Who goes to Wiesbaden these days? The time of Russian aristocrats taking medicine here and gambling is long gone. However, we are here. The proximate cause of this trip is the desire to see Grigory Sokolov, one of the world’s greatest pianists and a sort of cult figure. He rarely visits North America, probably never these days as he is 76 years old. The current edition includes Beethoven’s fourth piano sonata, Beethoven’s Op.126 Bagetelles, and Schubert’s last piano sonata. How can one say no? Sokolov was also a favorite of Tom Schelling, I might add, especially his recording of The Art of the Fugue, in my opinion one of the best recordings of all time.
Besides, I’ve long been a believer in random trips to Germany’s most overlooked villages. There remains a strong cultural unity in Germany, so you can see and experience amazing things in many different parts of the country.
I saw two tough Wiesbadens. On the other hand, if you walk in the cheap pedestrian zone in the evening, the city appears to be mostly Muslim. But if you walk in the morning, the city seems to be German. I might add that some young Muslim women show signs of similarity, at least based on how they dress and present themselves. Older women tend to stick to their heads.
Over the past two decades, inflation-adjusted real estate prices in Wiesbaden have risen by about forty percent, the performance is OK. Sometimes the city doesn’t “feel like Germany” anymore, but I think it still does. The proportion of new construction is roughly proportional to population growth, so I don’t think this price effect is a NIMBY effect. Rather it reflects the fact that Wiesbaden is still a great place to live. that said, in some important ways Germany in the traditional sense fails to produce them.
It was surprising to me to find out how difficult it is, in many parts of the city, to find normal, typical German food. At any price level. There is no current equivalent of Wienerwald or Nordsee to be seen, never mind the decent Wiener Schnitzel.
Much of Wiesbaden was destroyed and rebuilt, but fifteen or twenty of the best buildings show former wealth and splendor in good working order. You will see these gems walking around, though only occasionally. There is also an old Roman wall and a moving, recent Holocaust memorial.
Most German ice cream is not that good, so try L’Art Sucre for something French.
The Reinhard Ernst Museum is a new institution in the city, and it specializes in color abstract art. The plot is impressive, but the collection is weak except for a few Stellas. Why organize a museum on that foundation unless the core collection is very strong in that area? This one does not exist. I can forgive the absence of the expensive American Ellsworth Kelly, but no Blinky Palermo or Günther Förg?
However their toilets can prevent this kind of argument by Larry David:
(At the Ludwig Museum in Köln, by the way, you only get a disability discount if you have “fifty degrees of disability,” however they may measure that. A minor disability is not enough, you must be truly “schwerbehinderte”, as the state ruled, heaven forbid the museum relies on the honor system.)
The Museum Wiesbaden in contrast was an unexpected delight. Although primarily a natural history museum, they have the world’s best Art Nouveau collection and one of the best Jawlensky collections, and you can have it all. Very few people seem to go there.
As for the economy, here are some German facts of the time. Yet Germany continues, and tourism is still a source of joy and interest.
Sokolov, by the way, played six encores. Where should Germany travel next year?
