A casino and a spa

That seems to be, in a sentence, what Wiesbaden has to offer the visitor: an splendid casino in the former spa house and some famous spa treatments in a building (not a former casino, I can assure you). The city has not so much art or an historical core centre. On the contrary, it's a city of big avenues, big parks and a very cosy atmosphere. But, in the end, the cosy atmosphere defeats all the rest and watching people and the houses there I think it must be a very nice place to live in.

Nevertheless, my Lonely Planet guide recommended a visit to the Russian Orthodox Church, up on a hill surrounding the city centre of Wiesbaden. The Church contains the tomb of the Russian wife of Duke of Nassau, who died in the XIXth century in the childbirth of a baby. The Duke then ordered a Russian Church to be built in Wiesbaden, with wide views of its territories and to be guarded by Russians (as it is today). Well, to get there, you can either walk uphill or take a funicular as I was told in the Tourist Office. However, they did not tell me in the Tourist Office that the funicular is closed during winter. I am sure it was my fault for not asking but... Anyhow, the church is remarkable as it seems completely out of place in Germany and it is backed up by a romantic story.

These days, the Western part of Germany is celebrating Carnival and although Wiesbaden's is not one of the most famous, I saw some of it. I watched this group of street musicians three times and I was even following them for a while! No, I am not an spy, it was only that they were moving towards the place I wanted to reach as well. In any case, their music was simple but at the same time it invited my feet to move. Here is a short video of it.


To finish this entry, I would like to propose a short game. Can you find me in this picture of the current casino (former spa complex) in Wiesbaden? The big building in the background is a theatre. I cannot promise any prize if you suceed, only the sweet smell of victory.

All-Star Weekend

Questo weekend a avuto luogo la partita All-Star nella NBA. Non so perchè, ma questa volta non ho avuto nessuna voglia di alzarmi presto alla mattina (o di non andare a letto) per guardarla nella TV, come facevo alcuni anni fa, negli dorati anni ottanta-novanta. Veramente non ho avuto nessun'interesse nella partita, anche se quest'anno, però, Spagna aveva tre giocatori nell'All-Star: Pau Gasol, Rudy Fernández (rookies e slam-dunk) e Marc Gasol (rookies). Credo che non sia una questione sul paese d'origine dei giocatori. Sento che le partite All-Star adesso sono solo un show, senza nessun senso di squadra tra i giocatori, che pensano più a loro stessi che agli altri e che non cercano la vittoria. Non riesco ad identificarme con nomi come Lebron James, Dwight Howard o Yao Ming. Preferisco Tom Chambers, Dale Ellis, Xavier MacDaniel o Isiah Thomas, sebbene non abbiano venduto tantissimi maglie come i primi e non abbiano tanti tatuaggi.

Ah, come mi mancano gli anni ottanta-novanta nella NBA...

Deutsche Bahn

Ich wohne in Deutschland seit Juni und ich habe sehr oft mit der Bahn gereist. Ich habe davon in meinem Blog viel geschrieben. Aber ich habe kein Wort über die Deutsche Bahn gesagt. Manche Leute hier in Deutschland sagt, dass die Deutsche Bahn nicht so gut ist, dass die Züge oft spät kommen, dass man sie nicht vertrauen sollte, und so weiter.
Das finde ich nicht fair. Ich habe mehr als dreissing Züge benutzt und sie haben sehr selten spät gewesen, und nie mehr als fünfzehn Minuten. Die Preise sind günstig und es ist sehr einfach, sicher und klar, ein Ticket in Internet zu kaufen. Die Plätze sind bequem und sauber. Es ist egal, wie viel ich es versuche, ich kann nicht über Deutsche Bahn beschweren.

Von Frankfurt ist es möglich, zu vielen anderen Städte in zwischen eine und zwei Stunden schnell und bequem zu reisen. Koblenz, Bonn, Köln, Mainz, Würzburg, Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, Heidelberg,... sind einfach erreichbar. Länger Reisen (München, Hamburg, Berlin) sind also möglich. Und eben kann man in Ausland (Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris) fahren. Der Netz der Deutsche Bahn ist nur kurz von perfekt zu werden.

Ahh, hätten wir in Spanien auch die Deutsche Bahn...

