Baden-Baden, Germany - Wisetrips Travel Blog

The drive from Sankt Goar to Baden-Baden took several hours on the autobahn. The weather was overcast with occasional rain. Germany is full of trucks ferrying cars and other industrial goods. Compared to other countries, the number of trucks on the autobahn was significantly higher in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Most cars drove at 75-85 mph on the autobahn. Only once did I see a Porsche speed past at over 100mph. Although the autobahn is a very well-paved road (much better than the freeways in California), the average speed in Germany was similar to that on US-5 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Most German drivers were courteous and always moved to the slow lane when a fast car approached. 

I disliked driving my Opel Astra 1.4L sedan (thanks, Avis!). It had no power going uphill, and the engine strained to reach 75-80 mph. I wish I had rented a BMW 328i or a VW Golf GTI (as I requested).

I liked that freeways in Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium were free. In France, one has to pay a fee for every couple of miles traveled (like on the Pennsylvania Turnpike).

When we arrived in Baden-Baden, we parked across the street from the Aqua Aurelia Hotel, where we would be staying. The hotel is quite fancy and beautifully decorated throughout.

We didn't know the hotel had underground parking, so we re-parked. Our room at Aqua Aurelia was fantastic - modern, well-furnished, clean, and bright. This was the best hotel and room on our trip to Europe.

We dropped off our luggage and went exploring downtown. We found a nearby restaurant serving Bavarian-style food at lunchtime and had lunch there. The food was average, but the restaurant was very well decorated with flowers. But the beer was not bad at all.

I was surprised by how much Russian I was hearing. Despite being in Germany, the number of people speaking Russian everywhere made me think I might be in Russia. At our hotel, many waiters also spoke Russian. When reading about Baden-Baden, we later learned that a princess who lived there married a future tsar of Russia and opened the town to Russian expatriates. There is even a tiny Russian Orthodox church here.

We stopped by some bakeries to take a look at the beautiful pastries. The food in Baden-Baden turned out to be quite delicious.

After lunch, we walked around some more and decided to go to the Roman bath, Friedrichsbad.

The bath has 17 rooms, separate baths, showers, steam baths, and saunas. One follows a sequential progression, starting from fat1 and ending at iat17. On certain days, the baths have separate areas for men and women; on other days, both men and women bathe simultaneously. We were there on the day when both men and women bathed together.

The whole building looks like a Roman temple, with elegant decorations.

The bath was fantastic, and we came out feeling incredibly refreshed. I even fell asleep in one of the rooms! It was a fantastic experience and one I hope to repeat again.

After the baths, we explored Baden-Baden, stopping by to see the nearby Caracalla Therme. Caracalla is a more modern bathhouse with a more modern take on the bathing experience.

After resting a bit, we decided to have dinner. We looked at Rick Steves' Germany book and found a small, highly recommended restaurant off the beaten path. The restaurant, Weinstube Baldreit, had the best food in Germany (and on our entire European trip). The chef is from France, so the dishes mix German and French cooking.

The Gazpacho soup was quite delicious and different from the one I tasted in Vienna or Mexico.

The "Flammenkuchen" with mushrooms was so delicious! It is so much better than any pizza we have ever tried anywhere.

The dessert was also quite delicious! We liked the food so much that we returned the next day.

July 4, 2013

We decided to try breakfast in our Aqua Aurelia Suitenhotel in the morning. The food turned out to be quite good!

The breakfast was set up buffet-style with many delicious fruits, vegetables, and other traditional German treats. We liked it all a lot.

After breakfast, we returned to Leopold Square and explored more of Baden-Baden. Inna brought an umbrella from the hotel because we did not want to get caught in the rain like we did the day before.

A beautiful Casino was nearby, but we did not go inside as it had a paid entrance.

The Casino sits in beautifully tended gardens and green lawns.

We stopped by a nearby Visitor Center to see if we should visit other sites.

From the Visitor Center, we walked toward the Rose Gardens along the canals that follow Lichtentaller Alle.

Many bridges cross the narrow canal, and many beautifully planted trees and flowers.

There are a few fountains along the way and many benches where one can rest. We saw lots of people walking their dogs and just enjoying nature.

The canals are relatively shallow and covered by trees and bushes.

We decided to take a short detour to see the Russian Orthodox Church. It is the smallest church in Baden-Baden and was built for the Russian-speaking population here.

It's pretty small inside.

From the Church, we walked back to the Rose Gardens.