Well, sad to say, this is our last day of the tour. We are in Basel, Switzerland now, and will fly home tomorrow.
This is a small map of our cruise. As you might remember, we started at the top of this map, in Brussels and along with cruising, we ate and drank our way down the Rhine and the Mosel Rivers. The food has been so good on the ship, with 3 meals a day included with the trip, but of course, along the way we had to sample regional specialties: beer, wine, apple strudel, Black Forest cake, sausages….on and on…I heard one lady say, at lunch, “After I get home, it will be chicken broth and carrot sticks, so I am going for the gusto today.” Me, too.
Today, being the 4th of July, the chefs honored us by having a buffet with hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, and ice cream. No fireworks.
Yesterday, we were still anchored in Strasbourg, but we got on a bus, crossed one of the few bridges on the Rhine, and were immediately in Germany again. We drove for a little over an hour, through the Black Forest, taking the scenic route, rather than the Autobahn. What a beautiful ride.
This area is called Black Forest, due to the density of the amount of trees, that do not allow for much light to get to the ground under them, therefore the forest floor is dark, or Black. There are thousands of miles of bike trails and hiking trails. The paved back roads are very popular with motorcycle riders. There are pristine lakes and streams for fishing. This is a virtual natural paradise. There is something for everyone that enjoys being outdoors.
We went to Baeden-Baeden, a lovely town in this area, known for its mineral baths, primarily. This dates back, once again, to the Romans. Apparently, Caracalla, one of the Roman emperors suffered severely from arthritis, so he had the mineral baths created here. I guess he must have had the baths in Rome, also, as both places have the Baths of Caracalla. It is also a very wealthy town. One-fifth of the residents are millionaires.
We did a little walking tour through the town, past the casino, which fortunately was not open. We were told the the minimum bet for any game there is 100 Euro. A bit rich for my cheap pocketbook.
Of course, we had to sample the Black Forest cake. It was delicious. And yay! I got the recipe for it. Now to get home and try to make it. That experience will have to wait until fall, though. As I know it is going to be too hot at home for me to want to be baking.
Now it is time to pack, and get ready to leave very early in the morning from here. It will be another of those 28 to 30 hour days by the time we get home.
It has been a great trip. When I posted about the castle stretch of the Rhine, I did not know that there are over 500 castles along the Rhine. Fantastic. That stretch of the Rhine, and the vineyards along the Mosel were my favorite areas of this trip.
I will not be writing again for about two weeks. I will have just 10 days at home before I leave again for Italy, from where I will be writing again.
I love travel. I have learned so much and had such unique experiences on my journeys. I am very happy that now I can share some little moments with all of you. I will forever be grateful to Frank Garcia, the love of my life, for introducing me to international travel. If anyone ever wants to join me on these travels just let me know.
Also, I will be taking a trip to New Zealand in September, 2015, with Overseas Adventure Travel. If you would like to go with me on that trip, check it out on http://www.oat.com. My trip leaves USA on September 15, 2015. This is a small group travel company, associated with Grand Circle Tours.)
So, Auf Wiedersehn for now.
Dolly
The post The Black Forest and Basel, Germany appeared first on Purple Roofs Gay Travel Blog.