With our trip to Germany being only 6 weeks away, it's high time to tell you about our second swap this year.
We'll be driving from pretty much the most north-eastern part of Germany (Baltic Sea) to the most southern-west on the border to France and nearby Switzerland: Baden-Baden. We'll be doing a couple of pit stops to see family and to break up the trip that would take about 10 hours. I did these marathons when I lived in Ireland and did purchasing trips to Germany via England, France, Belgium and the Netherlands: I did those in 2 days at 13 hours a day and one overnight in England. Well, these days are over, I don't enjoy driving long distances that much anymore.
Baden Baden is a renowned spa resort, one of the more high end ones with beautiful thermal baths and a casino. We hope to fill up our coffers there for the rest of the vacation....:) only kidding!
Baden Baden is a famous tourist resort nestling against the foothills of the Black Forest and a mere hop over to Alsace in France. Our exchange partners are a family of three who have been to Florida several times and don't seem to mind the heat that they will encounter. This time our abode is a little smaller, a duplex as we say in Ireland--or rather half a house with a tiny walled-in garden. In a high end area real estate prices are of a premium and it's still big enough for us. I had sworn to myself after last year's experience that I won't run a B&B anymore m, meaning I won't invite several sets of family and friends and be busy playing the hostess.
What does the town offer? 2 castles :
Here's another pic that I got from Wikipedia: The Kurhaus/ Spa Centrum
We'll be driving from pretty much the most north-eastern part of Germany (Baltic Sea) to the most southern-west on the border to France and nearby Switzerland: Baden-Baden. We'll be doing a couple of pit stops to see family and to break up the trip that would take about 10 hours. I did these marathons when I lived in Ireland and did purchasing trips to Germany via England, France, Belgium and the Netherlands: I did those in 2 days at 13 hours a day and one overnight in England. Well, these days are over, I don't enjoy driving long distances that much anymore.
Baden Baden is a famous tourist resort nestling against the foothills of the Black Forest and a mere hop over to Alsace in France. Our exchange partners are a family of three who have been to Florida several times and don't seem to mind the heat that they will encounter. This time our abode is a little smaller, a duplex as we say in Ireland--or rather half a house with a tiny walled-in garden. In a high end area real estate prices are of a premium and it's still big enough for us. I had sworn to myself after last year's experience that I won't run a B&B anymore m, meaning I won't invite several sets of family and friends and be busy playing the hostess.
What does the town offer? 2 castles :
- Old Castle "Hohenbaden", built in 1102, a ruin since the 15th century
- New Castle (Neues Schloss), 15th century
- Lots of Roman ruins and sights : Caracalla Spa. A thermal bath is so soothing on the ole bones...
- SHOPPING, restaurants, ice cafes (if you read last year's blog you know about my love for Italian icecreams -gelaterias.
