I am in Frankfurt for the week to visit my friend Tamar and her partner Rafi. They live in the village of Bergen, which is in the northeast area of Frankfurt. One day, Tamar and I drove to the town of Bad Vilbel. Bad in German means mineral spring. We walked through the park by the river and stopped to eat cake and ice cream for lunch. It’s a very pretty, quaint village and the cake was wonderful. The gelato was also exceptionally creamy. I really enjoy looking at German architecture. Here are three pictures from the village.

Another day, Tamar and Rafi were invited to a birthday party that I was also able to attend. For her birthday, their friend hired a guide to take us through Bad Homberg Spa Park which was created in 1856. Each year the park selects artists to show sculptures. Some of the sculptures were pretty interesting. The park is also the site of the baths used by the Kaiser and a very old casino, built in 1841. The oldest golf course and tennis courts in Germany, built in 1886, are also located in this park. We got to taste the mineral springwater coming out of the ground, and it was incredibly salty. It was the weirdest taste. In 1907, King Rama V of Thailand visited Bad Homberg and gifted the city a temple-like building covered with gold leaf which was built in Bangkok reassembled in the park. Finally, at one end of the park is a Russian Orthodox church built in 1899. All told, a nice way to spend the afternoon and we ended with being treated to dinner at a local Indian restaurant. 

Usually when I’m in Frankfurt, Tamar and I visit the spa at Bad Vilbel. It is a large indoor and outdoor facility that has many different pools at different temperatures. The pools have jets and other kinds of features. The dressing rooms and showers are in really good condition. I really enjoy coming here.