The Story

State elections always provide the chance to look at a part of Germany which is otherwise completely ignored by the world for five years.

This weekend it's the turn of Lower Saxony, an expansive, largely rural state in the northwest. It is the equivalent of a flyover state, (although in Germany ‘drive-through state’ is a more accurate term) characterized by featureless plains and small towns.

I’ll admit it, most of the times I’ve been to Lower Saxony I’ve only seen asphalt as I’ve passed through on the way to Hamburg or the Netherlands.

But I can confirm that state capital Hannover has a very attractive city centre and is also home to the world’s most dystopian piece of brutalist architecture - the Ihme Centre.

ihmezentrum_hannover

A post shared by Ihme Zentrum (@ihmezentrum_hannover)

On the rare occasions Lower Saxony does make it into the news, it is usually a story about animal cruelty at a giant pig farm, or a rural protest against wolves.

The people of the coastal region of Ostfriesland, meanwhile, are the butt of many a bad pub joke. (How many Os…