Wiesbaden, Germany
Wiesbaden is the capital city of the German state (Land, in German) of Hessen, often rendered as Hesse in English. It is not far west from Frankfurt-am-Main, and it lies at the confluence of the Main River and the Rhine River, and is essentially directly across this confluence from the city of Mainz, which interestingly is the capital of the German state of Rheinland-Pfalz;* so, you have two state capitals right across from one another.** Mainz was absolutely devastated by Allied bombing during World War Two, but Wiesbaden was spared, and while I don’t know the actual truth, I’ve heard it said in Germany that NO bombs ever fell on Wiesbaden during the war. Assuming that to be correct, the city is very quaint, and it undoubtedly was spared damage as it was not a key military or industrial city, but rather it has long been a place for people to go for rest and invigoration (a spa city). The second half of the city’s name “baden,” means “baths,” and it is indeed related to the English word (see Word History below). These baths were even mentioned in Roman writings from the time when the Romans occupied this area. The baths are naturally heated springs and have a high salt content, and all sorts of medicinal claims have been made about them.
The difference between nearby bustling Frankfurt and Wiesbaden is striking, and it is basically quiet and pleasant, and since there was no damage from the war, all of the old buildings are original. I’ve been to Wiesbaden numerous times over the years, and I always loved awakening in the early morning and looking out the window to see the sun rise over the church tops. I suppose because of the nearby rivers, there was always a bit of haze in the early morning hours hovering over the city.
My favorite place in Wiesbaden was the “Sir Winston Churchill” Restaurant (hereafter as SWC)*** Yes, that’s the name. Whether the place still is in business, I don’t know, but they had good food, and there always seemed to be a good crowd there. It is very common in Germany to permit dogs to enter business establishments, including restaurants, and this was definitely true of the “SWC.” (Hey…they let me in, didn’t they? The only part I hated was using the fire hydrant outside. Darn!) I’ve heard it said that with Germans and Englishmen, if you are walking your dog in the middle of the street and a car comes buzzing along, YOU’D better be careful, because neither a German nor an Englishman will hit the dog!
Germans can be very polite (I’m not saying EVERYONE), and one time at the SWC, this couple was seated right across the narrow aisle from me. I take it they were married, as they were having a bit of an argument and I tried ever so hard to avoid looking over at them. The “debate” went on for quite some time, and after only barely touching their food, they abruptly left, with a comment to me about how sorry they were. When I finished my dinner and asked for the check, I found that they had paid for my entire dinner! Whenever I went back, I always looked for those two again, but…NO LUCK!
Until the end of the Cold War, and the subsequent withdrawal of many American troops, Wiesbaden had a large American military presence, and we still have a major military hospital there, where many casualties from Iraq and Afghanistan are sent, or at least that is my understanding.
* Usually rendered as “Rhineland-Palatinate” in English.
** Many an American can trace their roots to one or both of these German states. It should be noted, however, that the boundaries of these states have changed many times over the centuries, and in fact, Mainz was once part of Hessen.
*** Just as English, German uses the French word “restaurant,” but it is pronounced in the French manner in German.
WORD HISTORY:
Bath-This word seems to go back to the Indo European root "bhe," which had the notion of "heat," not water, in those times, and indeed, we still say "steam bath," which continues the notion of "heat," rather than water. This gave Old Germanic "batham," which in time gave Old English "baeth," and by that time, the various Germanic dialects had essentially given the term the meaning of "immersing in (heated) water," and further the meaning extended to "water used for such purposes." Modern German has "bad" (and in German it is not pronounced like our word "bad," but rather as "baht," which is similar to our "bought." "Baden" is the plural form in German), and other Germanic languages like Norwegian, Dutch, Danish and Swedish all have "bad."
The difference between nearby bustling Frankfurt and Wiesbaden is striking, and it is basically quiet and pleasant, and since there was no damage from the war, all of the old buildings are original. I’ve been to Wiesbaden numerous times over the years, and I always loved awakening in the early morning and looking out the window to see the sun rise over the church tops. I suppose because of the nearby rivers, there was always a bit of haze in the early morning hours hovering over the city.
My favorite place in Wiesbaden was the “Sir Winston Churchill” Restaurant (hereafter as SWC)*** Yes, that’s the name. Whether the place still is in business, I don’t know, but they had good food, and there always seemed to be a good crowd there. It is very common in Germany to permit dogs to enter business establishments, including restaurants, and this was definitely true of the “SWC.” (Hey…they let me in, didn’t they? The only part I hated was using the fire hydrant outside. Darn!) I’ve heard it said that with Germans and Englishmen, if you are walking your dog in the middle of the street and a car comes buzzing along, YOU’D better be careful, because neither a German nor an Englishman will hit the dog!
Germans can be very polite (I’m not saying EVERYONE), and one time at the SWC, this couple was seated right across the narrow aisle from me. I take it they were married, as they were having a bit of an argument and I tried ever so hard to avoid looking over at them. The “debate” went on for quite some time, and after only barely touching their food, they abruptly left, with a comment to me about how sorry they were. When I finished my dinner and asked for the check, I found that they had paid for my entire dinner! Whenever I went back, I always looked for those two again, but…NO LUCK!
Until the end of the Cold War, and the subsequent withdrawal of many American troops, Wiesbaden had a large American military presence, and we still have a major military hospital there, where many casualties from Iraq and Afghanistan are sent, or at least that is my understanding.
* Usually rendered as “Rhineland-Palatinate” in English.
** Many an American can trace their roots to one or both of these German states. It should be noted, however, that the boundaries of these states have changed many times over the centuries, and in fact, Mainz was once part of Hessen.
*** Just as English, German uses the French word “restaurant,” but it is pronounced in the French manner in German.
WORD HISTORY:
Bath-This word seems to go back to the Indo European root "bhe," which had the notion of "heat," not water, in those times, and indeed, we still say "steam bath," which continues the notion of "heat," rather than water. This gave Old Germanic "batham," which in time gave Old English "baeth," and by that time, the various Germanic dialects had essentially given the term the meaning of "immersing in (heated) water," and further the meaning extended to "water used for such purposes." Modern German has "bad" (and in German it is not pronounced like our word "bad," but rather as "baht," which is similar to our "bought." "Baden" is the plural form in German), and other Germanic languages like Norwegian, Dutch, Danish and Swedish all have "bad."
Labels: English, etymology, Germanic languages, Germany, Mainz, personal recollections, Sir Winston Churchill Restaurant, Wiesbaden
posted by Randy at 4:05 PM
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