Walking into the Spa Town of Baden-Baden (Katie Wells )
The Black Forest is synonymous with Black Forest cake: traditionally a German cake with layers of rich chocolate sponge, cherries, cherry liquor, and a simple whipped cream. When my spouse and I visited Baden-Baden, my favorite restaurant Waldgaststätte Bütthof re-envisioned this famous staple into a molten chocolate cake served with pistachio ice-cream.
Waldgaststätte Bütthof (Katie Wells)
I still drool over the memories of this dessert. The restaurant sits in the Grobbachtal Valley and is a perfect dinner stop after a day of hiking to see the Geroldsau Waterfall. The dishes are prepared with fresh regional ingredients. I tried the special of the day, Schweinebraten mit Kartoffelklöße, which was a savory slow-roasted pork shoulder with potato dumplings.
Schweinebraten mit Kartoffelklöße, (Katie Wells)
For a true wellness and luxury retreat, you can stay at one of many Baden-Baden heritage properties. Belle Epoque is a boutique hotel and an ode of elegance to the history of Baden-Baden. It is in the center of the city and just a short walk to the neighboring Caracalla Thermal Spa. The rooms are styled ornately with decor such as, Victorian and Art Deco. The nightly rate includes a breakfast buffet and afternoon tea with homemade cakes. They also host an afternoon high tea for a separate rate. For more information, visit hotel-belle-epoque.de.
For a budget-friendly hotel, we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express. It was an easy walk to the center of town and other sites we wanted to see. A continental breakfast is included with the room rate and the hotel has a public underground car park. We drove, so it was nice to have close parking and know that our car was safe. For more information, visit ihg.com/holidayinnexpress/baden-baden.
In 2021, UNESCO named Baden-Baden a World Heritage Site, as one of eleven of the Great Spa Towns of Europe. A town of Roman origin, Baden-Baden was founded over 2,000 years ago. In true Roman fashion, Friedrichsbad Spa and Caracalla Thermal Baths are the main attractions in this town. For an anniversary trip, my spouse and I decided to pamper ourselves and book “The Day Spa for Two,” a private bath and massage treatment package at Caracalla. It even included fresh fruit, orange juice and champagne.
For those new to the European therme culture, it is common to have all nude baths. If you’re shy like me, booking a private bath means you can experience all the benefits of the thermal spring water and 145-year bathing tradition while having privacy. We felt pampered and joked about stealing the fluffy white robes we got to wear all day. To check out both spas’ day passes and other packages, you can visit shop-carasana.de
Historic Baden-Baden (Katie Wells)
We spent four days in Baden-Baden and still didn’t get to do everything on our list. We went on the Sommerrodelbahnen (alpine coaster), which went surprisingly fast through the forest. You can control the speed, but the ricochet is quite thrilling regardless.
“We enjoyed strolling through town and seeing architecture dating back to antiquity, as well as popping into some of the many art exhibits.”
And of course, we hiked to see Geroldsau Waterfall. After walking just a few hundred feet into the forest, I found the black forest lived up to its reputation. The woods got much darker and cooler because of the dense trees. It was easy to see how people imagined (or maybe not) creatures peering from behind the trees and witchy huts tucked into the dense shrubbery.
Geroldsau Waterfall Hike (Katie Wells)
