo!
If you recall from my last entry, I mentioned that I had dinner with Dr. Bianca on my first day in Giessen. We talked a lot about simple things and I guess somewhere in between or towards the end of the meal, we were talking about my research stay and what my objectives were while I was in Giessen. Dr. Bianca was very open to anything and didn't have any specific tasks for me yet. Of course, we hadn't even discussed anything about my research by then and she didn't even know what my research was about. As a somewhat general goal of my research stay, she told me this:
Regardless of what she said, what's important is that she really emphasized that I not only stay in the office or in my room and do research all the time, but I should also do a lot of sightseeing and visit some nice places nearby Giessen. At one point she even helped look at transportation options to go to Berlin (which [SPOILER ALERT] I didn't go). I'm very thankful of her efforts to really urge me to see as much of Germany as I could since it's not somewhere I could just go for a weekend getaway or things like that.
One of her recommendations was to see Marburg, which is a city a bit north of Giessen. She says it's a very beautiful city with a lot of things to see. Luckily enough, on the Thursday of my first week in Giessen, there was a public holiday. I was actually reluctant to go anywhere on that day because I felt that I should see more of Giessen before I explore anywhere else, but that morning I woke up early and just told myself "YOLO!!!" and took the train to Marburg.
I don't think I have much to say about Marburg; or even every other place I visited. I don't really remember much as most of what's interesting needs to be seen in person. If I had to describe Marburg, I'd say it's a very prim and proper city. The streets are pristine, the nature is beautiful and the buildings are all magnificent.
I read that Marburg was unaffected by bombings in WWII, which meant that all the buildings of the old town were preserved throughout the years. That's pretty cool and you can actually see the authenticity of the architecture and design of the whole old town area.
The old town was epic and exuded a real sense of juxtaposition. Despite the buildings being hundreds of years old, the shops there actually sell pretty modern stuff.
I didn't wander around aimlessly in Marburg like I did in Frankfurt. This time I had a map that Dr. Bianca printed out for me that had markings on where to visit in Marburg. These are some of the places that I managed to visit while I was there:
Yes, there are a lot of churches in Marburg, and it's actually one of the most attractive things about the city. When the church bells ring every hour, there is a sense of olden times that resonates throughout the alleyways of the old town.
But churches weren't the only sights to see in Marburg. In fact, the most significant place to see is the majestic 11th century fort-cum-castle at the the very summit of the city of Marburg.
The view from the castle was really nice. It was a beautiful day and everyone who got to the castle was just chilling and taking a breather after the hike up. The castle doubles as a museum, too, but I didn't see anyone go in or even an entrance to the museum so I guess it was closed. It was also a public holiday so it was most probably closed.
I had spent about half the day going through some of the streets in the old town and then up to the castle. After that I had lunch and decided to explore around the river Lahn area. In contrast with Giessen, the river Lahn was much, much livelier in Marburg. There was loud music blasting along the river, street food stalls lining the riverbank, parties and barbecues going on, people sunbathing and having picnics, and even an actual funfair was there at some point. In fact, while I was on my way back to the train station, I saw this random guy carrying a grill to one of the parks along the river.
After I chilled beside the river for a while I decided to head back to Giessen. Marburg was definitely a really cool place to be and was definitely buzzing with people just chasing some sun.
The next day I had to deal with blisters and a bit of a sore knee but everything else was alright. I didn't go anywhere that weekend unfortunately, which was also to the disappointment of Dr. Bianca.
The following week came and I continued with my research. On Saturday I finally got to visit Wetzlar, the home of Leica Camera; but I'll leave that for the next entry.
* * * * *
So, first of all, I realize this entry is a bit late. Although I hadn't specified when exactly I'd post a new entry but I had initially wanted to publish one every Sunday night. However, I haven't been as organized as I would like to be. Still working on that. Anyway, good news is I have completely gotten over my jet lag (hurrah!) and am now sleeping at normal times (unless I procrastinate and end up sleeping at irregular times again).
