Living in Paris, one of our main goals for the weekends is to travel to places close enough for a weekend getaway. The question is: Do you go back to places you’ve visited and loved, or go somewhere new and different? I guess the answer for us is: do a little of both.
Every year, Essen, Germany hosts the largest game convention in the world, Internationale Spieltage. Approximately 100,000 visitors enter the convention center over the space of 5 days: people who design, publish, sell, and play games are all mixed-together, and it is a family affair for many.
Check out this short video for Spieltage:
Though boardgames are not as popular a hobby in the United States, Europeans are big fans of games, and this is why Spieltage Essen is like a mecca to many, including Mark and lots of his friends. In 2003, Mark and I took our first trip to Europe. In addition to the castles and cathedrals, the Internationale Spieltage in Essen was one of our stops.
This year, it was a no-brainer that we would take the train to Essen, a highlight for Mark to be sure: games old and new, things you can’t buy in stores yet (or in the US), catching-up with some California friends, and meeting people who are long-time listeners of Mark’s podcasts, Boardgames To Go, and Wargames To Go.
I’ll play the occasional boardgame, but it isn’t my hobby, so this trip was my opportunity to explore a little bit of the town. I racked-up almost nine miles of walking each day (by choice). On Saturday, it was drizzling rain most of the day, but I visited the local botanical garden, Gugapark, just the same. There are acres of streams, flowers, ponds, and even a sequoia grove. The grey weather was great for photographing the flowers, which were still holding-on in the cooler Autumn weather.
Inside Grugapark, where it shares a road with the university hospital, is the Ronald McDonald House, Essen. There are more than 350 Ronald McDonald Houses worldwide, “Keeping families with sick children close to each other and the care and resources they need.” If you eat at McDonald’s, you might notice the donation boxes at the registers and the drive-through windows. All of that spare change goes to support the Ronald McDonald House charities. I usually drop my change in there, and I’ve known several families who have benefitted from their services. This house was so interesting to see, and in such a wonderful location. The Essen house was designed by artist and architect, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, and looks more like the house of a child’s imagination than a real structure.
If you’re interested in the Ronald McDonald House charities, you can find more info here: http://www.rmhc.org
I also walked past the university hospital area, and through the bike paths and hiking trails to a neighborhood called Kruppsiedlung Margarethenhohe. This group of charming homes is named after Margarethe Krupp, who had housing built for the workers at the Krupp steel factories in the 1800s. Her husband, Alfred Krupp, paved the way for workers’ rights, offering benefits previously unknown to workers of that time, such as accident and medical insurance, social programs, care for widows and orphans and education. It isn’t company housing today, but these homes are still much in demand, and you can see why. . .
Sunday morning in Essen, and it was a gorgeous Fall day. I walked a couple of miles (literally over the river and through the woods!) to visit the Krupp Mansion.
I got all of the way there, only to find-out that the buildings were closed (the website had said it was open). I was pretty disappointed, and honestly feeling a little sorry for myself; I think just being alone was getting to me a little bit. Plus, I was tired from all of the walking, so it was frustrating to get to the end of the walk with nothing to show for it. I had hours to kill before our train, but now just felt like taking it easy. I used the MyTaxi app we’d seen in some info about Germany. Easy as Über, I had a taxi pick me up. The driver was a man about my age, from Syria. We had a nice conversation, and I learned that his daughter had recently finished university, spoke six languages, and was now working in Turkey for Turkish Airlines. He also had a son working on a business degree in Germany and another in high school. We shared photos of our kids. No matter where I’ve been in the world, I’ve really found that people are really more alike than they are different.
Back at the hotel, I grabbed my book, found a nice place to read, and ordered a coffee.
