Have you ever found yourselves wandering around a huge, damp cemetery for an obscene amount of time just to find Hilbert’s grave, which, for some godforsaken reason, wasn’t anywhere near the others? You think he’d been unpleasant and nobody wanted him close by?
Well, if you’re nerds and when planning your vacations you like to live experiences that are more unique than rare, and you’re drawn to unconventional things, I recommend you try the thrill of standing just a few feet of dirt away from the greatest minds who shaped modern physics over the last century. I mean, can we talk about this? After standing in front of Max Planck’s grave for at least half an hour, I passed my Quantum Mechanics exam thanks to the inspiration I absorbed by osmosis from that magical place.
I know you’re proud of me, Max Planko.
Anyway, moving on to the useful stuff… While I was wandering around that park, with the thin mist seeping into my bones and slowly freezing me to death, and my friend Vincenzo was complaining because his feet hurt, all I wanted was a goddamn map showing exactly where they’d buried those four bastards who are so famous in Physics Departments and so unknown to the rest of the population, who live happily unaware of what a wave function even is.
That’s why I’m here today to give you a recap of what was the experience of four physics students (Vincenzo included) on a road trip through Germany, where one of the most exciting stops was none other than Göttingen! Göttingen, where, many years ago, my idol Werner Heisenberg lived and taught… Do we realize I walked where he walked???? Okay, better not think about it too much or I’ll get emotional…
Anyway, what can I say… The town is beautiful, quiet. A charming little medieval spot with cute houses and a pretty decent church. But the absolute highlight was the Rewe where we bought salad for lunch. Guys… believe me. The best salad of your life, for 2.38 euros. After wandering through the gloomy cemetery, go get lunch at Rewe, trust me.
Back to the cemetery — below I’m leaving you a map with the locations of the points of interest. That’s where you’ll find the potential wells for physicists. A bunch of photos taken personally on my phone will follow. Let me know if you end up going, bye and take care.
🙂
