Never Left Home

In our hometown of Portland, Oregon, we have a local plumbing supply store icon, George Morlan, otherwise known as “The Water Heater King”. So, we were intrigued to discover an old town nestled in the countryside of Hesse called “Bad König” or Bath King. Wow! Who could this king of all things bath-related be? And, was he as famous as our own George Morlan? Or, maybe, was it that some other note-worthy king used to bathe here? We had to find out.

What we discovered was a cute little place, off the beaten path, that seems to be a destination of sorts for people wanting to soak and relax. The two biggest spas in town are the Frei Bad, more of a swimming pool than spa,and the Odenwald Therme, where folks can enjoy the sauna, get a massage and even swim to live music on some nights.

We love getting first impressions of a place—to somehow get a sense of what’s up. As for Bad König, the first thing one notices is the abundance of butcher shops.For all its industrialization, Germany’s rural regions remain fiercely attached to farm products produced locally. Just as wine lovers have favorite regional varietals, we’ve had German friends extol the virtues of steaks derived from beef raised in a certain town and sold by a certain butcher.

While strolling through town, we noticed two historical markers. The first, noted that in 1905, a nine-year old named Paul Hindemith performed a concert in town. We had never heard of Hindemith but later found that he was a famous German composer, violinist and conductor. 

The other marker explained how some members of Dutch royalty had visited the town in the late 1890’s. OK, at last here was some connection to the Bath King, or at least to kings who had bathed here. But since the town has been around since 820 AD and has been called “König” since the early middle ages, the Dutch royal connection seemed tenuous.

The place has an attractive Schloss however, built in the the 18th century.

And, we had a pleasant afternoon checking out the rest of Bad König.

Alas, we found no Bath King. For now, we’ll just have to be satisfied with George Morlan. 

Idstein is a pretty little town about 20 minutes by car from Wiesbaden.

It is charming and appears to be a very popular location for the construction of upscale condos, providing residents with an easy commute to Frankfurt. The new construction overlooks the old medieval town center and one would expect that the downtown core would be bustling.

But when Jay recently walked around Idstein’s old town he found it disconcertingly quiet and actually a little eerie. It was late morning on a weekday, a time that usually would mean local merchants actively catering to customers. He expected to see what he often sees in other towns, people shopping, chatting and going about their day. But, for all its charm, Idstein was strangely vacant.

Jay then noticed the primary landmark of Idstein, the Hexenturm, or Witches Tower. The tower was first built in 1170, and despite its name, it never housed any witches. But as he walked around the area surrounding the tower, he noticed a plaque. It was a memorial to the people who were burned at the stake for being witches in Idstein. 

Jay’s subsequent research revealed that between February 1676 and March 1677, between 38 to 43 witches (both men and women, but mostly women) were executed near where he stood. This was a period in German history when witch trials were in full swing and Idstein had a particularly strong supporter of witchcraft removal in their local noble, Count Johannes of Nassau. Since 1630, old Johannes had been ordering his protestant pastors to preach against the evils brought on by witchcraft and trials had been going on for over 40 years before things really got going in 1676. Fortunately for surviving witches, Johannes died in 1677 and the witch trials stopped.

Some people think Idstein is still haunted by the ghosts of the executed witches. While Jay doesn’t particularly subscribe to this theory, it might partially explain why the place was so quiet when he visited. His visit to Idstein  kindled his interest in the subject of witches and witchcraft, and more importantly, why otherwise rational human beings would believe their neighbors were witches and call for their execution.

But don’t let the stories of ghosts and witches stop you from visiting Idstein. Maybe just don’t go after dark.

Jay is a linguist at heart. He loves words, especially those not of his native English. He loves the funny ways he can pronounce them and give them meanings that are most likely only funny to him. Tanya says he’s a geek. She’s right, of course, and is entitled to label him as such, especially since she endured the three years Jay spent in the applied linguistics department at Portland State University getting his masters degree. And so it is that every time Jay hears the name of the city Würzburg, he can’t help but think of a mountain of sausages. Now, to be sure, there is no “Wurst Berg” anywhere to be found in this medieval city of 125,000 located midway between Frankfurt and Nürnberg. Actually, the town’s name was derived from the word, “Würze”, meanings herbs or spices, so etymologically the town is really “Herb Town”. But one can buy sausages here so, to Jay, it will always be “Sausage Mountain”.

Würzburg is really a pretty popular tourist destination, so we can’t put it in the “under the radar” category. It is a beautiful city, especially when one has to remember that over 90% of its buildings were destroyed or seriously damaged on March 16, 1945 during a 17-minute aerial bombardment carried out by 225 British bombers. Over the next 30 years, the town was meticulously restored, including the magnificent Würzburger Residenz, built for two prince-bishops between 1720 and 1744. The palace is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

There are also some beautiful churches, including the Würzburg Cathedral.

