Bad Oeynhausen
| Bad Oeynhausen,Germany
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Contents |
Locations
Bad Oeynhausen is situated approximately 20km from the main camps in Herford. There are 35 SFA's which are home to all services and all ranks. The houses have been puma'd approximately 2005/2006. They have cellar and attic space as well as large spacious rooms.
Area Overview
Bad Oeynhausen is a spa town ('Bad' = 'bath') located on the banks of the Weser river, which runs along the eastern edges of the town. Bad Oeynhausen has the world's highest carbonated, thermal saltwater fountain, the Jordan Sprudel (or the Jordansprudel). On calm days the fountain gets up to 40 metres high. The water of the spring is believed to have many medicinal qualities, giving rise to a number of health spas.
There are two main parks in Bad Oeynhausen, the first is the deer park, it has a deer enclosure in the centre, a small childs play area and several walkways to take dogs. There is a stream running alongside it and it also serves as a good running track.
The next park just a short walk away is the Kurpark. The Kurpark is home to beautiful gardens, fountains, buildings and wooded areas. In here you will find the G.O.P which is a theatre dining experience. It has acts ranging from circus to comedy, all in sumptuous surroundings. On a Sunday they have an all day breakfast and brunch for 20 euros. So grab a newspaper and relax.There is a tourist information office located towards the town end of the park where you can find out about nearby places to visit such as Minden and Porta Westfalica
Children and Education
Transport and Travel
Pets
Medical and Dental
Shopping and Tourism
Shopping
There are two main shopping areas. Bad Oeynhausen town centre is a quaint little place centred on a monument of pigs! "In 1745 a farmer named Sültemeyer was wondering about the salty crust on his pig's backs after wallowing in the mud. After public awareness of this finding King Frederick II of Prussia ordered the construction of a saline, which was named "Royal Saline Neusalzwerk". Today's Sültemeyer-Fountain (colloquial: Pig-Fountain) — located in the city centre — is a reminder of the city's beginning." [wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Oeynhausen].
The shops here are mainly gift shops, there is a perfumery and a Mac Geis, odds and ends. For the most part you will find little bakeries, ice cream parlours and coffee shops. For those of you who do not want to bank at the Sparkasse (I would recommend not for several reasons I will outlay in a separate section) there is a Deutsche Bank in the centre of town. Open up an account here and you get your own personal banker who deals with your account. We have found them to be incredibly friendly, professional and helpful.
For food shopping you have several choices if you can't/ don't want to shop in the Naafi. There are the usual European Lidl and Aldi's, or you have Wez and E Centre, which are slightly more like UK supermarkets. However be warned that unlike the UK these close at 8pm, 4pm on a Saturday and do not open on a Sunday. My preference is Wez which is open until 10pm.
Werre Park is an indoor shopping Centre. It mainly has clothes and shoe shops, but there is a supermarket E Centre, florist, book shop (with an English section, albeit an expensive one) nik nak shops, a Saturn Electrical store, a sports shop and a Teddy's Toys. There are take away and sit in diners as well as the obligatory ice cream parlour.
For pets, you have two stores. The larger Fressnapf, is situated in the small shopping annex opposite Werre Park (which is also home to an Aldi, Wez plus bakery, Kik, and a brick - a - brack shop). There is also a smaller and slightly more expensive pet store inside Werre Park.
Banking
When you get to Herford station, you may be advised to open up a bank account at the Sparkasse in Herford which is only a short walk from Herford Hammersmith and Wentworth Barracks. This is great for those who live in Herford, however as the Sparkasse banks are franchised it means that to do any banking you have to go into Herford. If you want to do anything at the brance in Bad Oeynhausen most transactions (including paying speeding fines) cost you an additional 5 euro a time.
There is the option of opening an account with the Deutsche Bank [1]in either Herford or Bad Oeynhausen. Your account is with the bank not the branch and you can use any branch to access your account. The site is in English so you can do your online banking without a hitch. It makes life a lot easier. Plus we have had our own personal banker who speaks perfect English and has been extremely helpful. We have had an account, credit card and even an overdraft for a while, which helped us out incredibly in the first few months whilst we were here.
