Trip to Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines 2023 - Part 1
Intro
Eventhough I started to focus more on the hobby in 2017, in those 6 years until now I did not attend any of the big international mineral shows. Actually, up until 2023 I only attended one mineral show outside of the Hungarian borders – that was in Pribram, Czech Republic in 2022. I wanted to go to Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines (SMAM) in 2022 but with the gasoline prices skyrocketing I decided that’s not the year for me to go. This year, though, all the stars aligned and resulted in more than what I initially hoped for…
Day 1 and 2 – Trip to Karlsruhe, Badenweiler and visiting the Wildfang collection
On the Monday, 19th June I hopped out of bed early, gave the first kisses to my wife and dog and quickly jumped into the car at around 04:30 AM. I started my almost 950km trip early from Budapest to make it past Vienna before the morning rush peaks. I managed. Adrenaline rushed through my veins thinking about what’s to come this week – going on trips, meeting friends (new and old ones), and getting to see loads and loads of amazing mineral specimens. What a dream for someone like me!
With just 2 stops and some slow pace traffic jam plodding I made it to Karlsruhe at 15:30 PM. In the afternoon I met one of my warm-hearted former colleagues and her family who were all so kind to invite me for the night to stay which I thankfully accepted. We went into the city centre of Karlsruhe where I learnt that Thomas Jefferson liked the alignment of the centre of Karlsruhe so much that he brought the idea back to Washington D.C. and they formed the streets around the capitoleum just like the Germans have done around the castle. It was interesting to learn! After a great dinner and some chatting in the evening with my great hosts I had a good night sleep and got up the next day refreshed and ready for what’s to come. And what came was indeed amazing!
Badenweiler and the Wildfang collection
On Tuesday morning I went to Müllheim to visit Fabian Wildfang who has a fan-tas-tic personal collection of worldwide minerals. My appointment was at 13:00 so I figured that there’s a nice castle ruin in the vicinity, why not to visit that first. Therefore I went to Badenweiler about which I knew nothing but it was a great choice because of… of course there were minerals!
I wandered around the inner town where beautiful gardens invited people for a relaxing walk. There were Mammoth pine trees for example to my surprise. The buildings looked old but are well-maintained and quite some tourists wandered around laughing and chatting with one another.
Without a definite aim I just walked around and as usual kept a sharp eye on every boulder because I discovered early on that some accomodates Baryte and Quartz on its surface. I wandered where those might have come from but after my visit of the ruins this question has been answered.. There is a little museum (free of charge) which was a surprise to me when I discovered it. It’s at the foot of a concert hall (?) right below the caste ruins. The museum entertains the visitors with very nice (and sometimes huge!) slices of fossilized wood from all around the world and what was more fascinating to me it also presented some examples from the nearby mining area. Some beautiful Calcites, cockscomb Barytes, green Pyromorphites lied in the nicely arranged showcases. And it was just the beginning! Soon after I left to meet a very friendly, funny and generous gentleman.
His name is Fabian Wildfang and he’s the person behind the Wildfang Collection. (You can find all the info you want at his website: The Wildfang Collection.) In his showcases there are not just amazing examples of the finest minerals from all around the world but they are very well-selected to amaze even those who are only attracted to the most aesthetic specimens. With the agreement of Fabian I show you a couple of those stupendous pieces of which I took photos but of course these will only give you an idea what they might look like – even the best photos can hardly compete with the joy of seeing these wonders of nature in person. (And my photos here are faaaar away even from „good”. But enjoy them nonetheless!)
Hematite reflects my camera - Hello there! :)
Fabian was very welcoming and attentive eventhough his schedule was tight. When he could join me we had a good talk about the collection, some of the specimens, we had a nice argument about repaired specimens and their acceptance. Not only were we talking about minerals but also about family life, innovation and various other topics which gave me the sensation of meeting a long time friend – he’s just this nice of a person.
Fabian and I in his collection room. What a fabulous place to be!
After departing from the „Wildfang Vault” I sat into the car which was left under the sun so I had to bear the 99°C inside – at least it felt like it. But as Jay Z did not let himself disturbed by his 99 problems so I followed his tracks and left to close in on Sainte-Marie-Aux-Mines on the other side of the river Rhine. What a journey I already had in 2 days and another joyful experience was just about to come!