Germany 2000

While in Germany, we spent most of our time visiting relatives in Nürnberg. We were fortunate to be in Nürnberg during one of Roger's little cousins First Communion. This was undoubtedly the true highlight of our trip, but not one open to most people.

Another highlight was an overnight trip via train to Rothenburg. We had been there for a day trip before but we wanted to spend the night this time and take part in some of the evening festivities including the Nightwatchman's Tour.

From Nürnberg we went to Baden Baden, a resort town in the Northern Black Forest, and then to Staufen, further south in the Black Forest. Baden Baden's spas were a highlight as was the quaint small town feel of Staufen.

We traveled using a Eurail Saverspass which is for two or more traveling together. We found it relatively easy to navigate the German train stations.

Quick Tips:

Spend the night in Rothenburg and beat the tourist crowds.

Try to act like a local as much as you can. Meet the locals and experience as many things like they do as you can.

Stay in small locally owned inns and guesthouses for a more homey and personal vacation.

Best Way To Get Around:

The German rail system is remarkable. There are many options for railpasses.

This is our favorite hotel in Germany and maybe in Europe. We love small little towns and small family run establishments and the Hotel Krone in Staufen fit the bill perfectly. The food in the restaurant was extremely reasonable and very tasty. The portions were large and then they brought us more! On our second night there, we ordered the meals for a small appetite ("kleine hunger") and were still served plenty. The complimentary breakfast was served in a breakfast room and it was plentiful as well.

We stayed here in 1998 and 2000 and will return again.

When we stayed in this 500-year-old building in 2000, we had a lovely room with private bath. When we checked in we had our choice of two rooms and the rooms were very different. Each room is unique and different, although according to their website, all rooms have bathrooms, telephones, and cable TV. With 2000 exchange rates, we paid about $60 per night.

Breakfast was included and was served in their dining room. There is an outdoor patio where one can sip wine from the cafe. Our room was just above this patio and while we could hear the folks outside, it was not disruptive.

Rothenburg can be a tourist trap during the day, but in the evenings, after the tour buses have departed, it takes on the feel of the medieval town it is. The Night Watchman, Hans Georg Baumgartner, guides those on tour around the town describing how it was to live in medieval times and the difficulties they had. One truly grasps an understanding of why this town was so well maintained for so many years (it was actually due to poverty -- they couldn't afford to upgrade).
Guided one-hour English language tours are available from April until December.

Ready to get naked and get spanked with a soap brush? Well "take the cure" in Baden Baden at the Roman Irish Bath.




This spa treatment is a bargain compared to US prices, but you need to check your self-consciousness at the door as you will parade around in the nude.




It is totally up to you as to whether you do it in a co-ed environment or same sex environment. Certain days are co-ed and others are not.




We chose a "mixed" day and enjoyed the 14-step process. For details of all of the steps, please see my Baden Baden article Steps 9-11 are where the genders are mixed.




We paid our $20 per person and went into gender specific locker rooms, exiting with just a towel. I can't speak for my husband, but I know I looked down at my feet quite a bit, but snuck a peak out of the corner of my eye here and there.




The showers were invigorating and warm rooms ranged from comfortably warm to "let me out of here" hot. After another shower and a steam, my husband and I met up in one of the mineral water pools.




It took a bit of time to get used to men and women walking around buck naked without a care in the world, but we caught on quick enough. After the first mineral pool, we moved to the bubbling pool and that was just like sitting in a moderately warm jacuzzi with 20 other naked people.




From there we were to move on to the 75 degree Fahrenheit exercise pool. Brrrrr! You have to exercise in there or you shiver uncontrollably.




We split up into our specific gender sides after that and showered and went to the quick immersion pool. I think I made it in up to my knees-- it was only 64 degrees Fahrenheit. My husband says he went all the way in, but if I didn't see it, I'm not sure I believe it.




After warming up and resting in a quiet room for 30 minutes, we were both invigorated and ready to sightsee.

Roger's aunt, Beate, and her family live in Nürnberg. They have a lovely home and an even lovelier family. Beate is married to Joachim and they have Sonja (age 9) and Hanna (age 2). We had last visited them a year and a half before so obviously Hanna had changed quite a bit! Our room there even came complete with a computer and piano.

Nearly every morning one or both of the girls would come down into our room and awake us and then serenade us with the piano. It was a great way to wake up. We had lots of fun playing with the kids and taking photos. Hanna, in particular, liked to have her photo taken.

