Fallen out of time - Eva Kamm's view of her Offenbach

The sixth tour of "I'll show you my city" - this time as a short cycle tour - began at the so-called "Jahn Oak" on Starkenburgring. This was planted by Offenbach gymnasts in 1911 in honor of Jahn, the father of gymnastics, and the state-owned English oak is now a natural monument. Eva Kamm looks at the tree from her balcony and it has always been part of her living environment in the city. "I've never lived more than 500 meters away, this is my neighbourhood." And with that, she leads the group to the neighboring store "Artefakt", where Anja Bamberger and Jürgen Blümel sell bags and bicycles, but also repair bikes.

"I associate friendship, culture and broad commitment with the store, as I've been friends with the couple for years." For the monthly store cinema in the darker months of the year - September to March - all the bikes are put aside to watch cinematic treats, usually with a connection to bicycles. Jürgen Blümel is also the initiator of "Wein, Rad & Gesang", a three-day bike racing event with wine stands and activities (July 28-30, 2017) on the Hessenring. The "OFFcourse" kiosk at Friedrichsweiher was also set up by these two committed individuals. In the micro-project under the motto "Socially Integrative City", interested people can repair their bikes themselves or learn how to do so under the guidance of young people.

They then took their bikes for a flying visit to the schoolyard of the Albert Schweitzer School. It was her daughter's school and Eva Kamm was a member of the parents' council. She has always been fascinated by the seclusion of the schoolyard.

The tour took me via Grünring to the east of Offenbach to the old cemetery. "This explains the title of the tour "Fallen out of time" a little, because in the silence I myself fall out of time a little, everything hectic falls away from me and the place also reminds me of times long past," explains Eva Kamm. She likes to come to this place to find peace and security. "It's also a wonderful place to trace the history of the city."

The group points out the grave of the so-called "Matchstick Karl", whose original-sized sculpture stands on Wilhelmsplatz. "At the time, Karl Winterkorn described himself as the smallest timber merchant in the world, a double entendre: he himself was only 1.30 meters tall and he sold matches."

A very unusual memorial stone commemorates the lock accident of 1909, when six schoolchildren lost their lives after other children opened the lock out of wantonness. Eva Kamm also has to keep looking for the so-called "Turkish grave", it is so inconspicuous. In 1920, a Turkish student at the Technical School, now the College of Design, died of pneumonia. It is still the only Muslim grave in the old cemetery.

The last stop on the tour took us to the former Oehler tar paint factory, later known as Farbwerke Hoechst, on Friedhofstrasse. Photographer Andreas Schmidt has been a tenant here with his Parkside Studios since 2008. But before that, he opened the doors to the old bathhouse, which has been unused since 1978 but is now a listed building.

"A very special place and really out of time," says Eva Kamm. The workers were able to scrub the paint off their skin in over 80 shower trays. Today, they are waiting for a new purpose, but until then, the current owner of the building only rarely allows visitors to view them. Andreas Schmidt's studio is located in the former boardroom: "Next door, there was a cafeteria for the lower-level administrative staff," he explains. The rooms impress with their height and design - with wooden folding doors and paneled walls from the 60s/70s.

Eva Kamm knows the rooms from concerts and private parties, as they can also be hired. Another gem is the telephone box with a foot switch that turns on the light when you enter. "It was the only telephone on the huge site that could also be used to make international calls," says Andreas Schmidt.

The group on the tour was delighted with the very special insights, as they only knew many things from driving past or, in some cases, not at all. "That's exactly the idea behind "I'll show you my city", to rediscover Offenbach and see it through someone else's eyes," says Sigrid Jacob from the volunteer center. Eva Kamm is in charge of the "KaffeeKranz" project here, otherwise the trained plasterer is a handywoman at the Krabbelstubb association.