Göttingen: A Local's Tour + Visitor Testimonials

The next priority, after saying hello to Inga, was to catch the World Cup match on TV. Afterwards, going downstairs to bring up my things, an old German lady asked me to repark the car so as not to disturb the organised perfection of her idyllic suburban dream where no on-street parking space is wasted. Inga and Thorsten looked on apologetically from the apartment window. I thought it was endearing.

After that was sorted, I was kindly given a personal tour of Göttingen by the people who know it best. Inga and Thorsten and I saw the Fraternity houses, walked through the verdant campus, passed the Navel (the water fountain meeting point in the town centre), the iconic Gänseliesel statue of a girl with geese (whom graduates must kiss on graduation but whom I was not yet allowed to kiss), the interior of the Town Hall, the library, the shopping streets and the churches, all connected and unified by a green parkland environment that surrounded the town.

"With its central location in the country, Göttingen was a stable and peaceful town to break up the excitement of the more metropolitan Köln and Berlin. There were no great extremes or loud surprises, just green, a student vibe and fresh air!" - Nature-loving visitor to Germany

"It really was a German version of Leiden, but with forests instead of canals to break up the manmade environment." - Visiting Leiden student

The Navel

The Soccer becomes part of the building facade.

The Gänseliesel

The Town Hall

Note to self: no more lame captions.

Don't you think young Werthie's already a bit sorrowful, Thorsten?

Winding up a streetside science experiment.

The park where Germany's disaffected students hang out.

Katwijk beach pose spotted on the parkbenches of Göttingen.

http://sydney.edu.au/law/ much?

"Göttingen's budding artists and poets are able to find inspiration wherever they are, such is the fertile and nourishing characteristic of the place." - Artistic observer

"It was a lovely home-cooked meal with some really friendly and welcoming flatmates. You could sense the good vibe in the air, especially with the sun setting in the cool summer European afternoon. The main of pasta with a chicken mushroom and white cheese sauce was superbly accompanied by a white wine and a classic German dessert Grüne Grütze. Jamie Oliver would have been jealous." - Food critic

"Göttingen's children are exceptionally well-instructed and trained in the manners of crossing the street." - Prudent observer

"Legend has it that there is an old man who works on this sculpture day in, day out, as the seasons come and go, always at the same spot, always chipping away at his block of rock." - Anon

"Göttingen - Home of the real "Garden State" - boasts also an old dumpster in the middle of the greenery from which one can also climb atop and scream into the abyss!"
Two Garden State quotations definitely spring into mind:
"Maybe that's all a family really is; a group of people who miss the same imaginary place."
"Good luck exploring the infinite abyss!""Göttingen has an overabudance of doctors and lawyers as many of its alumni return to the town to settle and make a living."