Marburg

[kinetic_bean]

I'm going to Marburg as an Erasmus student (I'm English and live in London) in a couple of weeks for the winter semester (October-January) and I was wondering if anybody knew about the town, any fun things to do, good pubs/clubs etc, and also the best places to live. Travel literature about Marburg is quite thin on the ground :)

Comments

[breakingthrunow]

Check out the Virtual Tourist page on Marburg/Lahn. http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Germany/Land_Hessen/Marburg_an_der_Lahn-39571/TravelGuide-Marburg_an_der_Lahn.html It's a nice little town, I have relatives in the area. Rather rural but pretty. Giessen is close, so is Frankfurt/Main, relatively speaking.

[akiko]

Go to Hinkelstein. It's a pub in a cellar dating to the 9th or 11th century, I forget. http://www.hinkelstein-marburg.de/

Since it is over 10 years since I lived there, I can't say whether any of the clubs are still open. But check out the Christmas markets in the Oberstadt and at the E-kirche.

[smarriveurr]

The Oberstadt is absolutely gorgeous, and you should definitely check out the Landgrafenschloss atop town, as well as the Elisabethskirche. I actually lived in the student housing down the block from the castle, so I got to spend many an evening brooding on the battlements, lots of fun.

I'm afraid I can't recommend much by way of activity/night life, as I spent most of my time either socializing with other international students at the Dubliner and Molly Mallone's, or in the Schwarz-Weiss student pub in the student housing block (half a liter of beer for like 3,00DM, at the time, as I recall, why would I go elsewhere?). Likewise, with the student housing, I never shopped around much on apartments, etc, sad to say. It's a lovely area though, and the transit was excellent - that is, of course, by American standards, so your mileage, literally, may vary.

[akiko]

Wah, you were lucky. I was stuck out in Wehrda, so I didn't have *any* nightlife. The last bus left town at midnight, and it was 7 km. Way too far to walk.

[smarriveurr]

Living above the Oberstadt was about 75% awesome. The only issue was walking home when the Schwarz-Weiss closed, after the buses were done, and the elevator to the Oberstadt was turned off... up like 17 stories of stairs and highly inclined cobblestones. It was a month before I found the back way into my housing, coming from the Marienkirche - until that point, I actually had to go all the way up to the castle, down the block, down three flights of stairs, then back up three flights to my room. I contemplating throwing a zipline out my window at one point...

[akiko]

I was glad to discover the 'easy way' into the Oberstadt pretty early (even if I only went during the day or early evening.)

Oh! There used to be this pub in a basement with a few booths in the back. I think it was still there when I visited 3 years ago on vacation. I can't remember what it was called, though. It's on the easy way up, kind of by those weird horse sculptures. (The Turkish food stand where we'd get pommes before heading home seemed to be closed, though.)

[lied_ohne_worte]

Oh, I've nothing constructive to contribute at all, except that it's a nice little town with a great tradition and lots of students. My parents met and fell in love there. ;-)

[arthenadent]

Shout-outs for Marburg! I lived there for the 2002-03 academic year as part of the BCA program. #1 tip: bring or buy good walking shoes! They call it the Oberstadt for a reason--"up" and "down" are legitimate directions there

[smarriveurr]

The buses that go above the Oberstadt stop around 6pm, so be prepared to walk home if you go out in the evening.

I had calves like a mountain goat. My year abroad was also the year I picked up smoking, no less, and I still ended up in ridiculous shape. A friend from the Wohnheim-complex away from city center had a cousin visiting one day - I bumped into them on my way out of Aldi, with a backpack and two sacks full of groceries. I ended up walking with them from the lower level up all the way to the Schloss, a cigarette hanging off my lips, constantly urging them on from the flight above. It was hilarious, ribbing the flatlanders...