March 6, 2020

Castles & Spas Around Cologne, Germany - Adventure Year Week 38

With the announcement of a Ruthmann distant cousin celebrating a 95th Birthday in Hattingen, Germany, we decided to visit and make a fun trip of it by finding Schlosses and Spas to explore along the way.  Luckily, Germany has plenty of both, so after taking the high speed train from Paris to Cologne (Köln), we went out by car to see what we could find along the way.

Our first stop took us to the Grand Hotel Schloss Bensberg which Alex had visited a couple years prior with his father and brother for dinner.  As a bonus, this Castle ALSO has a spa with pools, saunas, and steam rooms inside that can be accessed with a day pass or as a hotel guest- so it's a 2 for 1 Castle + Spa spot.




Our next stop was Schlosshotel Hugenpoet, which may be one of the first castles I've seen with a full moat! They have a bar and restaurant as well so you can at least get a bite to eat even if you don't plan to stay the night.  It's also a two for one castle stop since it's directly across the street from Schloss Landberg which seems to only be accessible to the public as a park, as its privately owned, but still keeps open gates and a parking lot for the public during the day.







Schlossing around Germany (visiting castles) can be hit or miss depending on whether a building is public or private- but Schlosshotels usually guarantee at least the option to stop in and inquire about availability of spaces, if not stay for a drink or coffee to admire the interior. When we arrived here, it seemed odd that the parking lot was completely full of cars since we were out in the countryside- but it all made sense once we noticed a conference room and podium set up in a ballroom and a group of people moving together down the massive black marble stairway in the lobby. I was surprised to see that they decided to keep the moat full, only because I’ve seen so many castles with dry moats, which I can only assume is easier to maintain. So it’s lovely to see one that is still being used, especially for a property over 370 years old. What I find particularly adorable about this property is that the name Hugenpoet means Toad Pond, and if you look at the last image, you’ll see some hints of toads marked in the glass above the doors. 🐸
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On the other side of Cologne is one of the grand palaces of the 16th Century, Augustusburg and Falkenlust in Brühl are on the level of Versailles outside of Paris due to the extensive landscaped gardens and heavy French influence.  However, it still holds interesting and unique elements that aren't found many other places, especially considering how much time and handcraft went into making them.  If you decide to visit - definitely get the audio guide in your language at both locations- it's free and adds a lot of detail and information to the tour.
Schlossing along- we found two more German castles as historic museums near Cologne, in Brühl. It was SO HARD not to take photos inside, because the Baroque details and Rococo designs were incredible, but I respected the rules. Their website has some of the rooms and details- but yeah- definitely a stop to put on your list if you have extra time. The town of Brühl is adorable with historic shops and restaurants an easy walk away as well- so it’s a good day trip. It’s on the same level as Versailles, and has similar influences - however, the rococo plasterwork and how they interplay with the frescos here surpass a lot of the other private estates. It’s also not as common to see embossed leather and lacquered walls- and there are a few rooms in that technique here. It’s easy to make comparisons to other palaces because the styles are similar- however, it’s also important to notice what is unique- and a lot of that is in the plasterwork and personalization. Even though the guided tour is in German, having the audio guide in English for both Augustusburg and Falkenlust really helped, and I learned a few new things along the way. I also enjoyed strolling along the gardens- even in the winter- the attention to detail in landscaping and design have been beautifully maintained.
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Our final night in the Cologne area was spent relaxing at Neptunebad, which was one of the best spa experiences I've had in Germany....




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One of the best sauna, scrub, and pool experiences I’ve had in Germany- but you have to do it naked- are you in? A robe, towel, and flip flops still get used frequently when moving around between various pools and saunas- especially in the outdoor areas in the winter, or in the restaurant area where people sit to eat, but because you can rent them here, you don’t need to bring anything with you. One of the unique things about this spa experience are the scheduled aromatherapy infusion rituals in the saunas and the sugar or salt scrubs that are offered on rotation in the steam rooms. It helps move people around the space, regularly exploring and trying new aspects of the varied spa areas as well. Despite the scheduled rotations, the overall tone here is stillness. The waters are still- the saunas are still- the relaxation areas are still. It’s a place to leave the outside world behind and to simply be still for a while. For me, it’s heavenly.
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While not technically a castle, we also experienced the Castle-like views from the top of the Hotel in Wasserturm in Cologne.


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