Something more than basketball

The only thing I knew about Bamberg before 2009 was that it has a remarkable basketball team: Brose Basket Bamberg (BBB in its funny acronym in English). But I was wrong because Bamberg has much more to offer. For example, it holds the tomb of the only pope buried north of the Alps in its cathedral, where also the famous (and simple) "Bamberger Reiter" is hosted.

River Reignitz crosses the city as well as the Main-Donau-Kanal. The old town hall is in a bridge on the Reignitz. It was decided that way because the major did not want to favour any side of the river, and therefore, he followed, from a certain point of view, the doctrine of King Solomon. Certainly, the view of the town hall is really impressive.

Going uphill from the town hall, one reaches the cathedral, where, as I said before, we have the tomb of the only pope buried north to the Alps. Moreover, the cathedral has other remarkable jewels, like the beheaded statue of Saint Dennis being received in heaven by an smiling angel. I find this a bit cruel, it is not fair to smile to a beheaded person, even if you are granting him the Kingdom of Heaven.

Close to the cathedral, on the way uphill, we find the Michaelkloster, which is really impressive and which allows nice pictures to be taken from the Rosengarten, close to the cathedral. Neither my friend Timo nor me could understand the purpose of these wooden boxes in the picture below. The stupid in me says they are the toilets, but it is not such a good guessing, after all.The city centre of Bamberg survived the Second World War without much damages and therefore most of the houses really come from the Middle Age. In most of the restaurants there, one can taste the "Rauchbier" (something like "smoky beer"), the typical beer brewed in Bamberg. It is so famous that I even tasted it. It tastes something different as the normal beer and I think that is why I did not find it so disgusting. In fact, the restaurant where I had dinner is the one in the picture on the right.

So, to sum up, I strongly recommend a visit to Bamberg, an extremely cosy and comfortable city in the heart of Germany, not crowded with tourists. My Lonely Planet guide of Germany mentions it three times as a must-see and I must admit that it is the German city I have enjoyed the most, probably tied with Heidelberg.

In Franconia's heart

Last weekend I have been in Franconia, a region in Germany, whose capital is Nuremberg, the city about which I will write today. The first thing that comes to my mind when I hear this name are the dark years of nazismus, but it is not worth even spending one more second with it in this blog, Nuremberg has much more to offer to the visitor.

I did not expect that Nuremberg had so many historical buildings, but soon I learned that it is the only big city which still has the medieval city walls. Moreover, the castle (called Kaiserburg in German) is really remarkable. It gives the visitor a clear idea of why the city could never be conquered: it was simply too complicated to get into it. The roof of the main building in the castle (see picture below) is also somehow funny, with so many windows in the roof.Inside the castle, it is almost compulsory to visit the Deep Well (Tiefer Brunnen in German), which has drinking water 49 under us. When the tourist guide throws water through the hole, it takes 5 seconds to hear the noise of water falling, what gives us an idea of how deep the water is. It is really impressive (although it all lays on gravity's law, I know) and worth a visit. The tourist guide seemed to be very funny and friendly as well, but he only spoke German and I am afraid I did not understand that much.

Nurember is also famous for its Chritmasmarket, which takes place in the Hauptmarkt. There, it stands the Schöner Brunnen, a fountain with a nice history behind it; let's see if I can explain it properly. The master in charge of the iron fence got furious when he knew that his apprentice pretended to marry his daughter, so he challenged him to introduce a ring inside the finished iron structure. The apprentice was successful just applying heat to the iron, until it melted down. In the picture you can see this ring. It is said that if you turn it three times, your wish will come true. But, vorsicht!, there is a fake ring in the other side of the fountain (just in case, I tried both). Ah, yeah, I forgot to mention that finally the apprentice was fired by his master, he could not get the approval of him, even after his outstanding performance.

The city centre of Nuremberg is a really nice place to walk through, with nice buildings everywhere, such as the Dürerhaus, impressive churches, such as the Lorenzkirche, and beautiful streets. But I would strongly recommend a tour in the not-so-known Henkersteg, a covered wooden bridge, with nice houses around the river Regnitz. The atmosphere in this area is somehow different, I cannot explain it.

Last but not least, if you have enjoyed this virtual tour through Nuremberg, get ready for Bamberg, a city about which my Lonely Planet guide of Germany was totally crazy and which I approached with high expectations.