Last November I had a chance to look around the newly restored station building in Oberursel. At the time work was still going on inside the building itself. With the exception of the service store, only the outside had been completed.
That situation has now changed and yesterday I went back to see how the rooms inside have been transformed.
Lounge
The “Lounge” is in the area that most people will remember as being the ticket hall or the entrance to the subway that led to the platforms.
The Lounge in November 2011 and May 2012
The lounge concept is already successful in Frankfurt and Offenbach, and much of the inspiration for the style and the menu comes from the works of Ernest Hemingway.
There is seating for 160 people on two levels, a terrace at the back of the station where platform 1 used to be, and a beer garden at one end with space for a further 250 people.
Dance school
Above the lounge is the dance school Pritzer, with two rooms for lessons, a bar and seating area.
Dance School Pritzer - November 2011 and May 2012
Lessons at the dance school start for children as young as 3½ and the rooms are fitted out with modern sound and lighting systems. The 6 main speakers alone each have 700W.
The windows are the original ones from the time that the station was built, but have added isolation and soundproofing added, meaning that music as loud as 120dB is inaudible outside the building.
The chandelier dates from 1922, but has been fitted out with energy-saving LEDs, meaning that takes just 80W to light it, rather than the 1000W it would do otherwise.
Bi-lingual Kindergarten
Next to the dance school is a room that can be hired by companies, clubs, etc. and is also used by the bi-lingual Kindergarten which is located on the floor below.
The tower room can be rented and is also used by the Kindergarten
The kindergarten is part of the Oberursel Branch of Helen Doron Early English, where children as young as 18 months play in a bi-lingual atmosphere of German and English. English lessons are given in the afternoon to older children.
Delicatessen
Below the kindergarten and English learning centre – back on the ground floor – is Soylu – a store selling a mixture of fresh fruit and vegetables, but also home-made salads and antipasti. The family-run store have had a branch in another part of the town – Stierstadt – for 20 years.
Feinkostladen Soylu
In another part of the shop hot and cold drinks and snacks are served for the hungry traveller – or for locals looking for somewhere different to spend their lunch break.
Service Store
Finally, the end of the building hosts something that may Oberursel travellers had long hoped for – somewhere to buy railway tickets from a real person! Admittedly there was always somewhere to buy tickets for local trains and buses, but for long-distance destinations the Deutsche Bahn service was often provided by a machine.
The Service Store
Now the service store offers snacks, newspapers and magazines, and those long-distance tickets, even to the point of being able to advise travellers on how to get somewhere or which is the best ticket type to buy, although at peak times there may be a bit of a queue!
The service store is open Monday to Friday from 5am to 10pm, and at weekends and on bank holidays from 6am to 10pm, although on some days tickets are only sold between 7am and 7pm.
Admittedly the store has been open since the Hessentag last year, but this month saw a vital extension to their services that commuters had been missing: public toilets.
The new station building officially opens on this coming Saturday, 26th May, 2012 at 11am. A “Bahnhofsfest” will take place on Saturday and Sunday. For more photos see our Facebook album.
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