I blogged about spa towns before, last year, when we had spent a few days in Bad Pyrmont. There's a large number of them in Germany, Baden-Baden, Wiesbaden, Marienbad being famous examples. The word Bad means "Bath". Names ending in "...bronn", such as Heilbronn, also signify a source of water, (Brunnen is the modern German word for a spring).
I notice that many Germans order alcohol-free drinks these days, presumably because they want to be safe drivers. In Pforzheim last week we kept being served bottles of Teinacher mineral water. One has to pay for drinking water at German eateries, so it might as well be of good quality. Teinacher was a sponser of this year's wine festival, the Oechslefest.
On Monday afternoon, August 25th, I went to visit a lovely little spa town in the hills of the Black Forest, Bad Wildbad, ein Wellnessparadies, as it says in the current publicity. As soon as I stepped out of the S6 tram at the Kurpark stop I was in the gardens, a café with outdoor tables right beside me, and because it was lunchtime, I immediately sat down at one of them to order a Goulaschsuppe. Then I went for a blissful walk, enjoying the shade of the trees and restful sound of running water on this hot day. In 1699, Duke Eberhard Ludwig of Wurttemberg planted an avenue of hornbeams here; since then the park has spread on either side of the River Enz to include around 15 kilometers of trails. The main trails follow the bank of the upper Enz on either side, leading to a meadow in the forested hills, sometimes used as a landing strip for hanggliders. Flower beds enhance it:
The park, enjoyed by all generations, is beautifully decorated by features like an old water wheel and an Archimedean screw. The lucky children of Bad Wildbad have access to marvellous adventure playgrounds. Pictures of the plants, animals and birds to be discovered here are posted at regular intervals; there's a "Swan Lake" (duck pond, actually) and the inevitable Matschbad (mud bath) for feet. Rocky cliffs, running streams, lawns and forest form a most satisfying landscape.
Old man and his Dachshund, walking in the Kurpark
Rocks and flowers in the Kurpark
By the River Enz at Bad Wildbad
Englische Kirche in
Bad Wildbad Kurpark
Rathaus, Bad Wildbad
An interesting feature is the Englische Kirche, built in the style of a medieval country church for the benefit of British guests in the 19th century; sometimes they would stay here for many weeks, taking the cure. Anglican services were held here regularly until the start of the 1st World War. Around the church (and in front of the railway station too), giant trees have been grown from seeds sent from California.
Bad Wildbad itself features fountains, foot bridges and a pedestrianised shopping streets with colourful awnings: Wilhelmstraße. It has some posh hotels, and the façade of its Rathaus is covered with geraniums. The rocky Enz flows right through the centre of town.
*****
Fountain at Maulbronn
In the monastery complex, preserved as in the 16th century
A couple of days later, I took the bus to Maulbronn to visit the Kloster (12th century monastery) complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Within the walls the buildings are still as they would have appeared in the 16th century. In the monastery are fragments of catholic wall paintings that had been whitewashed over during the Reformation, and within the abbey's cloisters is a beautiful fountain.
Grapes, Maulbronn
I climbed some very steep steps to the path round the outer wall of the monastery complex, leading to the "deep lake" that used to supply the monastery with its water. Dozens of lizards were sunbathing up there. They scuttled away and hid under stones when they noticed me. The Tiefer See is being enjoyed these days as a Naturbad for outdoor swims. I just wished I'd brought my swimsuit with me. On the other side of the wall were extensive vineyards, with grapes almost ready to be harvested. The monks used to cultivate them, and the vines are still there.
When we were due to leave Ottawa, we decided to take the local bus to the airport (Route 97) instead of calling a taxi. Chris was amazed at how easy and cheap this was: $2.70 per senior(!) We did have to trundle our luggage to the bus stop, but since we don't carry much with us these days, and it wasn't raining, no problem. When we came back from our trip we did the same in reverse.
Trams in Karlsruhe: on the left, the S-11
I was greatly impressed, once more, by the ease of travelling around Germany without a car. What's more, my rides on the trains, trams and busses last week gave me a good view of the new places I was seeing, and a sense of adventure. I had to pay attention when buying the tickets and made a mistake or two, but no harm done. There were plenty of places where I could ask for help, and helpful maps. If I lived there, it wouldn't take long for me to get used to the system, and I'd also get used to going places by bike, as everyone else apparently does, old and young. The network of bike paths in the towns and cities is phenomenal.
To reach Pforzheim from Frankfurt airport, or Mainz from Pforzheim, any number of trains were available to us. From anywhere in Germany it seems there's a regular service to anywhere else, several times an hour. At the end of the week we took a Swiss (SBB) train direct from Karlsruhe to Mainz –– it was en route from Basel to Hamburg, a 6 hour journey. Karlsruhe is not a major transport hub, but a few minutes before our train pulled out, we saw people on the next platform boarding a Munich to Berlin express, with double decker Regionalzüge arriving at further platforms. The following day, the same wide ranging options at Mainz, where we caught a slow, stopping train back to Frankfurt airport, on our way to nearby Klesterbach for the night.
Platform at Mainz
One thing the Germans seem to do particularly well is to keep their stations central and at every railway station, there's a huge area set aside for bike parking.
Tram at Bad Wildbad, half train, half bus, beside the River Enz
It was particularly fun to go on the Strassenbahn: I could step into a regular "street car" from the city streets; as it trundled out of town, stopping every few hundred metres, it transformed its character to a country train; then, reaching its destination, it became another street vehicle again.
Last Tuesday (August 25th), after I'd spent the morning getting my bearings in Pforzheim, I decided to take the Enz valley tram to Bad Wildbad, upriver into the Black Forest. This ride followed the shallow, rocky river for most of the way, the scenery becoming more and more enticing. Where the hills became really steep, we went through tunnels. There's been a railway line here since 1868. Click on the link below, and you can share the journey with me ...
The spa town of Bad Wildbad is surrounded by steep slopes, with a funicular railway for tourists on one side of the town, that can take you to the top of the Sommerberg. An old coach is kept as a momento on the grass outside the railway station.
On the S-11 from Karlsruhe, having reached the countryside
More about Bad Wildbad later.
On Wednesday Chris and his colleagues were encouraging me to meet them for supper in Ittersbach, although I'd intended to visit Karlsruhe that day. No problem; I looked up the possibilities on the internet and realised I'd be able to do both, taking the S-11 train directly from the Karlsruhe Bahnhofplatz to Ittersbach Bahnhof, where I was met. It went through suburbs, villages, open fields, woods, apple orchards, round long curves and up and down some quite steep hills, "like a roller coaster" as one of my Facebook friends puts it: another exciting little 50 minute journey during which I sat in a seat behind the driver, able to take pictures of the track through his front window.
On Thursday, I rode on a bus, the 735 from Pforzheim to Maulbronn. Again, the journey took me through pretty countryside, close to vineyards as it approached its destination, an inexpensive and thoroughly enjoyable ride. I had the choice of a return at 3 minutes past each hour. Back in Pforzheim I hopped off the 735, waited a few minutes at the bus stop, then hopped onto the Number 1, a frequent service that takes its passengers right across town. I got off at the Stadtmuseum for some further education.
The park, enjoyed by all generations, is beautifully decorated by features like an old water wheel and an Archimedean screw. The lucky children of Bad Wildbad have access to marvellous adventure playgrounds. Pictures of the plants, animals and birds to be discovered here are posted at regular intervals; there's a "Swan Lake" (duck pond, actually) and the inevitable Matschbad (mud bath) for feet. Rocky cliffs, running streams, lawns and forest form a most satisfying landscape.
