Dr. Gerold Holtkamp, July 3, 2023

The campaign"Offenes Gartentor Osnabrück und Umgebung" is an initiative that has been around for many years and whose members have set themselves the goal of presenting their diverse gardens. On selected dates throughout the year, they open their garden gates to give visitors a glimpse into their private green paradises. Such an "open garden gate" is also a good opportunity to present the most important factor for greenery and bloom – our sun!

On July 2, 2023, we opened our garden in Osnabrück at the Sonnenhügel from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. for all interested parties. Anyone who was interested could come and have a look. More than 70 visitors did not miss the chance to take a "look behind the scenes" of our single-family home.

Some knew it in advance, but many were surprised to find an astronomical telescope set up to observe the sun. Although there were many clouds in the sky, the numerous gaps allowed a view to our home star sufficiently often. Most of the visitors wanted to look through the telescope and were impressed by the sight of the sun with its many spots (we are close to the solar activity maximum).

In addition, visitors were able to look directly at the sun through special sunglasses and were surprised at how small it appears. The surprise was even greater when a solar model built at the correct distance and size appeared to be the same size as the sun and accordingly the earth was only a pinhead at its own location.

According to many visitors, their visit to both the garden and the sun was worth it. What more could you want.