Baden-Baden, Part 1

According to Bill Clinton, who certainly has an appetite for the extravagant, "Baden-Baden is so nice, they had to name it twice." And nice it is, even in the middle of winter. The name simply means "Bath-Bath," and it is its thermal baths that have been drawing the rich and famous here for centuries. Tolstoy, Strauss, Dostoyevsky, Tchaikovsky, Queen Victoria, and the Vanderbilts, just to name a few, have journeyed to Baden-Baden to get pampered and soothe rheumatic joints at the spas, try their luck at the exclusive casinos, and strut their stuff through the perfectly manicured gardens. Although we are not rich, nor famous, we decided a stint in Baden-Baden would make for a pleasant way to spend a day with my family.


Aunt J and Grandps on the hour-long train ride to Baden-Baden




Baden-Baden is nestled in the hills of the Black Forest. Overlooking the town are the ruins of the Burg Hoehnbaden, the castle of the Baden rulers from the 11th-15th centuries





steam rises from the outdoor pool at the modern Caracalla Spa, the perfect antidote to a cold, winter day--too bad we didn't bring out bathing suits!





Grandma, Penelope, and Grandpa next to Friedrichsbad, the queen of German spas, built on the ruins of ancient Roman baths.





the Father and I spent an interesting afternoon at Friedrichsbad a little while ago, but we'll save that story for another post...





in front of the Trinkhalle, where the 'who's who' of the 19th century were served glasses of the spa water by young female clerks. now you can serve yourself a cup of the warm, salty stuff from a tap in the center of the hall.





Aunt A and Uncle M inside the Trinkhalle





the sisters posing outside the 1820s Kurhaus (casino). we tried to go in and take a peek, but we didn't get very far since we didn't meet dress code.




too cool for school


little P in her chariot gets a push from Aunt J


the Christmas decorations were still up even though it was January. i guess this is what Santa looks like after the holidays. Uncle M did his best to console him.


walking past a building that is always full of Christmas cheer


after hitting up a few stores and a nice lunch we had had our fill and it was back to Heidelberg. penelope was only too happy to comply.

Coming up tomorrow: adventures in German bathing...

Family Time

There is a running joke in my family concerning my mom and what she calls "family time." You see, for her, just being in the same room with the other members of the family is not sufficient. There must this concentrated effort to talk about sentimental things and generally bask in each other's presence. And what really makes for good family time is a game. One of those interactive, make-a-fool-of-yourself-type game (insert chorus of annoyed groans).

Over the course of the holidays we had quite a bit of family time, some of it living up to my mom's expectations. And yes, there were a few games played as well. But there was also plenty of just plain ol' hang time. Here are a few snippits...

Aunt J instructs Penelope on the basics of walking


comparing bellies. it appears the non-pregnant abdomen may have won.


hmmm...that's a tough call


hanging at my favorite joint--Schiller's--


where nothing says 'family lovin' like sharing a frothy cup of hot chocolate together


sorry kid, it's vegetable medley for you


Uncle M and Penelope became best buds


the proud grandparents, soaking up the family time
(Grandpa, it appears Penelope needs to tell you something)


Aunt J lesson #2: how to climb stairs


and don't forget the newlyweds!


And now for the not-so-formal family portrait:



the patriarch and matriarch: check
three children with their respective spouses: check
grandchild#1: check
grandchild#2: scheduled for arrival in june
grandchild #3: only time will tell...

Noël à la Strasbourg

When my family was here we took a daytrip to Strasbourg, France. This was my second trip there (see November post "An Afternoon in France"), but this time the town was all lit up for the holidays and the Christmas Market was in full swing. Unfortunately it was windy, cold and rainy, which put a bit of a damper on things.

this is our 'cold' picture on the river in the "La Petite France" district of the city


not sure if it was a good idea to put Uncle T in charge of Penelope when crossing over the canal


what a great mother I am--focused on smiling for the picture instead of the fact that Penelope can no longer see...

the grandparents out for a stroll. grandpa blends in well with his beret.

Strasbourg's Christmas Market is one of the few that is open after Christmas Eve. There has been a Christmas Market in front of the city's Notre Dame cathedral for many centuries, but these days it spills out onto every town square in the main part of the city. I must admit I was pretty much over the whole Christmas Market thing by this time, but there were a few things that caught my eye.

entrance to one of the markets (there is quite a bit of German in Strasbourg, even though it's now part of France)


there were at least a hundred stalls all crammed together in this square--a little too gaudy for my tastes, but makes a good picture.


plenty to satisfy everyone's sweet tooth

Aunt A and Uncle T waiting in line at a Gluehwein stand--or Vin Chaud as the French call it

One unique thing about Strasbourg during the holidays is the effort they put into lighting up their town. Just about every street had some sort of festive light decoration on display. Here are some of my favorites...

festive Baroque building with trompe d'oeil painting on the facade and Christmas trees in the (real) windows

trumpeting angels going down one street and red curtains and wreaths going down another

Penelope entranced by the lights


and then there was the tree. the biggest christmas tree i've ever seen. i'm talking ginormous. with 50 gazillion lights. (for real!)

here's to give you some perspective

street that runs into the Notre Dame Cathedral--you can barely see it in the background


the cathedral rising above the skyline

The Strasbourg Cathedral is still my favorite aspect of the city. When we went in this time there was a huge, almost life-size, nativity scene on display.

looking towards the high altar

When all is said and done, the cathedral itself puts all of the Christmas decorations to shame.

Watch out Heidelberg! Here come the Relatives

The day before Christmas, more of the family arrived in Heidelberg. Grandma was joined by Grandpa, Uncle T, and Aunt A. After much searching, I located an apartment in the Altstadt for us to spend the holidays in together. It took the better part of one day for Grandma and I to prepare for their arrival. As the grocery stores were shut down for the better part of December 25th-27th, it was a bit of a challenge to get all the groceries we needed for those days, carry them home, cram them along with our luggage into a taxi, carry everything up four flights of stairs, and unpack. I'm out of breath just thinking about it.

After celebrating Christmas on the 25th, we spent the next day seeing some of the sights around Heidelberg. Everything was still closed for the holidays, but we managed to find plenty of things to amuse ourselves with.

you can't 'do' heidelberg without posing by the bridge monkey


awww...the newlyweds pose on our trek up to the philosopher's way


a few less layers of clothes later...we arrive at the philosopher's way. were there really record low temps the week before?


afternoon snooze while walking around the neuenheim neighborhood

and she's awake and rearin' to go

playing down by the neckar river

you're never too old to ride on a serpent-shaped see-saw

on the balcony of the castle

hmmm...could that be an american tourist?

the gals

the clear disadvantage of the ergo carrier is that penelope's face rarely makes it into the photos unless i attempt poses such as this

little family and castle ruins

a tramp through the castle moat

grandma and granddaughter

view of heidelberg from the castle gardens

must be time to head home