The mind is built up by what it reads, sees, hears. God reminds us through Hosea and Jeremiah:
‘I have written to you the great things of my law’ Hosea 8:12
‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things that you do not know about.’ Jeremiah 33:3
God is always the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow.
This post includes three aspects of keeping cool in Bad Kreuznach. First the river Nahe and surrounding trees, then the Salenental, which were new to me, and lastly the spa pools.
The temperatures have risen to 35ºC and higher in this area and it was important to keep cool.
We spent five nights parked next to the river Nahe. The Nahe flows through Rhineland – Palatinate and joins the Rhine in Bingen. It is 125 km/78 miles long.
The Nahe river flowing through the town with longleaf pond weed in abundance.
A reflection in the Nahe of a scene included in a painting by Turner.
The trees in the town and along the cycle paths make for pleasant walking and cycling. They vary in types although I did notice quite a few of what my app. identified as tree of heaven some say it should be tree of hell. They have a suckering habit and colonise disturbed areas quickly. They also suppress the competition with allelopatic chemicals. The chemical is produced by the tree particularly in the roots where it influences the germination, growth, survival and reproduction of other organisms.
Trees in this area are vital for shade and this Caucasian walnut /wingnut tree was one that kept Bugzy shaded for our time next to the river. They grow quickly and are planted as a shade tree.
Opposite to where we parked there was a line of trees, lime green in colour probably due to flowers or seeds. Their line could be followed across the hills embedded in the rich green of other trees.
This is what my app said was tree of heaven.
Then for a structure of such height and oddness that I couldn’t guess what it was. I will let you see first.
What could this be?
The twigs you see are tightly packed bundles of blackthorn branches. Brine is pumped to the top of the massive structures and allowed to slowly cascade down. As the water falls, the wind and sunlight cause natural evaporation. The impact on the water hitting the twigs breaks the brine into a fine aeroslized mist.
People walk, exercise, and sit near these structures as they are pleasantly cool. The Salinental add to the wellness spas in that they are said to fill the air with tiny, negatively charged , salty microdroplets rich in minerals like iodine, magnesium and calcium. When you breathe this air the aerosols travel deep into your respiratory tract. This loosens trapped mucus, reduces inflammation, and stimulated the lungs self – cleaning.
Here is a different way of making these fine droplets . It is pleasant to sit around waiting for the wind to send it in your direction.
Bad Kreuznach features Europes largest open – air inhalatorium using graduation works.
A fascinating experience. We did sneeze a few times but didn’t notice any other changes in our breathing.
The spa pools are a pleasure to be at with their large grassed areas shady trees and mostly two pools, one warmer the other cooler for length swimming. Picnics were the way to do lunch as food was not served at pool side, but other pools may differ.
Keep cool. We are travelling on.
Sandy 🙂