BADEN-BADEN

As has been our custom throughout this trip [apart from 1 drizzly day in Moscow and two drizzly days in Warsaw] we arrived in Baden-Baden in cloudy but still dry conditions. It had rained the night before in Zurich and off and on during the trip but not at either end when we were trying to catch trams and buses. How lucky have we been – but still not over!

Baden-Baden is a quiet little town built up between the valleys of the Black Forest hills – somewhat similar to home in that respect. The trees are turning gold and yellow; their leaves are beginning to fall and there is an autumn chill in the air. Not cold yet, but the turn of temperatures has arrived. Having scoped out our planned route from Baden-Baden Hauptbahnhof to the Batscahri Suite in Mozartstrasse [which in a former life was a cigarette manufacturing factory] we were given some help by a young woman at the bus stop [at hbf] informing us of the cost and that the driver would issue tickets. This meant we didn’t have to stand in queue at the ticket dispenser. It was quite an acrobatic ride into town jiggling suitcases and small backpacks as people got on and off the bus along the route. It really was quite crowded. But we did it  - and did it easily. It just goes to show that the more effort you exert beforehand, the easier the connections tasks become.

There was the potential for a bit more rain the afternoon we arrived and after we finally found the Tourism Information Office at the Old Pumphouse, we were able to formulate some plans for the next few days. The lady at the office recommended we go to Merkur, a high point reached by bus and funicular, right away – it was fine at the time and as she said you just don’t know what tomorrow will be like. We chose not to go – we’d take our chances the text day. And just as well we did: (a) dark clouds gathered and rain followed- but we were having dinner at the time and (b) the next day was brilliantly fine and warm  - with a bite in the wind. But from the height of around 842m asl in the Black Forest we looked down on some stereotypical views of southern Germany/Switzerland. We thought we might have to stay up the mountain when the ticket validating machine wouldn’t work for us on the way down but we snuck through the pram entry. That worked well and down we went in the funicular – just the two of us. We arrived at the bottom at the same time as the bus arrived from town and we just walked on – no payment and no inspector [who knows whether or not we were supposed to have paid – but the day only cost  €4 each. A trip well worth it.

Coming back down the mountain into the city we treated ourselves to ‘ a large cup of coffee and a piece of Black Forest Gateau – the genuine kind of cream, a little cake and a mountain of sweetness. Yum! After all, that’s what you do in the Black Forest.

The afternoon was spent [well 2 ½ hours anyway] soaking in the thermal pools at Caracalla Therme – the hot pools/spa baths  and treatments where you actually keep your clothes on. Not for us the Friedrichsbad Spa which is a nude zone. This was an afternoon of entertainment as we explored the different pools and their massage jets pummelling various parts of the body. It was a good way to have the legs massaged without having to go to someone to have it done. Having figured out the system of changing/showering etc [explained very clearly anyway at the entrance counter] we tried all sorts of indoor and outdoor [it was still a brilliantly warm and sunny afternoon so the outside option was good] pools. Even a sauna that breathed herbal steams into the sauna to help with expectorant discharge. Dinner that night was a lovely Thai meal in a cosy, quiet little restaurant – just the thing [along with the beer of course!] to end the day.