Bad Kreuznach Favorites

4 more images

Favorite thing: Even if you won’t spend much time in Bad Kreuznach (like I did with only three hours in May 2009), you cannot help but notice the many fine old houses around the “Kur” (spa/health) section, which show how important Bad Kreuznach was already since a long time. I loved these villa like houses, some with beautiful carved wooden balconies (main photo) and then the old villa in photos 2-4 with the rich wisteria growing and forming a natural decoration for the balcony. The paint at the walls of this house is in need of restoring, and it might take some time until the owner do it, but imagine to live in the first floor (US: second) and have breakfast or an evening wine at this balcony with the aroma of this wisteria…. The house on my last photo was home to a famous local woman photographer, Nelli Schmithals. Her story is exciting but with a very tragic end. She was born 1880 and started to take photos very early, a pioneer in photography. She was the only one who documented the flood desatser in Bad Kreuznach early 20th century and her photos made her famous. She was even allowed to take photos during the French occupation of the city after WW I when it was forbidden for locals. An oficer saw her flood photos and commented that she is an artist, that’s why she got the allowance. She was creative and innovative and documented many events and also archaelogical work around the region. But at the end of WW II all her equipment was stolen and she didn’t have money to replace it. No one helped her and she did not take any photo since 1945. She died 1975. Can you imagine how life would be without the possibility of taking photos when this was once your life, your passion? I felt very moved when I learned about her story.

Favorite thing: Let’s make no secret of it. We both like a nice cold glass of beer. Being abroad is always a challenge to find a beer we like, which reflects our taste of having a beer. In Germany it was sometimes rather difficult. We found out that there are quite some local beers, only known in that particular area. But anyway, we did like the Kirner Pils.

The history of the Kirner family dates back to the 15th century. The first link to a brewery is made in the 17th century when they opened the doors in the little village of Kirn. The beer became rather popular and ever since 1798 it´s even available on a large scale. Just try it, it´s good!