Bad Kissingen, Germany

Jackie and I went to Bad Kissingen as part of an Army Chapel Retreat.  I was doing child care for them at the time, and retreats were an added perk - you worked longer but had transportation and  accommodations provided.  After the daily activities were done, we were free to walk around, explore the town, and pretty much do whatever.  

We drove there from Wiesbaden, and were very glad we did, as our hotel was on the top of a rather steep hill above the town, so in order to do any sight seeing, we had to drive down and park downtown.

The town was mainly a spa town, and I'll be honest, up until we went, I really hadn't heard much about it (though apparently it is a fairly popular place as far as Germans are concerned).  We didn't really know what to go do or see, so we picked up a map and walked around, seeing a few of the attractions.  We didn't really have too long to walk around, and comparatively, there wasn't quite as much to see in the town, but we enjoyed walking around and seeing the sites.  The town was pretty: very green, lots of flowers, and strangely, lots of palm trees.  It was pretty hot though, so we ended our adventure a little early and stopped for some nice ice cream.

To compliment my lack of information about the town (and my short stay), here's a little bit of the history (complements of Wikipedia):

The town itself was first documented in the year 801 as “chizzicha” and was renowned above all for its medicinal springs, which are recorded from as early as 823. Kissingen was first mentioned as a town in 1279, and the first official spa guest was recorded in 1520, the same century that the town established itself as a spa. Kissingen grew to be a chic resort in the 19th century, and was rebuilt as such during the reign of Ludwig I of Bavaria. Crowned heads of state such as Empress Elisabeth of Austria, Tsar Alexander II of Russia and King Ludwig II of Bavaria, who bestowed the 'Bad' on Kissingen in 1883, were among the guests to the spa at this time.

On 10 July 1866 in Mainfeldzug, Kissingen was the site of fierce battle between Bavarian and Prussian troops.

Imperial Chancellor Otto von Bismarck visited Kissingen's spas many times, and in 1874 narrowly avoided assassination by Eduard Franz Ludwig Kullmann there. Bismarck’s former home in Kissingen is now the Bismarck Museum. Other well-known visitors to the resort included author Leo Tolstoy and artist Adolph von Menzel.

The resort’s clientele changed in the 20th century, with more ordinary citizens visiting than noblemen and women. 1945 is the only year that the spa resort remained closed.  ...  In 2003, 1.5 million people stayed in the town.

At the eastern edge of the Bad Kissingen town center Manteuffel Kaserne (Manteuffel Barracks) was established by the German military as part of Hitler's program to expand the German "Wehrmacht" (Army) prior to World War II. In 1945, the American military entered the town peacefully, and took over the barracks which were renamed Daley Barracks in 1953.