Miles Driven: 174
Time in Car: 3 hours
Borders Crossed: 0
7 days out from our official Rally start in Prague and today we drove south from Marburg to Baden-Baden. It was a quick drive passing by Frankfurt as we soon arrived in the small, ritzy resort town. The town itself is on the foothills of the Black Forest and it is world famous for its upper-echelon spa resorts and exclusive casino. It’s been a getaway destination for historical European dignitaries like Napoleon III, Queen Victoria, and Victor Hugo. We arrived in the afternoon and walked the Gönneranlage, a pristine rose garden split by a bubbling stream that runs its way into town. Following the waterway into town, we found cobbled streets, fancy restaurants, and designer shops. The only motorized vehicles permitted in the town center were the black Mercedes taxis. It reminded me of a Vail village type town. We walked the streets, strolled the forest park, grabbed a doner kebab, and popped into the casino. The casino is regarded as one of the best in the world - it’s said to the be the inspiration for Dostoyevsky’s The Gambler. Dress jackets were required so with our backpacks, jeans and t-shirts, all we could was try to catch a glimpse of the blackjacks tables inside. Baden-Baden showcases luxury and pleasure in the highest degree; while it was a nice town to visit, we knew this will be far from the norm as we move into the later phases of our rally.
Baden-Baden rose garden
We chose to skip the baths in the city and head up into the mountains to our campsite. We drove up into the hills of the Black Forest to a beautiful campground where chef Corsaro whipped up tacos while Tanner and Mike stickered up the car (post coming on that later). While the sun set behind the tall trees, we enjoyed stunning views of the rural German hill country over some pilsners. Tomorrow we drive to Freiburg and the heart of the Black Forest. - FWY
The town from the forest park