#hofgarten

On 26 May 2025, I embarked on a month-long roundtrip through Central and Southern Germany that will take me to seven cities over 26 days.

Augsburg is the first stop on my seven-stop tour that I feel sorry to leave. The simple reason is the Hofgarten (its main entrance pictured above), a hidden oasis at the heart of a bustling city of 300,000 people.

Ever since I stumbled upon this place following my arrival in town on Monday, I have spent hours in this little green paradise.

This park is not overly complicated nor spectacular, but cleverly designed, and it serves pedestrians as a pit stop on our way to wherever we are headed.

Personally, though, I was not merely stopping by; I went directly to this place as my destination. With chairs and benches awaiting weary travelers, everyone can feel invited to stay a while - or stay for hours.

In fact, staying a bit longer is actively encouraged. There is even a free book shelf, like a self-service library, a concept that is very popular in Germany. Anyone can pick up a book from the public stash, provided they return it upon reading it for a while.

The visitors are quite varied across all walks of life: university students between classes, employees on their lunch breaks, elderly people looking for respite without having to travel far to see nature, plus couples and groups and tourists and parents with their children.

Children in particular enjoy the many colorful flowers, the mallard ducks at the water basin, the small fish in the water. Kids even use the fountain as their own little pool where they frolic to their heart's content.

The Hofgarten, first laid out in the 1740s and open to the general public since the 1960s, serves as proof that recreational city parks can be affordable thanks to responsible planning and manageable maintenance. (According to its Wikipedia entry, the upkeep for the grounds, fountain and flora is a moderate 50,000 Euros a year. The guests enter for free.)

I went there every day of this week: to study French, to read my book, to listen to music, to contemplate my own future, to observe life around me in all its beauty. Towards the end of my last day in Augsburg, I decided on the Hofgarten as my reason for returning to this city at some point in the future.