The BLUG welcomes you to the new winter semester! In order for you to discover the most beautiful spots on Campus, our reporters show you their favorite places. Of course, this isn’t only for the newbies among you, maybe we also inspire students who have been here a while. Let us start off the new semester with a little campus tour.
The Café SUB
Incredible view, tasty snacks, coffee – the possibly most underrated café on campus combines all of these three things. Since my first week here I’ve frequently visited it and it now belongs to my favorite places of the university: The Café SUB. It’s located on the main campus, in the cylindrical little tower at the library’s main entrance. By walking through the revolving doors and taking the winding staircase on the right, you first reach the stall. The sitting areas are situated on the upper floors – if this already sounds too exhausting to you, I swear, it’s worth the stair climbing! What makes it so special: The facade of the tower is completely glazed, which gives you a panoramic view of the campus and the city. You can see the steeples of the Johannis- and Jacobikirche and even some hills and woods on the horizon. Perfect conditions for a creative pause!
In front of the Jacob-Grimm-Haus
During my studies, I’ve spent a lot of time (especially during the finals) in but also in front of the Jacob-Grimm-Haus. With all this writing and thinking, short breaks are essential and I love to spend them outside when the weather is nice. In front of the yellow brick building, two big plane trees catch the sunlight and let its rays gleam onto the little sitting areas. The perfect spot to hang out with friends and have coffee or ice cream from the Turmmensa. Especially when you’re looking for a quiet place, this is the one to go: no traffic noise, no construction work, no loud orientation week students. But look out: during late summer, pieces of the periderm can fall off the trees from time to time. At least they’re doing it quietly and softly.
Der Theo-Innenhof
A little stream gurgles, birds chirp and you feel far away instead of in the thick of it. The patio of the Theologicum building is a little peaceful island amidst the sea of stressful events of the day. Even though the student run café Theo-Cafete had to close down in 2017 after 30 years and I have to refrain from my weekly iced coffee because no other cafe has it, studying there is still worthwhile. The patio was renovated a couple of years ago and is now glistening in shades of blue, green and beige. If I ignore the building next to it with its library shelfs glimpsing through the window fronts, I almost feel like in a mediterranean vacation spot. For those of you who find the campus too busy, the libraries too stifling and home too boring, the Theo patio is the place to enjoy a little lunch break or a refreshing study session.
The Juri lawn
Stressed from the lecture? Or you just want to escape the crowds? Don’t want to see the grey buildings and cold benches? The campus indeed has green spots as well, and one of the most beautiful is the lawn behind the Juridicum – especially during spring and summertime. But also fall offers a few last rays of sunshine that can be enjoyed here. Between lectures and seminars, I use the time to relax here, close my eyes and breathe… in order to dive into the busy campus life right after. What I like the most about it: There’s always something going on, like playing dogs, artists on slack lines, students on bikes or just walking by. It’s a great spot to watch people (who doesn’t like to do that?). In the beginning of the semester, several orientation week freshmen students join in on their way to the next campus rallye. Never a dull moment around here! It’s the perfect spot for me to relax and have coffee.
Stone rondel near the building of geosciences
I haven’t been here for long but the little stone rondel right in front of the building of geosciences definitely belongs to my favorite places on Nordcampus already. With its many benches it offers a great spot to hang out between seminars and lectures in the summer time. On the stone tables (geoscientist style) you can enjoy your lunch in case you don’t want to hang out in the Nordmensa. Even if you have to work, it’s perfect to read books and study your lecture notes, especially because it’s usually very calm and quiet as barely anyone hangs out there. Last but not least, if you’ve sat enough and want some action, you can engage in some outdoor games and activities (like analyzing the many beautiful rocks) in the nearby geo park.
The new botanic garden
On Nordcampus, you mostly see the huge lecture halls of the Physics faculty and the laboratories of the Chemistry. But: also the Biology and Geology have a lot to offer. Not only their buildings, but also the outdoor facilities. Via the gravel path along the Nordmensa and the stone samples you reach the new botanic garden, also called the experimental botanic garden. Depending on where you’re coming from, you either first reach the herb garden or the rose garden. In the right season, not only the roses are blooming but all kinds of other flowering plants. And if that’s not enough, you can also enjoy the panoramic view of the city. Especially in the evening hours, watching the sunset from there is the perfect way to bring the day to a close.
Platz Der Göttinger Sieben
No other place on the university campus is perhaps as inconspicuous as the Platz Der Göttinger Sieben. Situated bang in the middle of the Central Campus, most people tend to overlook the plaza in their initial days. But as new students slowly get the hang of Uni and begin to settle down with cups of coffee at this very place, they begin to see it as more than just a plaza to bike across. Being surrounded on all sides by different faculties makes the Platz an ideal place to run into your friends and in the summer, to settle down with the classic ceramic mugs and just sip on the people passing by. Platz Der Göttinger Sieben also marks the circle of life as a Göttingen University student. This is where you see everything from the wide-eyed freshers taking in the beautiful cherry blossoms at the beginning of their term to the PhD student parades on their way to kiss the Gänseliesel!
The #1 reason I love this spot so much however, is because of its versatility. Come evening, the entire square begins to empty of people, the night lamps turn on, and you are left with a serene thinking spot to mull over your academics, your day, or the people you saw at the Platz Der Göttinger Sieben earlier today.
