I lived in Hildesheim from late 2003 to late 2008 – and after I left, it took me nearly 2 1/2 years to return: I drove back last week to attend the 3rd PROSANOVA festival (pics: here). It was nostalgic and quite the big trip/moment for me:

Hildesheim is a conservative, blue-collar, traditionally catholic city with LOTS of bad 1950ies postwar concrete architecture (go watch THIS horrifying video) – but it’s one of only two places in Germany where you can graduate in Creative Writing, and the university has a nice, liberal-arts-like, industrious buzz to it.

It’s not a great spot – but it attracts TONS of off-beat, energetic, passionate people.

And when I returned last week, for the first time in ages… I missed my old Hildesheim apartment: It was fun to live alone. I liked the neighborhood. I liked the layout.

It was also VERY badly insulated and I constantly froze in the winter.

Good times? Yes and no.