things I love about Marburg

 Just where exactly do I live anyways?

I get asked this question a lot- most people haven't heard of Marburg, so I normally just tell people I live in central Germany, about an hour north of Frankfurt.

I don't blame them. I hadn't heard of Marburg before I came here either. But the truth is that I love living here. I know I'm biased, but I've yet to visit a German city I would rather live in. So today I thought I would share a little bit more about what makes this city so great! I tried to get a nice mix of photos so you could see it in every season...

So without any further ramblings, here are 5 things I love about my city:

1. I love that it is small. I love that I can walk everywhere I need to go, and that getting from one side of the city to the other really doesn't take that long. Also, because it's small, I feel like the city has a much more laid back feel to it, life seems to move at a slower pace than it feels like in many larger cities I've lived in or visited. 

2. I love the Altstadt (old city). In Marburg, we call the old part of town the Oberstadt (ober means above) because the old part of town is built on a hill overlooking the rest of the city. The Oberstadt itself is of course beautiful, with cobblestone streets and classic German architecture, a market place square and historic city hall. It's small, but really beautiful.

3. I love that we do not have a mall. Both the Oberstadt, and parts of the new city are filled with unique little cafes and shops, selling a wide assortment of handmade and ethically sourced products. I love wandering through all these little places, looking at secondhand books, or jewelry made by local artisans, stopping for coffee in a locally owned cafe that makes their own chocolates in the back! Of course you can find these places in any city, but in Marburg I feel like they really stand out. 

4. I love that the river runs right through the centre of town. This is not unique to Marburg at all, it's true of most of the German cities I've visited. Living here, I desperately miss the ocean. I'm not sure this will ever go away! While the little Lahn River is no Pacific Ocean, it's still really nice to have in the city. I walk along it nearly every day in getting to where I need to go.

5. I love the castle on the top of the hill. I can't help it- I am Canadian after all. I love the view from the top of this hill with a castle. (Also, I love that I can see the castle and the hill and the old city built on the hill from our living room window. I mean really, does it get much better than that?)