Trip to Germany

Phil writing here. I travelled to Germany this past week for a few days (Dec 11 - 14) to visit my eldest brother Paul who was vacationing there ... he usually travels there once or twice a year and since I was already overseas it was a comparatively short trip for me to see him. We stayed in a small town in the south-west part of the country called Baden-Baden which is known for its proximity to the Black Forest, a rather famous casino, and several spas and natural hot springs (thermes) ... even remains of Roman baths have been found there and partially excavated so it has a long hisory. The highlight of course was seeing my brother and spending a few days together ... a luxury in itself since for years Harriet, the boys, and I have been living several provinces away from family in Canada.

With not being into shopping and the weather not being great for hiking, we spent each day at spas which were a rather unique experience. There were many different saunas, swimming pools, jacuzzis, steam rooms, and relaxation areas designed to promote wellness at both the Caracalla spa and the Freidrichsbad spa (I encourage you to check out the link at the right). To enjoy them I think you have to be comfortable sitting for hours with your thoughts (something that would drive many people "squirrly"), you need to be in decent physical shape to handle that high level of heat which is quite demanding on the body, and lastly you need to be ok with nudity (others and yours) since at one facility clothing is not permitted and at the other only in part of the spa. I generally enjoyed it but its not where I would return on my own and it really isn't designed for a family vacation as Harrison doing a "cannon-ball" leap into the pool would quickly lead to us getting kicked out of places.

The town was decorated nicely for Christmas with outdoor market stalls selling various wares and food. The retailers were geared up for the holidays and there were traditional "stollens" (cakes), Christmas cookies in nice tins, mulled wine booths, and I indulged in one of my favourites which is roasted chestnuts (tasty!). One afternoon we went to a free indoor concert and watched their Philharmonic Orchestra play a series of pieces by "old masters" but led by "young conductors" (new and budding conductors) ... I really enjoyed the music but Paul with much more experience seeing philharmonic orchestras seemed to think it was only ok. The food was absolutely great at the hotel where we stayed (Hotel Udler also called Hotel Adler ... they have two spellings for it) and the rooms while modest were adequate with all we needed.

Paul was an exceptional host in helping orient me to a new place and he knows some German which made things easier since I know none. He was very generous and I am very happy to have met up together. A big thanks also to my brother Pete in Canada ... we had a great meal and a couple of beers on him!