Baden-Baden

Today I went to Baden-Baden.  I went hiking during the day, and then to the naked spa at night.  Both were pretty awesome.  The first thing I did when I got to Baden-Baden was get lost.  I took the bus to a stop that I didn't really want too.  The trains were on strike here in the morning, so there was about 60 people on the bus.  I thought I maybe should get off at one point, but there were 15 or so Germans between me and the door, so I stayed.  I got off where everyone else did, about 15 minutes on foot from where I wanted to be.  I found some really great stuff (sheep, a license plate that says BAD-AS and an awesome fountain) figuring out where I wanted to be.

People are really nice here in general, and for the most part, willing to help out if I am lost.  If I'm not sure where I am, all I do is stand on a street corner and open my map, and someone will come rushing to my aid.  It's happened 4 times already.  Soon I'm not going to bother trying to read the map, I'll just unfold it and wait.  Of course the people coming to help don't speak English and I don't speak German, but hey, it's the thought that counts.

I hiked up to Yburg castle ruin for the bulk of the day today.  It started off through wine country but went mostly through dense forest.  I was the only one on the hike, although there was one dude at the top.  He drove.  Cheater.  As I was heading down, a couple asked me in a pleasant voice (pointing at the castle), "jdlajjodjoanontoeoeojtneljljkel"?, so I said, "ja!".  No idea what they said, of course, but I'm 90% sure it was either, "Is the castle this way?" or "Is the castle nice?".

After the hike, I went to the Friedrichsbad (aka nudie-spa) that Baden-Baden is known for.  It was unlike anything you would find in North America, and probably would have been a little weird if I didn't know what to expect.  There were numbers posted on wall to follow, and how many minutes you were supposed to stay in each room or pool.  The whole thing lasted almost 3 hrs and ended in a sleeping room where you are cocooned in a warm sheet and blankets.  I feel asleep for around 30 minutes and didn't make it back to Karlsruhe until 10 pm.  If you are ever near here, you have to go.