Page 110 - Travel + Leisure India & South Asia (January 2020)

Wellness
& Spas

E X PL ORE

front of me, I start with their pineapple tart—the has dark chocolate with chilli—I am in
most famous Kunder confectionery. chocolate heaven. She recommends I try the
There is a series of steps in making the tart, orange praline, an orange juice and honey
starting with making its marzipan, creating white chocolate. As I devour it, I understand
the pineapple filling and nougat from scratch, why this praline was gifted to the visiting
and finally baking the tart to perfection. With Dutch royalty five years ago. The range of
chocolates shaped as bugs, and the ones called chocolates dedicated to the iconic sights of
Devil’s Pralines due to an alcohol-filled centre, the city beckon from another display shelf,
and then another called Venus Nipple that but by now, I am too full.
A short walk from Kunder gets me to
the Marktkirche, or Market Church. It is one
of the most prominent structures. Marktkirche
is a Protestant church whose construction
started in 1853. Built of red bricks, its main
tower is almost 98 metres high, making it
Wiesbaden’s tallest building. In front of the
church, is a monument called Der Schweiger,
which was built in honour of William I, Prince
of Orange. Next to the Church is New Town,
which dates back 135 years and was designed
by Georg von Hauberrisser.
At the market square, I pass by the world’s
The Hessisches
Staatstheater of biggest patented cuckoo clock, which chimes
the German state every half an hour from 8 am to 8 pm. With
Hesse produces an overall height of 5.25 metres, its dial is two
operas, plays,
ballets, musicals, metres. The clock has been carved by hand.
and concerts. It was mounted in 1946 by Emil Kronenberger,
a salesman who sold souvenirs. The shop where
From left: Café
Maldaner is it is mounted sells myriad wooden souvenirs.
Germany’s first Deciding to call it a day, I head back to
Viennese-style my hotel, Hotel Nassauer Hof. This luxurious
coffee house;
guests like five-star property is a member of The Leading
Kennedy and the Hotels of the World, and also of the Selection of
Dalai Lama have German Luxury Hotels. Kaiser Wilhelm II, Tsar
stayed at Hotel
Nassauer Hof.
CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP: HTHPHOTO/ALAMY; COURTESY OF HOTEL NASSAUER HOF; SHUTTERSTOCK

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