Sister Travels Part II - Wine and Baths!

The next leg of the Sister Travels were the smaller towns of Colmar, France and Baden-Baden, Germany.

When Erin returned from her solo tour of Berlin, we drove south to Colmar to try the Alsatian wines and enjoy what Rick calls "one of Europe's most enchanting towns."  Enchanting, it was.  Near the German/French border, it has the German influence of cute half-timbered houses, but the French influence of much better wine (in my opinion at least... I'm not a huge fan of German Reisling!).

We rented bikes and rode through the vineyards and the "route des vins" to the tiny town of Eguisheim for some wine tasting... and sampling of just about all the French treats they offered in the town market.  The next day, we drove to Baden-Baden to enjoy a day at the spa!

Day in Colmar

La Petite Venise area of Colmar

 Bike trip to Eguisheim...

I swear - leggings are still totally acceptable in Europe!

Delightful market in Eguisheim

Blueberry salami... Garlic salami... salami salami

mmmm Tartes!

and easily the best Hamburger I've had since leaving the States!

Yummy Macaroons!  The guy who worked here kept asking Erin and me, "Zie Test?"  Um, OUI!!!  We must have tested at least 4 different types, and then proceeded to buy a bunch so Colin could enjoy too when he returns!

Baden-Baden and the Black Forest

In Baden-Baden, Erin and I geared up for our visit to the Friedrichsbad.  This took some serious preparation.  These Roman-Irish baths opened 120 years ago and have 15 rooms of spa glory... steam rooms, saunas, bathing in hot, warm and cold pools, sleeping rooms, etc. The thing about the Friedrichsbad is that the dress code = nude.  And Sunday is mixed day, meaning men and women sharing the facilities.  Of course, it was a Sunday.

Needless to say these two modest sistas were a little nervous.

We made an essential stop to the Lowenbrau biergarten  for some liquid courage, and made our way to the baths.  In all honesty, once we were inside we lost our sense of nervousness and really did enjoy the experience.  When we were finished, we both felt completely refreshed and clean.  The spa itself is beautiful and calming, and fortunately for us, it was not very crowded.

We celebrated our accomplishment with a night out at the club at the Grand Casino.  Judging by the outside of the opulent casino, we thought the club had to be pretty cool - and it was.  The only problem was that we we made up 1/3 of the population of people at the bar, not including the band "Big M Box."  The benefit of this was that we had the whole dance floor to ourselves for the night (yes, we definitely took advantage), and that the bartenders offered us some of their more exciting cocktails.

We probably should have known better than to order a drink called "The Swimming Pool" - but it was a frothy delicious delight.  I think the band was relieved to be playing for at least 2 people, and during the band break, the Bon Jovi look-alike approached us and asked: "Do you have any regrets?"  I could just see Erin's thought process through her confused look ("Regrets about this trip?  Regrets in life?  This is such a loaded question!").  While I can't say I am always quick to make sense out of things, I was able to think through the blurry Swimming Pool and realize he was asking us for song requests.  Ah - gotta love Europeans!

View of the Markt Square from our hotel room.  There are old baths under the church on the right, but no one is allowed to see them.  Only the city officials have the "honor" of going down and cleaning them once a year!

In the gardens behind the Friedrichsbad

The water from this old spigot is 105 degrees!  Locals used to use it for shaving.

Oh Erin...

Statue outside the baths

In front of the more modern baths, the Caracalla... I'll have to do this one on another trip - it seems to be calling my name! ;) bad joke.

In front of the Grand Casino, built in the 1850s and inspired by the Palace of Versailles

View of the Black Forest from the Grand Casino

Preparing for Friedrichsbad

Highly necessary

Outside of Friedrichsbad... for obvious reasons, no photos are allowed inside!

The Swimming Pools

We loved the Big M Box and the Bon Jovi and Fergie lookalikes

Enjoying the Swimming Pools and our "Regrets" at the Casino bar