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Shocking headlines, incredible photos and high quality puns are back after almost two months without publishing, I know, you missed me. 

On January 29th (2023 yes yes), we took the train to Hannover. The trip took eight hours, and it was actually really nice. I was worried about the length of the trip, I thought it would be really long, and then finally not at all. It must be said that the German trains are a bit more spacious than the ones in France. Traveling by train also gives the chance to appreciate the view. In fact, we crossed a big part of Austria and Germany from one end to the other and I was surprised by the variety of the landscapes!

When we arrived in this city of half a million inhabitants, we were stunned by the price of public transportation, but I will get back to that later. As we approached the neighborhood where our apartment was located, we were seeing bikes everywhere. Each post and each barrier had its lot of attached bikes, it was nice, I didn’t expect that.

The first week the weather was terrible, really, it rained a lot, and there was a lot. So we didn’t visit much and we armed ourselves with patience and an umbrella when we really needed a breath of air.

Fortunately for us, the weather got better afterwards and we were able to visit Hanover the following weeks.

By the way, the city is not very big and I wondered where the 500 000 Hanoverians were! Hence the term ‘village’ in the title.

Things to see and do

As usual, I would like to share the things we saw and did, but the list will be shorter than usual, I warn you. 
Well, I mean, it was to be expected, Hannover is not Berlin. But it’s cute anyway, and very safe.

• Walking in the old center of Hannover to appreciate its picturesque little streets and charming buildings.
  
• Walk through the pedestrian streets of the new center and do some shopping. Hannover has its own Primark, Zalando Outlet and many other famous and less famous shops.

• If you are more of a nature lover, you can visit the different parks (but when it is in bloom, in spring/summer).
  – Lake Maschsee and Eilenriede Park: nature in the city.
  – The Royal Garden of Herrenhausen: we wanted to go there but it turns out that it is not for free. Count 3.50€ to visit only the gardens and 8€ for the gardens AND the museum. We didn’t go because it was winter, but I think it’s worth it between April and October.
  
• If you’re more of a museum person, I’ve seen some great reviews about the Niedersächsisches Landesmuseum which has art exhibits but also natural history exhibits and even… more than 3300 alive animals! I unfortunately couldn’t go there myself but I think it’s worth the trip! It costs between 5 and 10€ depending on the ticket you can, and the entrance is free on Fridays from 2pm to 6pm.

• Finally, avoid the Sea Life aquarium, really, it is too expensive and plain sad. There is not much diversity either, so avoid it. I repeat myself but do not give your money to this kind of establishment which does not care about the well-being of animals.

Some nice places for food :

• Viet Cuisine City. Not only are the prices unbeatable, but they also give generous quantities and it’s very good. I had noted 7,50€ for a vegetarian main course. Perfect!
• Grill art Street Greek. It’s a bit expensive, let’s be honest, but the food is excellent and really close to what you could find in Greece.

Germany, a country full of surprises

We saw a lot of things that surprised us in many ways.

One day, we were heading to the area behind the train station in Hannover and we first came across a funny distributor: it offered a wide range of syringes, with compresses and disinfectant. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great ; much better than using crap, I was just surprised.
We then continue the walk before coming across some brothel windows. Yes, prostitution in Germany is legal! (Finally a smart country).
At almost every street corner, you can also find tobacco and … sextoys distributors. Germany is much more open-minded than I imagined!

Public transportation

The city is divided in different zones, and the more you move away from the center the more expensive it is. A ticket for zone A is 3,20€, and zone A-B 4€. That said, the transportation system is very good, it is handled by the agency GVH.

Depending on where your location is, it might be cheaper to travel by bike, which was the case for us. You can use the “Next bike by Tier” app, the price is 1€ per 15 minutes. It’s more expensive than in Vienna (which was 0,60€/ 30min), but still, it’s worth it compared to public transport. And the city is very well equipped in terms of bike paths. Advantage: elimination of the calories consumed because of the beers and other wafers. 

On the wallet side

Once the question of accommodation is settled, you still have to figure out the supermarket budget and the budget for going out.

Generally speaking, shopping in an Aldi or a Lidl is a good idea because it is cheaper, but there were none near our apartment. Some products are cheaper than in France, and others are more expensive, it depends on the products. But overall, I would say that it is manageable. Cheese, fruits and vegetables are more expensive than in France, but alcohol and tobacco are much cheaper. Problem: it doesn’t feed you.

Summary

I rather liked this month in Hannover, it was calm and relaxing. In addition to the charming old center, the city has a lot of green spaces, and small delicious restaurants at affordable prices. That said, you may not need to spend a month there to discover this city, I think a week/ 10 days would be enough.