Hannover

Hannover; you probably heared of this city because you once passed by or you heard about a large event that took place in the Messe (fair). Hannover is usually not a city people think about when planning a weekend trip because it is not close to the border (if you live in the Netherlands) and some other cities in the neighbourhood (like Hamburg and Lübeck) have put themselves on the map as much more attractive destinations. That’s not completely true however. Hannover is allowed to shout a bit louder: “Hello, do check us out please!” Inhabitants of this northern city are rightly proud of their home, a city that was almost completely destroyed in World War II and rebuilt in the Fifties. It’s part historic and part modern and no, the ‘modern’ style of the Fifties isn’t always pretty but with a centre where no cars are allowed it works for Hannover. Are you curious why we think it’s a fine destination? Check the pictures below… 

To give you a bit of an impression of how big Hannover is: it has little over half a million inhabitants. It consists of a few neighbourhoods of which most have attractive sights to see. Take Herrenhauser with the Herrenhauser Gärten, a castle with 4 large garden built and designed in the 17th century. Or the Maschsee, a huge landscaped lake behind the Neuer Rathaus, which is being used as a festival terrain in Summer and also doubles as a city beach. When going on a weekend trip, you have to choose: What do you absolutely want to see right now and what do you want to keep for another time? Because it was our first visit we definately wanted to see the center and we choose alternative neighbourhood Linden, the neighbourhoud which houses the most students and artsy people and where there’s also a lot of streetart and good food.

Center

There is not a lot left of what once used to be Hannover before the Second World War. In the part of the center a bit further away from the trainstation and around the churches it was rebuilt in the old authentic style using what was left of buildings and houses. That’s why buildings are sometimes part old and part new, but you won’t really notice. If you want to know what was left of Hannover in 1946, then do visit city hall and have a look at the large models of the city that show the 17th century, right before the war and right after and the here and now of the city. And if you are there, do not forget to take the elevator to the check the view from the top of the dome.

Linden and Lister Meile

We are pretty much always looking for neighbourhoods that come with a bit of a raw edge. And as you might have read in the introduction then Linden is the place to be. It’s a student neighbourhood which started out poor, but is now up and coming and with all the cool stores, a vegan supermarket, great places to eat and drink (check our – soon to be – blog about this too!), lots of streetart, and sustainable fashion.
Lister Meile is a street right behind the central station. The architecture reminded us a lot of New York City. Here you can also find some great stores for fair and sustainable fashion (check our – soon to be – blog about this subject) plus cool cafes and some really great streetart.

Disclaimer: Our Hannover blogposts are a collaboration with Hannover Tourismus who invited us to stay for 2 nights in order to check out how green this destination is. All words, pictures and interpretations by Not So Stuffy (our former blog), May 2017.