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… I could tell you about the Mathildenhöhe, an artists’ colony built in a park above the city at the turn of the last century at the height of the Art Deco movement.

I could also tell you about the excellent exhibition titled “Russia 1900” that’s currently running, blending the cultures and politics of the period between the turn of century and the sudden demise of the Russian royal family in 1918.

I could also tell you that Czar Nicolaus II had the Russian chapel built on IMPORTED RUSSIAN SOIL on the Mathildenhöhe so that he could go to church when visiting the wife’s (she was Princess Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt before she metamorphed to Czarina Alexandra Feodorovna) folks.

And that Phil the Greek‘s parents (who were related to the Hesse-Darmstadt crew and half of the royal houses of Europe) were married there.

Shame that I can’t tell you all that.

What I will tell you, though, is that the hot chocolate in the cafe is ABSOUTELY NAFF.

Small cups, too.

Which is quite a blessing, actually…

10 Jan This entry was published on 10 January, 2009 at 12:00. It’s filed under Culture and tagged darmstadt, NQM. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.