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Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Trip to Baden Baden

Jaap has a friend who was getting married in Baden Baden, Germany so we made a weekend trip out of it. Baden Baden is on the tip of the Black Forest in southwestern Germany and is known for its spas and thermal baths. The town is picturesque. I kept thinking we were walking through Disneyworld. It was really beautiful.
On Friday afternoon we rented a car from Maastricht and got to experience what it’s like driving in Germany. The average speed limit on highways is at least 75 mph, meaning that most German drivers were traveling between 85 and 100 mph. A little scary, but Jaap seemed to enjoy it. J When we arrived in Baden Baden, we had dinner downtown and enjoyed some good German beer and local Riesling. And of course, I couldn’t visit Germany and not have some schweineschnitzel. It reminded me of Vienna. Not as good, but still very yummy.



Lichtentaler Allee


Before the wedding on Saturday, we walked down Lichtentaler Allee, which runs along the Oos River and is lined with luxury hotels, spas, beautiful gardens, and museums. We had breakfast downtown and walked through some pedestrian streets. Before the wedding, we got a little lost on the way to the ceremony and ended up in a Russian Orthodox Church. Ooops. Luckily Jaap’s German is very good and when we asked a church employee if this was the Christus kapelle we got an assertive, ‘Ja!’. It wasn’t, but we found the church in time for the ceremony.



Altes Schloss

View of Baden Baden

On Sunday we visited Altes Schloss or the Hohenbaden Castle. It was built in 1012 and was occupied from the 11th century through the 1400s. Much of it is in ruins, but there were some amazing views of Baden Baden and the Black Forest from the top. It was really stunning. Visit Baden Baden if you’re ever in the area. Tschüs!

3 comments:

  1. beautiful photos! 75 mph speeds in Germany, crazy!! glad you had fun :)

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  2. Heather- It was beautiful. Driving was hilarious. Jaap really enjoyed going 85 mph. It was cute, but scary. :)

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  3. hey babe, looks good! :)
    love you

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