Darmstadt – My First Home
My favourite places in the city of Darmstadt.
Martinsviertel
Our home for almost ten years, in three different apartments.
Prinz-Georg-Garten
Located right next to Herrngarten, Prinz-Georg-Garten is always worth a stroll.
Herrngarten
Herrngarten can be crowded as soon as it gets warm – students with barbecue grills and families on picknick blankets everywhere. But it feels like it’s the shared garden for us unfortunate that don’t call a piece of green grass their own.
Bürgerpark
This park is very close to where we live and therefore an easy pick for a short walk. It features a lot of school buildings – some of them in a catastrophic state – as well as a huge amount of publicly available sport facilities, like basketball and tennis courts, soccer fields and running tracks.
University
An interesting mixture of older (beautiful), not so old (ugly? practical?) and new (in between) buildings.
Mathildenhöhe
Being one of the most (the most) iconic site in the city “Mathildenhöhe” is the most touristy Darmstadt can be (but to be honest I’m not sure if you can even call the handful of visitors tourism). But as we got married in the wedding tower (“Hochzeitsturm”) – the tower that looks like a hand – and both our sons were being born in the hospital nearby it’s definitely a special place for us.
Rosenhöhe
On the outskirts of the city this lovely park offers a lot of smaller pathways (a bit of history about the long gone local royals) to explore, a garden full of roses (I suppose) and a perfect entry to the nearby fields.
Oberfeld
The only remaining agricultural area of the city, including an organic farm (where my wife was employed). Flooded with people on the weekends, but otherwise a great place to be.
Woog
The only little bit of water we have in the city (besides the tiny river “Darmbach” that mostly runs underground).
City Center
Right next to the university district you can find the state museum, the castle and the infamous conference center “Darmstadtium” (nicknamed “Scheppschachtel” ~ “crooked box”).
Hundertwasserhaus
One of the architectural gems located in one of the most boring areas, right next to a supermarket. Ironically its proper name is “Waldspirale” ~ “wood spiral” – with no woodland in sight.
Sanddüne
I grew up in the southern district “Eberstadt” which surprisingly features two sand dunes that are great locations for a micro-journey into a different world.
Streuobstwiesen
Also located in the south, Streuobstwiesen are a vast area of wood- and grassland where you can find fruit trees, sheep and cows as well as a small well with excellent water and nice views.
