Wiesbaden, Spa Town and Capital of Hesse

Old house in Wiesbaden

 Blog 15

Wiesbaden, the capital of Hesse, is the last city I will write about for now.


Wiesbaden is on the opposite side of the Rhine from Mainz. It is not only the seat of the Hessian parliament but also a cultural centre with its Kurhaus, shops, trade fairs, historic downtown centre and museums. Strolling with a friend through the city a couple of years ago, I admired the many old buildings more than the boutiques they housed.

 

The famous Kurhaus contains many historic rooms for conventions, musical entertainment and the casino. Its beautiful park invites many people for a stroll.


Wiesbaden is the oldest European spa town, known for its hot springs. It also offers many excellent hospitals and health clinics. Unfortunately, during my last stay, I only saw this part due to my mother’s urgent operation.

Der Froschkönig - The Frog Prince, fur

When I still created and collected teddy bears, I was always excited when the yearly teddy bear show fell into one of my visits. One time, I even entered one of my bears in a competition to recreate a character of a fairytale. I didn’t win, but I was excited when I saw my bear in the magazine. Since I started needle felting, I haven't created any more bears, even though this was my main occupation and comfort during my early years in Canada.


Wiesbaden also has many villas and castles that reflect the long history of wealthy citizens. Schloss Freudenberg is one of the large villas that was transformed from a private residence to an educational facility focusing on letting visitors explore experiences of sensory perception.

 

You would assume that in a small country the size of Ontario, I would have visited all states and could keep writing about the many cultural highlights. While I lived in Nordrhein Westfalia, the Saarland, the Black Forest and Berlin as a child, I saw the places from a child’s view. Now that I don’t have to consider the needs of small kids anymore, I am eager to travel to more places in Germany, especially parts of the East. I will talk about some of the cities and regions I visited from time to time, but I don’t want to create a travel blog. I wrote about the five cities of the Rhine-Main-Area to show you the cultural richness that I appreciate so much more now than I did when I still lived in Germany. Is there a city or area of Germany that intrigues you?

Blog-free Week

Nature's Mirror, wool, 11” x 8.5”, CAN $400

Even though autumn officially started yesterday evening, today is the first full fall day. Once I have excepted that it is time to switch into long pants and shirts, I love the sunny days of early fall and can hardly get enough of the beautiful change of colours that nature offers us. Have a great fall!

I look forward to many more days of plein air painting with my friends. What is your favourite part of this season?

Darmstadt, City of Science

Pencil Sketch of the Wedding Tower

Blog 14


Darmstadt is in the southern part of the Rhine-Main-Area. It is the City of Science with many world-renowned scientific institutions, universities, and high-tech companies.

Even though Darmstadt is as close as Mainz from Nauheim, where I lived since I was seven years old until early adulthood, we never went to the city until I started the two-year programme at a language school to become a Foreign Language Correspondent. Suddenly, I went there every day. However, it was only after my move to Canada that I saw more than the school building and the shopping area of the city centre. I had no idea of the gems at the Mathildenhöhe, the artistic neighbourhood with many Art Deco buildings, exhibitions, and the richly decorated Russian Chapel. It became a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2021. If you want to learn more about the Mathildenhöhe, check out https://www.mathildenhoehe-darmstadt.de/en/mathildenhoehe/.


 

During my 2022 spring trip, I only saw the train station and the place in front of the building as one of my friends picked me up for our mini-class reunion. I stayed in touch with half of the 12 students in our language class. Even though most of my former classmates have returned to the Rhine-Main Area, I have been the one to organize the reunions. The group, including our beloved Spanish teacher, only meets when I come for a visit. Since the pandemic, our bond has become even stronger because we meet every Thursday for a virtual chat. We actually reached out to one of our classmates who moved to Switzerland, and she has joined our weekly get-togethers and also this year's reunion.


Community is crucial for me. I thrive around friends. Lack of connections was a big reason for suffering so much homesickness at the beginning of my time in Canada. Despite joining the local Newcomers Club, I struggled to build lasting friendships. Many new acquaintances left when their military spouses transferred to a new location.