There are other banks however I cannot comment on the service at this time.
Sports and Leisure
There are two main parks in Bad Oeynhausen, the first is the deer park, it has an actual deer enclosure in the centre, a small child’s play area and several walkways to take dogs. There is a stream running alongside it, and it also serves as a good running track.
The next park just a short walk away is the Kurpark. The Kurpark is home to beautiful gardens, fountains, buildings and wooded areas. In here you will find the G.O.P which is a theatre dining experience. It has acts ranging from circus to comedy, all in sumptuous surroundings. On a Sunday they have an all day breakfast and brunch for 20 euro. So grab a newspaper and relax.
There is a tourist information office located towards the town end of the park where you can find out about nearby places to visit such as Minden and Porta Westfalica:
- Tourist Information, Kurpark
+49 (0) 57 31/13 00 staatsbad@badoeynhausen.de
It also has a three story nightclub called Adiamo. Adiamo has a strange mix of Europop, Dance R&B and hardcore rave music. All in different rooms obviously. With heavy drapes, chandeliers, a sushi bar and a coffee bar it certainly is a nightclubbing experience. When you go in they give you a card with which to pay for drinks. On the way out they tally up your bill. However you don't have to worry about taxis home as it's only a short walk away from the MQ's.
Restaurants
There are restaurants to cater to every palette in Bad Oeynhausen. A favourite of most is New Orleans in the centre of town [2], which has a great American theme menu (well as American as you can get with schnitzel on the menu) and some fabulous cocktails. For a mere 40 euro you can get a goldfish bowl of a cocktail with as many straws as you can fit in. There are the usual Burger King, McDonalds, and KFC. Inside the Werre Park shopping Centre there is a must visit little Indonesian eatery called Mr Phungs. The food is delicious and cooked right in front of you. The staff are incredibly friendly too. There are several authentic Turkish kebab houses in town, the main one being Kebap Land on Mindener Strasse. If you're thinking greasy cuts of mashed up meat then think again, the meat is actually really good, the other good one is De Olive which is around the corner from Bad Oeynhausen Sud train station. For you oriental cuisine eaters there is the Genghis Khan restaurant which has a Chinese buffet then a Mongolian style 'pick your own' raw meat, veg and sauce which they cook up for you. A set price of approximately 13 euro for all you can eat, there is another Chinese buffet in the centre of town and a China Imbiss take away. For Pizza I recommend either Mama Mias (05731 3010555), they speak English and deliver or Primavera do a three pizza for 20 euro deal (05731-82001). For the more upmarket restaurants there is the Hahnenkamp restaurant which is an a la carte menu. and the Italian Ristorante Carlo.
Leisure
There are two main gyms. One is Body Joy, which is situated by the large McDonalds on Mindener Strasse going up towards the 30 to Herford.
There is the Bali Therme spa and fitness centre. Bali Therme is on the pricey side at 80 euro per month per person. However it is a fantastic fitness centre with excellent staff, classes all day long and top of the range gym equipment. Then you have the six different swimming pools, whirlpool, iron pool, outdoor pools, Jacuzzi’s and the top of the range saunas and gardens.
The sauna experience in Germany is something that you definitely must experience. Leave your inhibitions at the door though as there is a strict nude policy (I have been told off for wearing a bikini). If you don't feel like showing all and sundry your bits and bobs though you can just wrap a towel round you, it's not as if you're not going to be sweltering enough. There are different sauna experiences from the Honig (honey) to the Salz (salt) and all of them worth a visit. To relax afterwards there are beds and waterbeds where you can sit and read or just drift off to the aromas of incense and the sounds of relaxing music.
If instead all that fitness and sweating has whet your appetite then there is a gorgeous restaurant. The food is delicious and not too expensive. I recommend the fish curry and red rice. All details and prices can be found on the Bale Therme website.