One day we went to Sonja's English class. It was kind of like Show 'n Tell. It was a lot of fun. They played our national anthem for us and sang Old MacDonald Had a Farm complete with animal masks. Then they asked Roger lots of questions ranging from what kind of car we drove to Pokemon to Britney Spears.

The other highlight of our stay there was celebrating Sonja's First Communion. She was beautiful, but respectfully requested I not post any photos of her on that holy day.

After the ceremony, her parents treated us and about 30 other people to a Chinese luncheon at a nearby restaurant. Perhaps, not surprisingly, we were the only ones who asked for chopsticks; they don't even set the tables with them there. It also startled Roger and I a bit when the Chinese owners spoke such excellent German. It is just not something we are used to seeing.

Rothenburg is a well-preserved medieval walled city. While much of Germany was destroyed during World War II and rebuilt, Rothenburg was mostly spared. It is a bit of a touristy place now and that is why we wanted to spend the night. Most of the tourists go back to Munich or Frankfurt at night. Few spend the night and that is when it is at it's most charming.

We stayed at the Hotel Gerberhaus, where we had a lovely room with a private bath. We had our choice of two rooms and the one we chose was much nicer than the other. Of course, it also cost a bit more but was still only $60 per night.

One of the best things about staying in Rothenburg for a night is being able to take the Night Watchman's Tour. We learned so much about the town from a man dressed in the garb of a Night Watchman from medieval times. He was humorous but so very informative. The tour is given twice a night but only one tour is usually in English.

Baden Baden is a German resort town where Germans come to "take the cure" in the baths. It is very popular because it also has a well-known casino and lovely pedestrian areas. We stayed there for two nights and took the baths twice. We stayed at the Hotel am Markt. It was closely located to the Roman Irish Baths. Our room had a toilet and sink but the shower was in the hall. It turned out that the one in the hall was quite far away but since we went to the baths both days it wasn't necessary to use the hall shower. Our room was about $56 per night including the spa tax.

The Roman Irish Baths were invigorating and didn't leave one as tired as our nearby Calistoga Mud Baths do. This is possibly because the water is on the cool side in these baths. The cost for the ritual is about $20 per person for up to 3 hours time. Everything is done in the nude and while we were there steps 9-11 were mixed. This means that men and women do them together. We kind of liked this but if you didn't want to do it during mixed times then you can arrange to do it during non-mixed times.

The steps for the Roman Irish Baths are as follows.

1. Shower for 5 minutes with soap and water. Grab a sheet and some sandals and ...
2. Go into the warm air room for 15 minutes. The temperature is 54E Celsius (~ 192° F). Lay on a wooden lounge chair covered with your sheet.
3. Go into hot air room for 5 minutes. Here the temperature is 68° C or 154° F.
4. Rinse off.
5. Get optional soap and brush massage. This costs extra. We did it the first time but not the second. Twice a week for this would be good; it really removes the dead skin well. A staff member dribbles soapy water all over your body and then scrubs you with a brush.
6. Shower for 1 minute.
7. Spend 10 minutes in the eucalyptus steam room.
8. Rinse off.
9. Relax in 34° C (93° F) still mineral water pool for 10 minutes.
10. Spend 15 minutes in 34° C bubbling mineral water pool.
11. Spend 5 minutes in 24° C (75° F) exercise pool.
12. Shower for 8 minutes.
13. Quick immersion as far as you dare into 18° C (64° F) curative waters.
14. Dry off wrapped in warm towels for 4 minutes.
15. Smooth a creme lotion all over for as long as you like.
16. Wrap up in a blanket and rest in quiet for 30 minutes.

While in Baden Baden we also strolled around a bit and even took a day trip to France! Strasbourg, France is just a short train ride from Baden Baden. Unfortunately, since it was rather spur of the moment for us we didn't really plan what to do there. We walked around a lot and that was mainly it.

Staufen was our favorite place on our last trip to Europe, so of course we had to return. It is located in the southern part of the Black Forest and has a castle ruin up above it. We stayed in the same hotel that we had stayed at last time, the Gasthaus Krone. Here we had a lovely room with bath and private balcony for a little over $60 per night. Our balcony even had a view of the ruins. We loved the rooms here but the meals in the restaurant are even better!

During our two days in Staufen, we hiked up to the ruins, walked around Freiburg, and took a train out deeper in the Black Forest. We stopped in Hinterzarten and then hiked to Titisee, a lake. It was a gorgeous walk through pastures and trees.