This week I was in Ochtrup – a town in the Münsterland, near the Dutch border.
The city fathers have just constructed a new “medieval” walled town in the centre of the village. Actually it’s one of those outlet-centres where eye-wateringly expensive brands are offered at merely wallet-flinching prices.
The entrance to the shopping-village is through a pseudo city-gate.
The city gate lacks only a portcullis and drawbridge.
Inside, despite the cute step gables and olde-worlde street lights, the place feels odd. The upper floor windows are all blanks. There is no sense of street-life or community. It’s all very Stepford-wives-ish.
Sterile cuteness…
And of course the impression is exacerbated by the fact that nearly all the shops are selling designer labels. What the place really lacked was a greengrocer, a cheese shop, fishmonger, butcher…
I think I’ll stick to our high-street and local market.
Planet Germany 