What a day! We left Baden Baden after a one night visit. I think we had both been going so fast that we kinda crashed here and did not do more than walk around a bit, eat and take naps. There was quite a bit to see but we were pooped!
We did visit the Casino with our group for a tour. It looked like something out of a James Bond movie. The casino was closed for the morning so we had a nice private tour. During operating hours one has to dress up a bit; men must wear jackets (can be rented for 8 euros) and sports shoes of any kind are not allowed. Many famous people have visited here and about 6 years ago all of the heads of state, including our President, had a summit here.
I did take some nice photos of the city and here are a few.
Yesterday we drove through the Black Forest and visited one of the most incredible museums. It is called the Vogetbaurenhof open air museum which houses essentially real farms and some other relocated buildings representing the real lives of people that have lived in the valley area for hundreds of years. The lifestyle they led was pretty efficient but very difficult. The main farm house had been owner occupied all the way through 1965.
The gourmet stove top
Everything was housed under one roof from the family, farm hands and the animals (in the winter). I think they must of all smelled pretty ripe most of the time!
We can certainly understand why people keep coming back for these tours, our guide is remarkable and provides us with a continual description of the the area in which we are traveling as well as the history of the area from feudal times through all the the war(s). We are not only seeing incredible sites but learning along the way. At each stop we have first class access and a private tour of the the site.
Oh yes and we also got free samples of the Black Forest cake too. However, I forgot to snap the picture before digging in.
Today we are in Murren, Switzerland and will be doing some hiking. We accessed our hotel in yet another storybook town by taking two trams up the mountain. The views are spectacular and waterfalls everywhere. Watch for the next blog for that, but here is just a quick preview - the view from our room yesterday afternoon. Breathtaking!
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