the refreshment hall. ( by wilhelm kreis, built in 1932 - plasterstone pattern by eberhard schlotter ( created in the 50ies )
after being up and running the day prior ( see our adventure in the volcanic eifel ) we decided to visit the health resort bad schwalbach the next day. from the 28th of april to the 7th of october 2018 there was a garden festival inside this city, centering around the spa gardens. we thought it might do us good to look at some cute gardening concepts and do some leisure wandering around.
bad schwalbach is only about 20 kilometers away from wiesbaden, so the drive there was short and easy. we parked our car outside of the city on a huge parking lot and were taken into the city with a shuttle bus in order to prevent the city from overcrowding with cars. a pretty easy and relaxing way of transportation in my opinion - it saves you nerves and time searching around for parking spaces while navigating unknown streets.
the city's first and foremost attraction is of course the spa center and the gardens around it. bad schwalbach has always been a town with spa history, from the early beginnings in roman history through the middle ages until today. so of course the spa center is the heart piece of the city and perfect for a happening like the landesgartenschau - a state garden show that showcases new ideas about gardening, presents new and old concepts of landscaping and incorporates iconic sites into this venture. state garden shows in germany are really good boosters for cities that are usually a little sleepy, it helps stimulate the local economy, highlights the importance of places that can easily be overseen and brings history to the forefront again, basically enlivening & invigorating the community.
i've been to a lot of garden shows in my life time, all over germany, and i like them a lot. you get to see places and sites in a new light ( if you visited the city before ), but they can also introduce you to cities and landscapes that you've never been to before, and didn't know a lot about until a happening like this finally highlights their history, their beauty, their existence. i've been to bad schwalbach quite a few times already, mostly stumbling around at the periphery of the city, though and never in spring, always in cold months. i was sorta surprised to find the city so beautiful and blooming and colourful.
the white facade of the parc eden hotel, which was opened in 1931 but went through a lot of changes in history, from being a military hospital in the second world war to serving as spa clinic in the 90ies. right now it seems they want to open it up again for its initial purpose, but i hear there were a lot of issues still that prevented the new owners finally beginning a new phase. i'm not sure if they were successful yet, there's not much to find on the internet, but it seems they started business. the hotel was a project of wilhelm kreis ( who also built the refreshing hall from earlier ) who ogled with the bauhaus style from time to time ( normally stuck to his conservative historism ). very striking: the symbolized fountain at the top of the building.
i really like the balcony side of the hotel. the facade is slightly concave, which you can't really see here, but was another thing i liked.
rhododendron overload next to the schweizerhaus - a little 1872 dwelling with typical swiss elements that were really popular in spa cities.
baby, teenage and adult fir cones.
a little flower i can't specify. really cute, though!
passing by the spa pond. that little pavilion with the onion roof is a new addition. the spa garden is surrounded by old prestigious villas and lend a very glamourous atmosphere to the whole area.
inside the spa gardens with view onto the 'reha-klinik am park' - a rehab clinic for orthopedic illnesses.
a closer look. the lower building is the original clinic from 1975, and i think the building in the back is more contemporary, i think from 2009.
i really like the way how all these houses peek out from the trees and are seemingly on different heights. the villa in the front is from the 1930ies and called 'little villa'.
some more festival views. you could hang around on beanbags under many trees and on several meadows, which is what i did from time to time and then watched the happenings around me ( especially when my parents were still engaged in looking at flower pots and everything garden related ).
we moved on towards the waldsee ( forest lake ), which is part of the extensive spa gardens. the little temple was built in 1910 and is called duke-adolf-tempel, but it's not clear which duke adolf was the eponym for it.
details of the temple.
the waldsee is truly a little treasure and always very tranquil.
my parents enjoying the birds singing happy spring songs and breathing the forest air.
a 33 meter long wooden bench, made out of a whole tree. it is said to be hessias longest bench.
bad schwalbach is known for its moor treatments, which is why they took two moor pits and turned them into accessible ones, with wooden pathways and red chairs for resting.
i really liked this idea and is probably really cool when everything is more overgrown - it was still really new.
this is a little locomotive that was used to transport the dry moor sediments to the local moor clinic which used it for their treatments.
the accessible moor from a higher vantage point. the little metal runways were access points for the moor pits.
framed by reeds.
we also discovered a little kneipp bare foot path ( the kneipp cure is a form of hydrotherapy developed by sebastian kneipp ) which also lead you through a tiny stream. the roots of the trees made it look like a little mangrove scenery. i loved to walk through the water and let my feet be tickled by the pebbles and roots inside.
proof i was actually really walking barefoot ;)
lovely scrap metal sculpture.
the splendor of pink blossoms.
we found our way back to the festival grounds and checked out some more garden inspirations. this lounge made of wood was super cool! my dad has a lot of wood in his garden, and since he now is a retiree i feel like i should nudge him into building something equal for our garden?
also loved this wooden tub-like pond.
cute buds, about to burst open. i think these are onion flowers.
another one :D
a watering can tree! such a cool idea, especially because you could use it as an outdoor shower.
i feel like one should definitely put up vintage windows as some kind of partition.
the little white pavilion by the spa garden pond.
upon closer look you can make out swallows in flight! they were used because bad schwalbach has the german word for swallow in its title: schwalbe.
i really adore these rhododendron bushes. such a colourful sight!
we slowly made our way back out of the festival grounds. passed by the eden parc hotel again where i snapped a close-up picture of one of the facades.
discovered another very interesting plant - a velvet-y black petunia.
on our way back to the shuttle bus we also passed by church st. elisabeth. this church's history is actually way older than the current church building which was erected in 1916 ( in the middle of world war I - which is an era where not many buildings were built actually ). the style is a mix of renaissance, romanesque & art nouveau elements.
this relief caught my eye. it kinda looks like a mid-century relict, but i'm not sure. it shows st. elisabeth of thuringia ( or how they also call her: elizabeth of hungary ) giving out alms to poor people.
saying goodbye to the garden show & the very glamourous spa hotel ( 1873 - 1878 by philipp hoffmann ).
when we returned to our car we discovered that we had a flat tire, which we then had to change first, before heading back to wiesbaden. this wasn't a very glorious end, but shows you that nice days exploring lovely little towns don't always go very smoothly. despite that little mishap the day spent in bad schwalbach was still very regenerative and showed me that this quaint town is indeed worth a visit in spring - when everything is blooming!
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