Tag: Dortmund

  • Dortmund – Gänsemarkt Bar

    Dortmund – Gänsemarkt Bar

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    This historic bar is located in the Gänsemarkt, formerly the Goose Market, and it’s a Kneipe or a bar which doesn’t serve hot food. There was a spacious outdoor drinking area which I ignored as I made my way inside and it’s relatively small inside, but it felt like it had some character.

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    It had a traditional and authentic feel to it, but I just needed somewhere to visit that wasn’t insanely hot. I couldn’t be dealing with Germany’s backwards approach to cards, so I had got some cash out to make matters easier for me. The welcome at the bar was friendly, but there were no beer pumps or signage visible, but my request for a beer was accepted readily with no further questions. Well, there was a question of small or large, but I could deal with that one. I think it usually attracts some of the local sporting crowd who watch football, but that seemed to be true for nearly every bar that I’ve seen so far. I’m guessing that football is very important around here.

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    The beer here is the local Thier Pils from Dortmunder Actien-Brauerei. It’s a traditional local Pils and Dortmund beers have something of a unique taste and it was refreshing if not particularly innovative. But, if I’m being honest, German beer is usually not burdened by the need to be innovative, it’s meant to be robust and consistent I think.

    It’s a handy little location and I liked the distinction between bar and restaurant, which I often find is a little blurred. This place was primarily about the beer, although other drinks are available, and that made matters much easier. The service was friendly and I thought that the price of €4.60 for the beer was reasonable, so just over £4. I didn’t try to pay by card, but that seems a good call as I’ve noticed that some reviews mutter on that they accept cash only.

  • Dortmund – Bison from Buffalo, New York to Mark 1,100 Years

    Dortmund – Bison from Buffalo, New York to Mark 1,100 Years

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    I wondered about this buffalo which looked a little lost when I saw it earlier, but Dortmund is twinned with Buffalo, New York (and indeed also with Leeds and some other cities around the world) and to mark 1,100 years of Dortmund the American city sent them this bronze bison.

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    It was installed here in 1982 and was meant to reflect the partnership between the two cities. The date of 882 is when the city was first mentioned and that is when it was referenced in the documents of Werden Abbey, although it’s thought that it had been going for longer than that. But, sometimes a line just has to be drawn in the sand.

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    The text reads:

    “The Buffalo Bison. A gift from the citizens of the City of Buffalo for the 1100th anniversary of the City of Dortmund”

    Incidentally, I note that Leeds didn’t send a statue of a Yorkshire terrier.

  • Wizz Air (Warsaw Chopin to Dortmund)

    Wizz Air (Warsaw Chopin to Dortmund)

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    Today’s early morning flight was from Warsaw Chopin to Dortmund and since I was at the airport soon after the security area opened, it was certainly a quiet airside. Although I accept that’s because normal people don’t arrive at airports as early as I do……

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    The corridors weren’t yet bustling.

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    The restaurants not yet packed.

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    I went to inspect the gate for my flight, which was scheduled to leave at 06:05. I realised that this meant I had time for a flying lounge visit, although it only opened at 05:00 so it wasn’t going to be a lingering one.

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    A little queue had formed for the lounge.

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    The excitement of it all….

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    As usual, I was eyeing up the chocolates (in that basket on the right of the photo).

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    And a breakfast of a Greek salad, blackcurrant juice, Fanta and a hot chocolate. I soon added chocolate, a banana and two shots of espresso. It transpired that I had twenty minutes in the lounge until they called customers to go to the gate, but that was sufficient time to get enough food and drink. Fortunately, my lounge pass is unlimited as I wouldn’t have paid for such a short visit.

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    The boarding process was efficient, although it was a bus gate which is never entirely ideal. The seating Gods had given me a middle seat, but it’s only a short flight and I was asleep for nearly all of it anyway. The route from Warsaw to Dortmund (and back again) has only just been launched but it was a nearly full flight. This is the exciting thing for airlines such as Wizz Air and Ryanair, they can open new routes and have a near guarantee that people will want to travel between the two locations.

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    The aircraft was 9H-WBZ, an Airbus A321 which has been in the fleet since October 2022, which I don’t think that I’ve been on before.

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    Safely into Dortmund and it was a little warmer than Warsaw.

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    Dortmund Airport is, if I’m being honest, bloody awful. The terminal was built in 2000 and designed for many fewer passengers, so it’s struggling to cope with the current higher volumes. There aren’t enough toilets, it’s not clean and it didn’t feel very well maintained. There was limited seating, the signage was confused and the on-line reviews are appalling, they desperately need an entirely new terminal. I can’t say that I’m looking forward to flying out of the airport in a couple of days.

    Anyway, it was in my eyes a successful flight as it cost me under £9, it was on time and everything seemed well managed and organised.