One of my visions for my business is to have supportive and inspiring relationships among my group of students that extend outside of learning to build friendships. It is not surprising that many of my former clients have become friends.

Are you looking to be part of a creative community? I meet virtually every Friday from 3 PM to 5 PM with a group of women for Crafters Afternoon, and you are welcome to join us. If you are on Facebook, please send me a DM or contact me at info@KerstinPeters.ca.

 

What else do you want to attend? Maybe a German art session? I am not ready to have students in my studio during the fall and winter. However, we should still have a couple of weeks to meet outside for a chat or to create art together if you are in the Ottawa/Rockland area.

Blog-free Week

 

A Single Sunflower, wool, 9” x 12”, CAN $400

This summer, we have not a single sunflower in our garden. Luckily, there are some beautiful ones in our neighbourhood. Plus, I can enjoy their beauty in my artworks.

I finally went painting with my friends again this week. What a great time we had at Petrie Island! I only had a short time to paint, but it was so great to be outside on such a beautiful day. I will work on the image this weekend to finish the painting. It's best to do it while the memory is fresh.

Have a great weekend, and enjoy the outdoors if you can.

Mainz, Cathedral City and Carnival Stronghold

Pencil Sketches

Blog 13


Until I immigrated to Canada, I was lucky to live in a beautiful and central part of the Rhine-Main area that consists of some regions of Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Bavaria. I was born in Rüsselsheim, the city famous for Opel, the car factory, now General Motors. Rüsselsheim is at the river Main between Frankfurt and Mainz.


When I was seven years old, my family moved to the adjacent small town called Nauheim, where I lived most of my youth. In my early adulthood, I moved to Königstädten, a suburb of Rüsselsheim.

 

Whenever we needed new clothes, my mother drove us to the big department stores in Mainz, the capital of the Rhineland-Palatinate, less than 20 km away. Although you can shop well at the modern department stores and shops, Mainz has so much more to offer. The city has a beautiful historic town centre with many half-timbered houses and market squares. It is famous for its Mainz Cathedral, the Mainz Carnival, Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press, and the Mainzelmännchen, the happy cartoon characters that are the mascots of the German public service television broadcaster ZDF. In Mainz, you can even cross the streets at one of the many Mainzelmännchen traffic lights for pedestrians.

Fastnachtsbrunnen

During my spring visit, I was not fit enough to go sightseeing or shopping. Instead, my sister and I enjoyed a relaxed brunch at a café near the famous Fastnachtsbrunnen, a fountain with about 200 carnival characters, a reminder of the Fifth Season, the carnival season between November 11 at 11 AM and Ash Wednesday. The city celebrates this season with parades and many carnival sessions.

Instead, we observed the happy visitors passing the Schillerplatz. Watching the busy surroundings was a highlight and a challenging exercise in capturing some people around us. It was much easier to draw the Gardetrommler (Guard Drummer) on the other side of the road. At least he didn’t move.

Bassenheimer Hof

Around the place, you can admire the beautiful Osteiner and Bassenheimer Hof, magnificent palace buildings of the aristocracy. Nowadays, the Osteiner Hof is an apartment building.

Augustiner Kirche

Walking back to the train station, we passed the Staatstheater Mainz (Mainz State Theatre), where you can watch opera, drama and dance performances. After a quick view of the marketplace and the cathedral, we turned into the Augustinerstraße, a cobblestone road with many historic buildings that house boutiques and restaurants. The area is a pedestrian zone making it a wonderful place to stroll and sit outside to eat. The Augustinerkirche (Church of St. Augustin) is one of the elaborate examples of the ecclesiastical architecture of the past.



Luckily, there is a direct connection from Mainz to the small train station in Nauheim, which made it very convenient for us to use public transportation to make our outing even more enjoyable.



While writing this blog, I realized how much I could tell you about Nauheim, the small city where I grew up. I will tell you more about it in two weeks.