 

The tragedy of World War II aside, Würzburg has had a colorful history. In the 14th century, its citizens revolted against the prince-bishops several times and battles were fought here during the German Peasants’ Revolt of 1524-1525. Between 1626 and 1631, nearly 800 witches were burned during the Würzburg witch trials. In the early 1800’s, it became part of Bavaria, a couple of different times. Today, one of Würzburg’s big claims to fame is that it is the home of NBA basketball player, Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks.

The old bridge, spanning the Main River, is a smaller version of the Charles Bridge in Prague. It’s a popular place for folks to gather and share a glass of wine and conversation. While we were there, we watched as a river cruise ship carefully negotiated the locks as it sailed upriver.

So, without making a mountain out of a molehill, or a mountain out of sausages, our recommendation is to put Würzburg on your German holiday itinerary. What’s the Wurst that could happen?

 

In our ongoing quest to find worthwhile “under the radar destinations” or UNRADs, we recently uncovered a cute little gem of a town just 14 km south of Stuttgart. While little Esslingen was once a major trade center in the middle ages, it now is essentially just a pretty little Stuttgart suburb. A big difference though is that while Stuttgart was largely rebuilt after 1945, Esslingen suffered very little damage and its medieval city center has a charm that Stuttgart simply cannot match. It is every bit as charming as some of Germany’s more heavily touristed towns, such as Rothenburg ob der Tauber and not nearly as crowded. The town has several excellent restaurants serving regional and international cuisine. Another big plus for Esslingen is that it is very close to Mercedes Benz’ headquarters and the fabulous Mercedes Museum. The Porsche headquarters and museum is also a short drive away.

For us, the big draw however was Esslingen’s Jazz Keller, a terrific club venue for live jazz. This weekend we heard our friend, Anat Cohen, play with her quartet. 

Our recommendation is that if you’re going to Stuttgart as a tourist, and especially if you are there to visit the Mercedes or Porsche plants, stay in Esslingen and take the train wherever you want to go. You’ll find your visit much more rewarding and relaxing.

Fasching, Karneval, Fastnacht…different regions of Germany have different names for these annual days leading up to Lent. But the overall concept is the same…partying, costumes, drinking and parades.

Wiesbaden had its own parade last Sunday and while the crowds seem to be a bit smaller this year, there was no shortage of fun. Here is a photo sampling of the day.

 

A few weeks ago, I was walking down the street in beautiful downtown Görlitz, the easternmost city in Germany. I saw this vehicle parked along the curb and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Could it be? Was it real? Yes, to my wondering eyes I beheld that masterpiece of east German auto engineering…..the Trabant! Over 3 million of these little jewels were produced in East Germany over a period of nearly 30 years. And, this Trabbi sedan was in pretty good shape.

Disclaimer: This is not the actual car I saw, but very similar.

To be sure, the Trabant was a pretty basic car and it became the butt of lots of jokes during its lifetime. The final Trabbis produced delivered a whopping 26 horsepower and could go 0 to 60 in 21 seconds. They had a two-stroke, two-cylinder engine that belched smoky exhaust, primarily because oil had to be mixed with the gasoline to fuel the air-cooled engine. It had no fuel pump so the fuel was gravity-fed to the carburetor by placing the fuel tank above the motor in the engine compartment. Of course, this greatly increased the danger of the car exploding or at the least, catching fire in case of a front-end collision. The body itself was made of hard plastic made from recycled materials, including cotton waste from the Soviet Union. The Trabant was a family car, holding four people, and often East Germans would wait years before taking delivery of this little piece of….heaven.

As I was admiring this vehicle, a gentleman came up to me and proudly told me about the car. Even though this particular vehicle wasn’t his, you could tell he was very proud of the Trabant. He began to tell me all about them and told me that when a family took a long road trip in one of these cars they had to ship their luggage on ahead to their destination because there wasn’t any room in the car. I asked him if this particular car still ran. “Of course”, he said proudly, “It’s a Trabant!”

His obvious pride in a vehicle which wasn’t even his and frankly, was never a very good car, belied a certain longing for a past that he will never see again. We sometimes jokingly call this “Ostalgia”, that longing for a return to the DDR when things seemed so much simpler. I think the changes that have taken place in this region over the last 30 years, and those changes occurring now, explain how and why many people in the former East Germany oppose the massive influx of migrants arriving every day. Change is always difficult, but just think about the changes these folks, in places like Görlitz, have gone through. The DDR was certainly not a bed of roses, but it was their little country. And then in 1989, that all changed. No more East German flags, no more Young Pioneers, no more guaranteed jobs, no more Trabants, no more DDR. And now many east Germans sense that their culture is under threat by the hundreds of thousands of Muslim migrants who are flooding into their country. It makes it a little easier to understand why the anti-Muslim sentiment is higher in east German cities like Dresden and Leipzig than in the western part of Germany. Their home is changing again, and they can never go back.