Day 4: Hike or Soak in Baden-Baden. After touring Baden-Baden's casino, you'll have the rest of the day and evening free to "do the spa"
(with or without your swimsuit), wander along the shaded riverside promenade, or hike the surrounding hills.
We woke up to a beautiful day! The sun was out, it was warm... it was as if the earlier torrents had never happened. We toured Baden-Baden's elegant casino, guessing at how much money had been won and lost at the ornate gaming tables. Then, with a free day, people scattered to pursue their own interests—hiking (the men), shopping for chocolate (the women) and web-surfing at an Internet cafe (the teens). Regathering, we debated over whether we would do the family spa (swimsuits mandatory) or the "nudie" spa (swimsuits verboten)... but our decision was made for us...
The family bath was closed for maintenance. Gulp.
At that point, I handed the camera over to Chris (who was strangely unexcited about an afternoon in the spa). Chris and our 12-year-old Jill (also unexcited about a spa day) set off with Gary and Will Fowler (ditto) on a hike to the castle ruins looming above Baden Baden, while off Laura and Anna went with new friends Lizanne and Katie Fowler to the baths (all of whom were VERY excited!) It was a lot more comfortable than expected, with men and women mostly-but-not-entirely separated through the spa process. Suffice it to say, after the robust German woman scrubs your backside with a rough brush and sends you on your way with a slap to the cheeks, you have surrendered yourself to the experience. In the end, being naked was not a big deal. By the time we hit the "nap room" we were converts to this German tradition!
The hiking team enjoyed the hike up and back to the castle, with a short break to watch a small lizard basking on a rock. After a couple of gray days, they enjoyed doing some basking of their own! After re-uniting from spa and sights, we decided on a family walk down the promenade to the rose garden.
Baden-Baden has lots of wonderful restaurants, but we had enjoyed the offerings of the Biergarten so much that we decided to return there for dinner—knowing the menu was complete, the atmosphere was comfortable and both the beer and wine were crisp and clean. We walked in only to discover our new found friends, the Fowler Family, similarly smitten with the Biergarten, and already seated in front of tall mugs of frosty German beer. Prost! and on to the Alps!
