Europe Honeymoon 2008

Ok this day surpassed the other worst day of the trip by lots.

Started off ok. Breakfast was pretty boring, but we were the only ones there and it was so peaceful in the woods setting. Really liked that hotel.

Morning was ok too, we headed out on a "scenic route" in the general direction of Baden-Baden.  Copilot at one point sent us up a dead end street in a little town called Calw that finished in a parking station :/ doh!  So we stopped for a coffee there and listened to a dude playing the recorder brilliantly. Stu and I wish we could play half as well as him. It made the whole town/square feel very medieval.

Arrival in Calw. The parking station was just around that dead end corner on the right 

Crazy-crooked medieval buildings in Calw 

Looking down the Nagold River from the parking station 

Calw is epic cute, visiting here was probably the highlight of the day

So kept going to Baden-Baden. This is where things fell apart. Couldn't find parking again. Followed a sign to a parking station and ended up in a hospital!? Only after we were nearly back out on the street did we see the actual entrance hiding off to the side, but it was too late then. Went round and round and eventually found another parking station. So went for a little walk through the town. Had lunch at a rather expensive hotel cafe and ate far too much (even with one of the cheaper options on the menu :/ ). Then went up to the ruins of the roman baths. It was only 2.50 each to go in, but there were signs saying no photography, so thought screw that and didn't go in. Took a couple of pictures through the outside glass window.

Schloss Eberstein from Obertsrot 

Stiftskirche, Baden Baden 

Neues Schloß from Marktplatz 

Part of the Roman bath ruins

Next we went to the tourist "information" office. Information is there in quotes because there wasn't any. Information that is. We wanted some info on highlights of the Black Forest as we didn't have internet last night to any of that sort of thing. But they didn't have a single thing. About the Black Forest. That they're on the doorstep of. Bumheads.

Lame..

So it was like 2pm by this time, far later than we'd planned to be there. And we didn't have a plan for the afternoon. Well we had a plan but didn't think it would work. So we got stressed out (or I did mainly) and ended up doing nothing. At all. Just drove down the boring autobahn in the direction of Freiberg. Stopped at a roadside hotel near the Europa Park. This at about 4pm. And we didn't leave. Stu ended up doing some planning for the rest of our trip, as I'd given up hope of doing any of the things I wanted to do. That mainly being seeing some of the alps. Not helped by a weather forecast that says rain and clouds for the next several days.  All a bit depressing.

Around eight we went out to find some dinner at the local Shell diner. There is a Maccas, a Burger King, a Pizza Hut and what obviously used to be a KFC at this rest stop. The hotel is more like one of the big chain motels you get in America (except about four times the price). And the hallways and rooms are decorated with pictures of American motel signs. It all made me rather "homesick" for the very easy American driving holidays. Maybe next time...