But who cares about my personal struggles and agendas, right? Let's get into the entry!
* * * * *
Hallo!
If you recall from my last entry, I mentioned that I had dinner with Dr. Bianca on my first day in Giessen. We talked a lot about simple things and I guess somewhere in between or towards the end of the meal, we were talking about my research stay and what my objectives were while I was in Giessen. Dr. Bianca was very open to anything and didn't have any specific tasks for me yet. Of course, we hadn't even discussed anything about my research by then and she didn't even know what my research was about. As a somewhat general goal of my research stay, she told me this:
"If you make good research... If you make good sightseeing. Then that's good."Or something like that.
Regardless of what she said, what's important is that she really emphasized that I not only stay in the office or in my room and do research all the time, but I should also do a lot of sightseeing and visit some nice places nearby Giessen. At one point she even helped look at transportation options to go to Berlin (which [SPOILER ALERT] I didn't go). I'm very thankful of her efforts to really urge me to see as much of Germany as I could since it's not somewhere I could just go for a weekend getaway or things like that.
One of her recommendations was to see Marburg, which is a city a bit north of Giessen. She says it's a very beautiful city with a lot of things to see. Luckily enough, on the Thursday of my first week in Giessen, there was a public holiday. I was actually reluctant to go anywhere on that day because I felt that I should see more of Giessen before I explore anywhere else, but that morning I woke up early and just told myself "YOLO!!!" and took the train to Marburg.
I'm sorry for such a cliche photo but it's the only one where I'm actually in it
I don't think I have much to say about Marburg; or even every other place I visited. I don't really remember much as most of what's interesting needs to be seen in person. If I had to describe Marburg, I'd say it's a very prim and proper city. The streets are pristine, the nature is beautiful and the buildings are all magnificent.
I read that Marburg was unaffected by bombings in WWII, which meant that all the buildings of the old town were preserved throughout the years. That's pretty cool and you can actually see the authenticity of the architecture and design of the whole old town area.
The old town was epic and exuded a real sense of juxtaposition. Despite the buildings being hundreds of years old, the shops there actually sell pretty modern stuff.
Elisabethkirche (St. Elizabeth's Church)
Inside Elisabethkirche
Bauamt der Stadt Marburg (Marburg City Hall)
Lutherische Pfarrkirche St. Marien (Lutheran Parish Church of St. Mary)
Inside St. Mary's Church
Universitätskirche Marburg (University Church of Marburg)
But churches weren't the only sights to see in Marburg. In fact, the most significant place to see is the majestic 11th century fort-cum-castle at the the very summit of the city of Marburg.
Landgrafenschloss Marburg / Marburger Schloss (Marburg Castle)
Marburg Castle seen from the river Lahn
View from above with St. Mary's church also seen
The view from the castle was really nice. It was a beautiful day and everyone who got to the castle was just chilling and taking a breather after the hike up. The castle doubles as a museum, too, but I didn't see anyone go in or even an entrance to the museum so I guess it was closed. It was also a public holiday so it was most probably closed.
I had spent about half the day going through some of the streets in the old town and then up to the castle. After that I had lunch and decided to explore around the river Lahn area. In contrast with Giessen, the river Lahn was much, much livelier in Marburg. There was loud music blasting along the river, street food stalls lining the riverbank, parties and barbecues going on, people sunbathing and having picnics, and even an actual funfair was there at some point. In fact, while I was on my way back to the train station, I saw this random guy carrying a grill to one of the parks along the river.
The river Lahn
The next day I had to deal with blisters and a bit of a sore knee but everything else was alright. I didn't go anywhere that weekend unfortunately, which was also to the disappointment of Dr. Bianca.
The following week came and I continued with my research. On Saturday I finally got to visit Wetzlar, the home of Leica Camera; but I'll leave that for the next entry.
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