Baden-Baden, a spa town, was about an hour from where we were staying. A further quarter of an hour and we were close to a walk we’d found. We wanted to combine seeing some of the Black Forest with walking around the spa town.
The area was very popular and parking was difficult. We’d forgotten it was national holiday! We ended up parking at the start of the waterfall walk we had planned. There were quite a few people of all ages. Pushchairs were navigating rocky paths.
The original walk was about 6km but we wanted to finish in time for lunch. So I improvised and kept the walk circular but reduced it to 3km.
Parking in Baden-Baden was easier. The first thing we did was to look for a place to eat. Since it was a national holiday, many restaurants were closed. Unlike the UK, in some European countries, shops are mostly closed on Sundays and national holidays.
There was one Italian restaurant we walked past a couple of times. Lots of people were sitting outside. We settled for that. Lunch for me was a simple toasted baguette with tomatoes and fresh pesto sauce.
We then went to look at the spa, where people bathe naked. Baden-Baden is renowned for its curative waters. The Lonely Planet Germany guide says, over the years, it has attracted many celebrities, including Queen Victoria, Victoria Beckham, and Barack Obama!
We walked around a bit and noticed how French the town felt, with its cafes and chic shops. This was not surprising once we realised that France was just across the border.
I had used an app to pay for the parking. It had a timer. When the time ran down, I tried to extend the parking time. However, it seemed two hours was the limit. So we had to rush back to the car and move it elsewhere.
You can’t go to the Black Forest without having the gateau! The lunch time Italian cafe didn’t have any and had recommended another place: Cafe Konig. It’s 250 years old! Apparently, the composer Liszt and writer Tolstoy used to visit the cafe. Helene had the Black Forest gateau and Cath and I had a fresh raspberry tart.
After emerging from the cafe’s toilet, I got talking to an urbane Baden-Baden resident. He told me that there was another cafe nearby, whose cakes were just as good (with generous portions!) but cost less. However, he said Cafe Konig was good to go to occasionally for a treat. After asking me where I was from, he said that he’d travelled all around the world (and apologised for appearing to boast) and London was his favourite city. The UK was particular attractive for him because it was the home of rock/pop music. His favourite band was T-Rex. He had a massive collection of their albums!
As we waked back to the car, we came across the casino. This beautiful building apparently “has the splendour of Verseilles”. We looked at the foyer but didn’t have time to do the official tour of the building.
