A quirky kettle of fish

Why is a landlocked town obsessed with the fruits of the sea? And are those statues playing soccer in the park? We look for answers in K-Town

If you are travelling to Germany,you must consider visiting a smalltown of 100,000 residents, calledKaiserslautern. This town withthe lisp-inducing name snugglesclose to the Palatinate forests, thusmaking it an ideal base camp fortrekking or biking trips in the forest.

It is curious why it's not part ofthe top tourist destinations ofGermany, because it offers somethingfor everyone. There are museums,castles and gardens, themeparks and water parks, and enoughquirkiness for those looking for anoffbeat adventure.

Go to jail for one night
The unconventional choices beginwith where to stay. In the city centre,as you hunt for budget hotels,you will come across Hotel Alcatraz.Although the hotel isn't exactlycheap, it has enough thrills foradventure seekers. The hotel wasonce a German state prison, and ithas retained the iron grilled gates,the small windows from whichguards used to pass food to prisonersand even the beds that prisonersslept on. If you make a specialrequest, the hotel staff can arrangean 'authentic' jail experience: theywill talk you through the bars andeven pass food through the window!

If you would like to have a trulylofty experience in the Palatinateforests, you should browse throughthe eye-catching brochure of a companycalled K1, which offers an experiencein tree-climbing.

The trees in question are not ordinary.They are of such great heightsthat when you reach the mid-level,you can take a break at the restaurantperched between branches. Ifyou would rather be terrestrial, thenthe town is small enough to be coveredby foot. With map in hand, youcan tick off the top places to seewithin two hours. But it's easy todeviate from the map, as I found out.

Going nuts about fish
I was distracted by a pretty fish in ared polka dotted dress, hangingfrom the roof of a shop window. Iassumed that the shop was sellingfish tanks. But I soon realised thatthe fish theme was something of afavourite in Kaiserslautern.

From where I was standing, Icould count eight fish in differentcolours, designs and costumes.Fishes were perched on school terraces,on top of residences, a hospitaland even technical institutes. Ineeded to understand why thismarine creature was being glorifiedin a land-locked city.

I decided to go back to thetourism office to investigate. AsAlice would say, things only got curiouserand curiouser. The loneEnglish-speaking official happenedto have just stepped out for lunchand I didn't follow any German. Buta lady at the office had a book aboutthe fishes in English, and photocopiedthe first page for me to read.

The fantasy fish project
I learned that 'kaiser' means emperorin German. Centuries ago, therewas a river in the area, calledLauter. So Kaiserslautern means theEmperor's River. Legend has it thatKaiser Barbarossa loved seafood; hisfavourite was the pike. Apparently, apike was once caught with a goldenchain around its neck. This was thebiggest fish ever caught in thatregion. It was presented to theemperor and he decided to incorporateit in the city's emblem. To markthe 725th anniversary of that foundingday, the municipality launched a'Fishing for Fantasy' project. Twometre-long fish models made of concretewere handed out to people andinstitutions, and they were asked tocolour or decorate them. The projectmet with such an enthusiasticresponse that there are more than300 fish models in the town today.

Soccer-crazy
Then there were the soccer sculptures.The Germans' love for socceris legendary. But it has special signifancefor Kaiserslautern, which wasthe smallest town to host the FIFAWorld Cup in 2006. The Fritz WalterStadium in this tiny town canaccommodate more than 45,000fans. The soccer obsession spillsover on to the streets. Don't be surprisedif you come across many startlinglylife-like soccer sculptures.

And if all this wasn't enough foran utterly engaging afternoon, I alsofound out that Kaiserslautern hoststhe largest American military airbase outside the States. In fact,there are 50,000 American soldiersstationed in K-town, as they call it.

That explained why almost all theclothes shops were blaring music byBeyonce and Lady Gaga. Americanscontribute nearly $ 1 billion annuallyto Kaiserslautern's economy, butthey are a tough lot to please.

However, the sights and sounds ofK-Town were enough to please me.Harshita is a freelance travel writerwho lives in Germany

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