Sunday, 23 July 2006
En route back from Hamburg to Munich, I stopped for about three hours in Hannover.
Coming out from the train station, the Bahnhofstrasse led the way to Kröpcke, a square where the large and popular Kröpcke coffee house stood. Walking to the south-east along Georgstr., I soon came across the Opera House. Heading south-west at this point, the impressive Marktkirche and the old town house came to sight. However, since this was a Sunday, the shops lining the pedestrianised and cobbled streets were for the most part closed (except for some eateries); consequently, the street looked slightly abandoned.
The centre of Hannover is very manageable by foot--and could probably be visited in less than an hour. Afterwards, I took the metro-like tram to Herrenhausen, where the royal gardens with which Hannover prides itself are located. I did not bother to buy tickets to enter the gardens, but already, gazing inside from the door way, I was daunted by the enormity of the Grosser Garten--with fountains and well-trimmed lawns in the foreground and a more tree-like garden in the background. But the Grosser Garten was just a part of it! There were also the Georgengarten, the Berggarten, etc. The plant lovers could perhaps just spend an entire day in Herrenhausen.
I took the tram-metro back to Kröpcke and walked along an underground shopping street towards the train station. An interesting trend was that as one drew closer and closer to the train station, more and more shops became open on a Sunday afternoon.
I left Hamburg at about 15:30 and the ICE train arrived safe and sound in Munich by about 20:00.