Host Nation Update, March 23, 2023
Large-scale, nationwide transportation sector strike planned for Mar. 27
The city of Böblingen wants to buy the hospital site
SZBZ
22 March, 2023
Böblingen. The city of Böblingen enters promptly into negotiation talks with the district about the acquisition of the hospital area. This motion, introduced by the CDU faction in January, was unanimously approved by the municipal council at its meeting on Wednesday evening.
Just a year ago, a purchase of the approximately 98,000-square-meter site, which will become vacant after the Flugfeldklinikum becomes operational, was not up for discussion, with reference to the planning sovereignty it has for the site. However, it has become increasingly clear in recent months that the state is taking an increasing liking to the idea of using the hospital site as a new initial reception center for refugees. This, in turn, would mean that the city of Böblingen would have to forego valuable development space – there is otherwise no longer any in this size in the urban area.
The administration and the municipal council want to put a stop to this danger and enter into purchase negotiations now. “We are happy to take up the CDU’s proposal and have already dealt with it in the Council of Elders,” said Mayor Dr. Stefan Belz, who revealed that the talks with the district had already begun with the first mayor, Tobias Heizmann, as negotiator and that the working atmosphere had been “good” so far.
“We are pleased that our request was processed relatively promptly, because we feel that time is pressing,” said CDU faction chairman Dr. Thorsten Breitfeld. “We do have the moral right of first refusal through the county – that’s fine, but it’s not secure enough.” He received broad support from the other faction leaders Dorothea Bauer (Greens), Ingrid Stauss (Free Voters) and Dr. Detlef Gurgel (FDP), as well as from Dr. Willi-Reinhart Braumann (BfB).
The city will now officially enter into negotiations. The municipal council must discuss and decide separately on the actual acquisition of the land.
Food and ingredients: International supermarkets in the Böblingen district
SZBZ
22 March 2023
Click your way to the specialties from Italy, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Persia, Arabia, Russia, Poland, Thailand and more: It’s sure to get you in the vacation mood. We have compiled some of the international supermarkets from Sindelfingen, Böblingen, Magstadt and Schönaich for you to click on.
Böblingen district. A little exoticism in the middle of Swabia is good for you. Some people smell, taste and hear a nice piece of home when strolling through international supermarkets. Others are seized by wanderlust. Third simply appreciate the purely culinary journey that begins with shopping. The district of Böblingen has a lot to offer, as a stroll through Sindelfingen, Böblingen, Schönaich and Magstadt shows.
In this context, a visit to szbz.de/gastro could also be worthwhile: fish, meat, vegan or vegetarian, Swabian or international to exotic: the gastronomy scene in the Böblingen district is as diverse as it is creative and opens up for small and large pockets.
You can experience just how colorful the plate is in this dossier. Click through the news from the gastronomic scene. Which restaurant is opening, who is looking for a successor, who is reinventing themselves? Let yourself be inspired by the recipes from the Topfgucker, sometimes solid, sometimes delicate, sometimes simple and sometimes more elaborate – but always doable. Just listen to a podcast when an episode of “Willi und Dödel” is about food.
You have a choice, and it often starts with the question: What are we having today? Sometimes it’s too late to cook. But fortunately, our “Gastro im Kreis BB” dossier also provides an overview of the lunch tables in the area.
Enjoy your meal!
Beautiful monastery gardens in Baden-Württemberg
SZBZ
22 Wednesday, 20223
In monasteries, besides the kitchen gardens, healing was an important aspect for the creation of gardens. A visit to the monastery gardens of Gengenbach and Kirchberg.
The garden of the Franciscan nuns in the Gengenbach convent was probably created around 1905. Originally, the plant was a purely kitchen garden. In the 1990s, when the order became smaller, a wide variety of roses, chrysanthemums and thousands of gladiolus bulbs were planted in an area of around 100 square meters.
They served as ornaments in the motherhouse church, as well as in the cemetery or in bouquets in the rooms. Some vegetables are still planted and consumed today in small quantities. Herbs, especially peppermint, are also very popular and are used to prepare tea in the evening, says spokeswoman Heike Ritter-Schebesta.
Plant splendor on the Kirchberg in Sulz am Neckar
Two to three sisters were employed on an area of one hectare, and from the mid-1960s a professional gardener was added to assist with garden maintenance. “In summer, when the roses stand in full splendor and rich color trellis and hundreds of gladioli nestle against each other like cushions of blossoms, the garden shines like a painting in its entire color palette.”
Today, as in the past, the sisters use the garden for walks. At Christmas, the grounds are transformed into an Advent and Christmas walk. Day after day, numerous visitors enjoy the special atmosphere and the splendor of the plants on the Kirchberg in Sulz am Neckar. The former Dominican convent, founded in 1237, is idyllically situated on a wooded hill between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alb.
Monastery gardens invite you for a walk
Far away from the through traffic, the complex with its gables, roofs and the old defensive wall resembles a medieval town from afar. The spacious area invites for walks: Behind the convent building, visitors can explore the Gothic cloister arcades or the nuns’ cemetery with its wrought-iron burial crosses.
Nature lovers and those seeking peace and quiet will find a place to pause and breathe in the quiet garden, the labyrinth or the biotopes. In 1958, the Berneuchen communities took over the monastery – which is still owned by the state of Baden-Württemberg – and founded the conference and retreat house “Berneuchener Haus Kloster Kirchberg”.
