One Night in Baden-Baden

On Saturday morning, my law-school roommate Tai and I drove two hours north to the German spa town of Baden-Baden. On the edge of the Black Forest, Baden-Baden is famous for its thermal baths and wealthy visitors. Tai and I head straight to the Caracalla Baths.

There are seven hot-spring fed pools, indoors and outdoors, cold plunge pools and more. We get comfortable in the hottest outdoor version and spend two hours with waterfalls pounding our backs and shoulders.

Caracalla also features a series of “textile-free” saunas. With inner voices charging us to lose our American prudishness and act more European, we shed our bathing suits, wrap ourselves in the permitted towels and head in. Ultimately we found ourselves in the “feuersauna” (fire sauna) with an increasing number of textile-free men. “Be cool” we tell ourselves, until the male to female ratio gets way too high. Two more men enter the sauna and are about to sit down, blocking our pathway through German, middle-aged male nudity to the exit. “Flee!” we tell ourselves, and we do.

Time for drinks! But first check in.

We head to the lovely Maison Messmer Hotel, situated by the Theater where Berlioz debuted the Opera Beatrice and Benedict in 1869 and the Christkindelsmarkt that is being set up for its grand opening next weekend.

We check in, get ourselves nicely clothed and head to the piano bar at the fancy Brenner’s Park Hotel nearby, hoping to spot a few Russian oligarchs. The perfect spot for a couple dirty martinis.

Next on to Heine’s Wine and Dine for dinner. Great food (pumpkin soup with goat-cheese stuffed dumplings and risotto for me) and regional wine pairings. We loved that the neighbouring table brought their two pooches to dinner.

A walk through Baden-Baden back to the hotel. We saw ice skaters and Christmas preparations everywhere. Bedtime.

Sunday morning I go for a chilly, late-fall run. The highlight is Lichtentaler Allee, a promenade along the Oos river lined by mansions, with cool-looking ducks chilling by the river. I imagine the town is booming in spring and summer.

Tai and I have a leisurely brunch and spend a few hours in the Messmer spa, where there are almost no people and everyone is clothed.

We then drive home to find Maple Leaf’s Nation (Matt, Bart and their collective five boys) watching a hockey game as they wait for pizza delivery. We join the group for dinner before Tai returns to Zurich on the train. Girls’ weekend success.