The Black Forest

As the final leg of our adventure, we decided that a little relaxation was in order.
So, we drove north, through the fairy tale land of Germany’s Black Forest. This forest is known for Cuckoo clocks, ham, grandfather clocks and is the setting for many of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales.
As we drove (and got out to hike around a couple times), we thought for sure we would see Hansel and Gretel crossing the road. Perhaps Rumpelstiltskin would be sitting next to the large tree, just over there… but alas, it was not to be. We didn’t meet any of those characters, merely an enchanted forest.


We also stopped by this small lake called Mummelsee. Legend has it that there is an evil sea king who lives in this deep lake. However, it’s only 17 meters (55 feet) deep and we didn’t see anything remotely evil, except perhaps the large parking lot that holds buses containing streams of tourists during the high season.

Although Mürren was very low-key, there are few places to relax better than a stay in the German city of Baden-Baden. As I type this, I am in a large square, using ubiquitous wi-fi to access the site. There are people all over, cafes serving coffee and food and a fountain of mineral water bubbling over rocks. It’s that mineral water that we came to enjoy. This city has been known as a bath town since Roman times. There are naturally heated springs flowing underground and two large spas have tapped into them.
Purportedly, former President Clinton said “Baden-Baden is so nice,
that you have to name it twice” after he and Hillary visited. And, while we wouldn’t rely on water to cure any ailments, Mark Twain was so enamored after his time here, he said, “I firmly believe I left my rheumatism in Baden Baden. The town is welcome to it. I would have preferred to leave something catching, but it was not in my power.”
We began our visit here with a stroll along the Lichtentaler Allee and popped into this rose garden. While it’s a little early still for the roses, it’s still pretty.


Farther down the Lichtentaler Allee, we found more flowers…

And some aquatic friends.



Now, back to the baths. Although I don’t have any images to share with you all, we did go to both of the major baths, the Friedrichsbad Roman-Irish Bath and the Caracalla Therme Baths. Both are supplied by naturally heated underground mineral water. They were very different, but both were relaxing. Our favorite was the Friedrichsbad Roman bath, which takes bathers on a sixteen stage journey of cleanliness and relaxation in an elegantly decorated building:
1. warm water shower
2. warm air bath 54 C (129 F) (also known as a sauna)
3. hot air bath 68 C (154 F)
4. shower again
5. soap and brush massage (if you pay the extra charge, which we did)
6. shower … again
7. thermal steam bath 45C (113 F)
8. thermal steam bath 48C (118 F)
9. thermal full bath 36C (97 F)
10. thermal whirl pool bath
11. thermal kino-therapeutic bath (read: lots o’ bubbles)
12. shower one last time
13. cold water immersion bath 18 C (64 F) and let me tell you, this one was cold, but surprisingly very refreshing!
14 dry off with a warm towel, which feels divine after the cold water
15 application of moisturizing cream (to reverse the raisin process)
16. rest area, where for 30 minutes you are bundled up cocoon-like in blankets (and most people doze off for a while).
After that experience, we wandered the town center on a cloud. It was a great bathing experience. This morning, we also sampled the mineral waters in Caracalla. It was more of a recreational facility with a number of baths. However, there was no focus on the relaxation. The best part for us was the variety of indoor and outdoor pools. It even had a high speed lazy river, that was like floating on a giant bottle of mineral water.
So, after our relaxing stay in the Black Forest, we returned home. Unfortunately, this will have to be our last trip together for a while. I am headed out to Iraq next week for about 6 months. I don’t know if I will continue to post, but either Anna will post her continued travels, or if nothing else, this winter, we will have more joint trips to share with you all.
So, until then…
–Jim