Cobblestones and Confusion: A Week in Göttingen
okay, so i just kinda… landed in Göttingen. it wasn’t planned, honestly. a friend of a friend of a drummer i toured with last year (it’s a whole thing) had a spare room and offered it for cheap. cheap being the operative word, because my bank account is currently staging a silent protest.
first impressions? it’s…old. like, really old. everything’s half-timbered and leaning a bit, which is charming until you worry about it collapsing on you. i just checked and it’s feeling like a damp hug right now, hope you like that kind of thing. the weather report said five point oh seven degrees, but honestly, it feels like two point eight three. my bones are starting to complain.
spent most of today wandering around the *Marktplatz. it’s dominated by this ridiculously ornate fountain, the Gänseliesel. apparently, students kiss her after finishing their exams. i overheard someone saying it’s a tradition, but also that she’s been vandalized approximately a million times. someone told me the fountain water tastes like regret and stale beer, but i didn’t risk it.
food-wise, i’ve been mostly sticking to bakeries. there’s one on Jüdenstraße that does these incredible pretzels. seriously, life-changing pretzels. i also tried some local sausage, which was…an experience. let’s just say it had a very strong personality. i’ve been looking at restaurants on Yelp but haven’t ventured too far from carbs yet.
my neighbors seem to be mostly students, which explains the constant stream of bicycles and questionable music choices. if you get bored, Hannover and Kassel are just a quick train ride away. i’m thinking of checking out Kassel next week, maybe.
“apparently, the best coffee in town is hidden in a bookstore. you have to know the secret handshake.”
that’s what the barista at a place called “Café im Universum” told me. i’m still trying to figure out the handshake. the coffee there was decent, though. not life-altering, but decent. i’ve been obsessively checking TripAdvisor for hidden gems, but everything seems to be either a bakery or a sausage stand.
people keep mentioning the Universität Göttingen*. it’s a big deal, apparently. lots of history, lots of famous people studied there. i’m not a huge history buff, but i appreciate a good old building. i heard that the library is insane, like, seriously massive. i’m planning on checking it out tomorrow, if i can navigate the student hordes. you can find more info about the university here: University of Göttingen.
“don’t trust the pigeons. they’re spies for the bakery owners.”
that was some drunk guy yelling at birds in the park. i’m not sure what it means, but i’m taking it as a warning.
overall, Göttingen is…weird. in a good way, i think. it’s messy and chaotic and full of old stuff. the humidity is at ninety percent, which is making my hair do things i didn’t know it could do, and the ground level pressure is ninety-seven one, which… honestly, i have no idea what that means. i’m just going to keep wandering and eating pretzels. maybe i’ll learn the secret handshake. maybe i’ll avoid the pigeons. maybe i’ll finally figure out what’s going on here. check out this local forum for more info: Göttingen Forum.
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