Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [570]
Apex ( 447 71; Burgstrasse 46; from 5pm Mon-Sat, from 6pm Sun; ) An academic and generally older crowd (40s to 50s) comes to sup a range of wines in this dark-wood bistro, attached to a cabaret venue and art gallery. Mostly it’s open till about midnight. The food can be hit and miss, but the chilli con carne is usually ‘hit’.
Keeping the Day Job Anthony Haywood
Although quite a few pubs in Germany put on ‘open stage’ events, the ones in Göttingen at Nörgelbuff ( 384 8262; www.noergelbuff.de, in German; Groner Strasse 23; from 9pm or 9.30pm) can be a lot of fun.
Nörgelbuff mostly stages live music acts, especially local ones, but it’s three of the regular spots that I enjoy the most. One of these is the Querbeat (Offbeat), held every second Monday of the month, which is a jam session for bands. Another, the Gong Show, is what it sounds like – open slather for young and old with the prospect of being ‘gonged’ humiliatingly off stage. Some weird and creative things happen during this round. The folks at Nörgelbuff were rethinking the show in 2009, so check the program or website to see if one’s currently happening.
The Open Stage Unplugged events are my personal favourite. On a good night the cellar is packed with students, day-jobbers, hangers-out and discerning punters and drinkers. We’ve even seen the barman here get up to play guitar backing to Robbie Williams’ ‘Let Me Entertain You’. Some people arrive as audience and leave as ‘artists’. If you want to run through a few covers or try out some of your own material, you’ll find an acoustic guitar, usually a keyboard – sometimes even an old Fender Rhodes electric piano – and a mike at the ready. Sessions rarely end before 2am. Time your visit for the fourth or fifth (if there’s one) Monday of the month.
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Entertainment
German-language Pony is your best bet for information about individual gigs and club nights.
Savoy ( 789 6790; www.club-savoy.de; Berliner Strasse 5; entry €3-6; 10pm-5am Wed, Sat & Sun; ) Dress up, for only sleek and trendy beings are waved through easily at Göttingen’s leading and most glamorous club. Playing mainstream and house music, it’s spread over a couple of levels, with a chilled-out lounge below the main floor (with bar and go-go podium).
EinsB (www.einsb.de; Nikolaistrasse 1b; from 11pm Fri & Sat; ) Friday nights concentrate on new-wave guitar music, Britpop etc, while on Saturday things take a turn for the electronic in this laid-back, younger club above a pipe-smoking Turkish lounge.
Blue Note ( 469 07; www.club-bn.de; Wilhelmsplatz 3; entry €3.50-10; from 9pm Wed-Sun; ) Right next to the university Mensa (canteen), the Blue Note has regular live bands and theme dance nights, including salsa, urban club, tropical and even Persian.
Junges Theater ( 495 015; www.junges-theater.de; Hospitalstrasse 6; entry €13) Göttingen’s Junges Theater has been on the scene since the late 1950s and enjoys a high reputation throughout Germany; this was where Switzerland’s most famous contemporary actor, Bruno Gans, began his career.
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Getting There & Away
There are frequent direct ICE services north to Hanover (€32, 35 minutes) and Hamburg (€61, two hours) or south to Frankfurt (€58, 1¾ hours) and Munich (€100, 3¾ hours). ICE services also go to Berlin-Hauptbahnhof (€72, 2¼ hours). Direct regional services go to Kassel (€13.30, one hour) and Weimar (€26.10, two hours), but you’ll have to change trains to get to Goslar (€15.20, 1¼ hours).
Göttingen is on the A7 running north–south. The closest entrance is 3km southwest along Kasseler Landstrasse, an extension of Groner Landstrasse. The Fairy-Tale Road (B27) runs southwest to the Weser River and northeast to the Harz Mountains.