Great little biergarten near the train tracks, with the bar housed in an old train depot. The…read moreatmosphere is always friendly and communal. Not the most picturesque place for eating outside and a bit hard to reach without a car (bike ride will take you through Darmstadt's lovely industrial district) but the drink choices are more extensive than your typical biergarten and they have grills you can use if you bring your own stuff. Foosball table and occasional live music make it a nice regular hangout.

The Darmstadtium is the congress centre in Darmstadt. It was named after the super-heavy atom first…read morecreated on November 9, 1994 at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Wixhausen (near Darmstadt). The building cost a massive 77 million Euros! And whilst Darmstadt did need a proper conference centre, I'm not sure if it needed a 77 million Euro one. That said, it is easy to get to, being in the centre of Darmstadt, and architecturally it's quite interesting, it's supposed to look like a ship, and there's a bit of the old city wall merged into it. However, in my opinion it's simply in the wrong place. They've sort of squashed it in to fit, and the approach to the car park is like something out of Grand Theft Auto (one of the scary bits). The supposed opening gala was so overpriced and badly realised, no one wanted to go. German comic Helge Schneider cancelled because the place was still a building site, to quote I don't perform on building sites, I'd love to come back when it's finished. All in all it seems to be a bit of a white elephant. I can only hope the future will be more promising.

Tucked away in the hills that overlook the Rhine, you'll find Kloster Eberbach. It is stunning in…read moreits serenity and impressive to think that it was built long ago without the help of modern construction. You may recognize it from the 1986 Sean Connery film "The name of the Rose". My family is emigrated from a city just down the road and that used to be a part of the Monastery's estate, and I'm fortunate to stay in touch with the relatives that stayed behind. On Christmas day last year when everything is closed (and the parents wanted to tend to the Christmas roast -- think the same fuss as a Thanksgiving turkey), we young 'uns headed down to the Abbey to check things out. The buildings were closed, but the grounds were open, and we and some other locals meandered around, finally winding up by the sheep and goats. One little guy kept poking his head out to have his chin scratched, and I was happy to oblige him. I'll look forward to my next visit, hopefully on a day when the place is open so I can tour it and learn more about the Abbey's history!

This was my first time visiting a previous monastery dwelling and was surprised to know that only…read more120 monks lived on such a beautiful estate. I came here with a group from work for a team building adventure. We started out breaking into teams for a scavenger hunt around the monastery; then hiked up the top of the hill to see a breath taking view of the countryside and had a light snack at the summit; then returning for a formal tour of the monastery followed by wine tasting in the cellar; and finally we had dinner here at their restaurant to wrap up our 5 hour excursion. Today this place is used for festivals and concerts but you get an appreciation of the dedication and effort of a few men that resulted in an amazing historical landmark. There was also a movie filmed here in the 1980's by Sean Connery. This was a humbling and fantastic experience all rolled into one great adventure that I would highly recommend as a must see place that you will appreciate.