Saturday, June 24th: We checked out of the Movenpick Airport Hotel in Stuttgart and rented a car for our drive to Baden-Baden. But first, we wanted to see two museums, the Mercedes Benz Museum and the Porsche Museum. The Mercedes Museum was closed for an event, but we were able to snap some photos at their Mercedes dealership in the adjacent building.
The Porsche Museum was pretty incredible inside, and all the old (restored) cars and newer cars were beautiful! Tons of famous race cars! I took a lot of photos, and below are only a handful of what we saw.
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| On the drive to Baden-Baden the freeway was bumper to bumper for miles going in the opposite direction. Sure glad we weren't stuck in that traffic! |
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| Our swanky hotel, Aqua Aurelia Hotel in Baden-Baden |
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| In the hotel dining room for dinner |
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| Looking out the restaurant balcony and outdoor eating area |
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| Fancy drink for Mike and plain old Coca Cola for me |
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| Just a sip, but I don't like paper straws |
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| My green salad with grilled chicken was scrumptious! Sunday, June 25th: We went for a long nature walk along the beautiful park minutes from our hotel. There's a lovely rock-bottomed creek that runs parallel to the park that you can walk in if desired. We may try that tomorrow! |
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| Beautiful, refreshing water fountain in the town square |
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| Colorful wildflowers at the park |
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| Photogenic crane |
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| Most of the bridges across the creek are adorned with flowers |
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| One of many mansions near the park |
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| These dapple grey horses and carriage were nostalgic of the past |
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| Most awesome walking and biking trails near the park |
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| This bridge is covered with lovers' engraved locks! |
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| German restaurant where we ate a late lunch today |
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| I have to say that the fresh salads here are amazing. This one had the best grilled turkey on the side, plus hidden underneath the greens were: German potato salad, carrot salad, and cabbage salad! |
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| Love these flower pots in the streets |
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| Hoping to try this Vietnamese and Thai restaurant tomorrow! |
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The prettier, backside of our hotel, Aqua Aurelia Hotel The Thermal Spa building where the mineral spring pools are located  Still loving my new bracelet and wearing it everyday Monday, June 26th: We started the day by walking into town and having pastries at this amazing pastry shop. We went for a short walk along the Hare’s Leap Circular Trail in the Black Mountains. We decided we enjoyed our nature walk in the park better. Afterwards, we just wandered down the streets around town. We stumbled into a mall (Wagner Gallery) where I found the toiletry items and new lipstick I wanted to buy. We continued to walk the streets that are lined with shops and restaurants. We found a small adorable market and bought movie treats there. The produce section, meat counter, cheese display, and every part of the store admired the beautifully displayed and arrayed. That's one of the things I love about Germany. On the way back to our hotel, we had yummy pizza and salad outside under the sidewalk umbrellas.                      Junk food stash for the our hotel room      Another amazing lunch with pizza and salad  Maybe we'll hit that Vietnamese and Thai restaurant tomorrow!   Tuesday, June 27th: This is our last full day here in Baden-Baden. It's been a great place to stay! Everything is super close to our hotel, and it's really beautiful everywhere you look. This morning we went to the same cafe and had pastries and juice for breakfast. We did a little hiking through the Black Forest to find the Redwood trees that were brought here in the 19th century. We walked up and down the streets of the town lined with shops and restaurants till we were too tired, then went back to our hotel to freshen up. Our new adventure was wading in the cool creek near the park! We walked through town afterwards until our legs and feet got tired. For a late lunch, we went to the Thai restaurant that I spotted two days ago. Instead of Thai food though, I had a green salad with chicken, and Mike had chicken with fries and a side salad. Our next activity will be soaking and swimming again in the mineral pools--great way to end our last night here.                      The Statue of Bismarck is the man who united Germany and was the first Chancellor of the country                   After a nice long soak and swim at the Thermal Spa, we went back to the Thai restaurant for a late dinner and enjoyed California Rolls, Mango Curry with chicken, and Pad Thai with shrimp and an added fried egg!    In our hotel room, we finished off our chocolates while watching a newer series called "The Big Door Prize" that turned out to be quite enjoyable. Our son Jared says that pretty much everything on Apple TV is good. Wednesday, June 28th: Last full day in Baden-Baden, and I spent most of the day on my own while Mike attended his conference in Karlsruhe. I had my nails done at David Nails; had quiche Lorraine and a little side salad at a nearby cafe; did some fun souvenir shopping; and stopped to buy chocolates at a Lindt Chocolates shop on the way back to our hotel. Mike and I went out for an Italian dinner after he returned. The pizza was so delicious (cheese, bacon, and onions), and the huge green salad with fried turkey was also delish but hard to finish. We had our first gelato tonight at a Gelato shop in the area (there are many), and it was so good! I will really miss this fun part of town and Baden-Baden!         Best French pizza EVER. And check out the size of this green salad with fried turkey medallions--so much food for two of us!  |
Thursday, June 29th: We went by chartered bus to the Fraunhofer ICT Labs in Karlsruhe yesterday evening. We started out with small group tours of the facility, and I chose their wind turbine energy and absorption lab. It was very educational and interesting. The highlight was going up on the roof and seeing the city of Karlsruhe, the Black Forest, and the French border!
We enjoyed an amazing catered Brazilian meal including 5 kinds of roasted meats and fresh pineapple (not shown in the photo)! We sat next to a guy from Germany (Keiko) and a guy from Montreal (Olivier) and had a nice visit with them. They were both about 40 years old, married, and had young children at home. Later that evening, a guy from Brazil (Mauricio) came and joined us.
The night ended with beautiful fireworks (the photo is pretty lame)! We left early since we were tired, and most of the others stayed behind to keep drinking and socializing.
Friday, June 30th: Mike gave two presentations at this conference and was the final speaker today. And guess what? He won the Best Speaker Award on his last paper 😄. He will get a $500 euro monetary award! I joined Mike for lunch at the conference center and enjoyed yummy German food. We ran into the same three guys we met the night before at the conference banquet and fireworks extravaganza. I was so happy to take their picture together!
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There's my Sugar Boo--in his element |
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| Schmoozing with fellow conference members |
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| Asking questions during other presentations |
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| Mauricio (Brazil), Olivier (Montreal, Canada, and Heiko (Germany) |
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We stopped at a laundromat before heading back to Stuttgart and the Movenpick Hotel again for our overnight stay. Germany has been wonderful and will always be a favorite European country for us. |
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| Another pretty Movenpick Hotel room |
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