Blogs from Baden-Baden, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, Europe

It rained and it rained and it rained overnight. Like last year we left a hot summer in England just to end-up with rain. It did mean that it was quite cool first thing in the morning so it was good conditions to go for a run and see some more of Baden Baden. The parkland along the river was lovely and there were some great views around the town. I went back to some points with the camera later to get some photographs and then we set-off for what we expected to be a relatively short drive to Austria. First of all there is a tunnel in Baden Baden, which was closed and our satnav insisted in trying to take us through it so after a while going around in circles as there didn’t seem ... read more

We get up and have breakfast at the Zimmer where we stayed. Oma and Opa are ready and the flight looks great. We took them to the airport and dropped them off at Delta’s terminal. We told them that we’re going to Tubingen. This is a village southeast of Stuttgart about 30 Km away. It has a great historical Zentrum ‘Center of Town’. It has lots of half-timber houses, the Rat House ‘Town Hall’ and a great Cathedral. Inside the cathedral are beautifully decorated tombs. We told Oma that in about an hour we’d check the flight and if they didn’t get on we’d be back to pick them up. Everyone agreed and we were off. When we arrived in Tubingen Kirsten parked and we began walking toward the center. We came around the corner of ... read more

woke up this morning to the alarm around 845, but dozed off again to wake up around 930. was super tired after the marathon day yesterday and not getting to bed till around 130 - latest night of the trip by far! i also managed to smash my right thumb in the bathroom door and woke up around 3 with that throbbing so bad i had to take some advil before i could get back to sleep. today the bottom third of the nail is a nasty purple. hope it doesn't fall off! lol anyways got up and went for hotel breakfast, included of course. croissants, breads, ham, cheese, cereal (with warm milk ugh), coffee, tea, juice, yoghurt. the usuals and ate heartily. forgot to bring my bag down so no stealing for lunch hehe got ... read more

Panorama Trinkhalle I've visit Baden Baden to have a look around and it is where I am now learning German. Baden Baden is a tourist town built around the natural hot springs. The Romans had a lot to do with the set up but it seems that the Russians have moved in now to run things. For a tourist town, you would think that you would be met with smiles and helpful people. On the contrary. When you walk the beautifully kept streets and view the magnificent old architecture, you'll feel a coldness. And it has nothing to do with the weather. There are many people walking the streets wearing their fur hats and coats and stone cold expressions. Just today I watched a tourist couple asking people for directions on the map they were carrying. ... read more

Saturday the 11th of July 2009 Distance: 96km ! hours: 7! HAd a big Breackfast We Biked towards Bacharach where a monument wherre Bluchers army crossed for the battle of waterloo (I wouldnt know that if it wasnt for the teachings of Mr Brown) we had to massive Spagghetti icecreams at Bingen that were massive and delicous went to Inglehiem and biked up a massive hill Like kellands hill but way longer to go to the Aurope folk festival i a castle ruin. It was really expensive and there was no avaliable acmmadation anywhere. wrongly Dad dcided to go to Mainz to find some accomadation instead of staying in a little village. we went to the station but the information was closed we found where the Youth Hostel was but it was really far away uphill. ... read more

Monday July 7, 2009 Listening To *The Temper Trap-Sweet Disposition “Baden-Baden is so nice they had to name it twice" -Bill Clinton I’m a little worried I’m going to run out of unique and fun experiences in Europe if I keep up with my current schedule. Monday the continually hospitable LTC and I decided to adventure into the black forest for some bike riding and pampering. We rode to Baden Wildbad and road through the most well managed forest in the world. The Germans are utterly obsessed with order, and this extends even into their “natural settings.” The old growth is cut down, which in turn drives out much of the wildlife. They even appeared to have found a way to keep the birds out in most settings. Nevertheless, some amazing “natural’ views were had, and ... read more

i spent the last 2 days staying in Baden-Baden. a resort type town by the black forest region. i went to a thermal bath, which was very relaxing, though expensive. then i walked around the city and went to a "natural" type zoo on the outskirts, though did not see too many animals. then i went to see the baden-baden philharmonic orchestra, which was nice. Then i took a train to Stutgart, and went to the Mercedes Benz museum there. It had 8 floors of cars on display taking you through the centuries of MB. In the evening i went on to Floersheim, a little town between frankfurt and mainz, with a very local hostel. the owner just bought the place from the old owners (one of the german men drinking next to me) and is ... read more

Today we left France to visit the Black Forest of Western Germany. Germany was much more beautiful than France and the hotel and restaurant we toured was very nice. We received a tour of the hotel, which managed to blend the local atmosphere with a modern twist. The hotel had many of the same features the other hotels we had visited possessed, but it also had a kids play center and even provided cooking classes for its guests. The tour of the restaurant was interesting as it showed the back of the house of the #1 restaurant in Germany. The restaurant has on 12 tables, and a chef for each of those tables. The service I received in the restaurant was hard to compare to what I received in Switzerland and France. Comparably it blew most ... read more