This time we landed in the city of Kassel. We dropped by there in order to visit the thermes, meaning something like pools with underground thermal springs. I'm a wild provincial, and for me there were lots of interesting things there: saltwater pools, a couple with freshwater, a section with a strong current, little waterfalls and water eruptions on schedule, one tube for sliding down, several jacuzzis, infrared cabins, tanning beds, Japanese tanning beds (what's the difference?) and other harmful and healthy things. Half of the pools are outdoors, half are under a roof.
Funny enough, when we were there, a light rain was drizzling, and the sky was dark with clouds. But that's even more fun, let me tell you. And it was even more fun when Kristina and I crashed the second floor, and there were naked dudes running around! Kristina wasn't scared of the naked dudes, so first I dumped ice-cold water on myself from a special bucket, and then rinsed my little feet alternately in ice-cold and hot water. After that we were about to crash the sauna, but then a young guy looking like an instructor walked up and slowly, unhurriedly started explaining to the dumb foreigner that you can only go to the second floor with a towel around your waist, because this is a special department for the unshy. The young guy spoke for a long time and with relish, and I didn't interrupt or tell him OK, I listened carefully, thinking maybe I'd learn some new swear words. The young guy disappointed me, used no swear words, so we had to go downstairs and meditate in a special room. The room disappointed, because even though the muzak playing there was as laxative as it gets, the plants were plastic - an ugly exhaust of modern civilization. So we didn't meditate for long, we went to reach enlightenment via the opposite method: walking on cold grass and stones with a temperature of about 14 degrees.
By the way, I did manage to find photos of this attraction, but for them you'll have to go to the website of the thermes, which by the way are called Kurhessen Therme.
We stayed in Kassel at the Ramada hotel. The establishment is serious, at least compared to some of our habitats. Rooms with climate control, and upon check-out you can request a travel kit with soap, a toothbrush, and a swimming cap for free. Plus tram rides for free, so that tourists would leave more money in dens of iniquity.
Before our arrival, by the way, a massive and highly famous contemporary art exhibition had just ended in Kassel — Documenta. If Wikipedia isn't lying, it's one of the main global events of its kind.
The next day we went to Koblenz, and here I'll once again take advantage of the fact that I'm writing on the internet after all, and not in a paper article, and maliciously copy-paste a chunk of tourist text.
"The fortress at the confluence"The most remarkable thing about Koblenz, perhaps, is its location, from all points of view. First, Koblenz stands at the famous point of confluence of the Rhine and the Moselle, in fact, the city's name is derived from the Latin Castrum ad Confluentes — "fortress at the confluence." Second, up and down the Rhine from Koblenz, there is at least one ancient castle per kilometer. And third — which, actually, is connected to the first point — the wine in Koblenz and its surroundings is magnificent, there's both Rhine wine and Moselle wine here.
The fact of the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle in Koblenz is played up in various ways. The sharp angle formed at the confluence point is encased in a granite embankment, and you can take a picture there — Rhine to the left, Moselle to the right. Right here is a pier for little steamboats, on which you can sail from one river to the other. And in the summer the famous "Rhine in Flames" night routes depart from Koblenz: the castles along the Rhine are beautifully illuminated, fireworks are set off on the cliffs, live music plays on the ship — a fairytale spectacle!
This is William I. Woe is me, but I somehow didn't really remember that it was exactly him who first united the monstrously (as we will see later) fragmented German principalities and became emperor, and his prime minister was the rather well-known Otto von Bismarck.
It seems kind of silly to show the statue, because for such a cult figure for the Germans there are over a thousand monuments erected in the world. But there aren't many this big - you can estimate the scale by the umbrellas.
And here is the triangle itself where the statue is installed. The Latvian flag, strangely enough, is missing.
Also a triangle in its own way. Of the lazy.
Now, this girl on the left has such a brutal Latvian name that I didn't even memorize it out of fear. Something like "Madera" or "Madara". It's a sin to give girls names like that, honestly.
There is also a museum of contemporary art in Koblenz.
The electrons scattered.
Now, you might think this is Golden Poo, but I rather have associations with the monsters from the game Zeliard.
A wide shot.
I want a pocket imp on a chain.
God knows what it symbolizes, but also not bad.
