This weekend was full of pleasant surprises. I slept in for the first time since I’ve been here, and got on the train to Mülheim with Nick, Halsey, and Emily. They wanted to have a relaxing day, so we decided to go to the Cassiopeia Therme. From the train station we caught a bus to Badenweiler, where we disembarked and climbed up a hill and immediately encountered the ruins of an Roman bathhouse, dating from 150 AD.

 

These are the first Roman ruins I’ve ever seen in person, which is very exciting as a Classical Humanities minor. We then went from the ruins to a castle that was built in 1080, and had an amazing view of the surrounding area. Unfortunately my camera dies so all I have left are iPhone pictures!

 

The thermal baths are crazy, I definitely want to go again. We got the combined pass so we could do the regular thermal baths, of which there were 3, the sauna (that had 3 different types of saunas) and the Roman-Irish baths. That was by far my favorite. You go through 3 separate steps which include a tepidarium and a caldarium, a room that is moist and where we rubbed salt on our skin, a hot tub like pool, a cold bath, and a room for relaxation with couches for laying. It was super cool.

We missed the last bus to the train station, but got a cab and made it to the last train to Freiburg. I wrote all of the times down right then and there, that way I know better for next time when to leave the bathhouse. We were just having so much fun eating and talking in the bistro that we lost track of time. I really need to get a watch… Europeans use them far more than we do in the States.

Sunday started at 9 AM, when Race, Sarah, Holland, and I caught a train to Bad Krozingen and then a connection to Staufen. There we tried (and failed) to find the beginning of a hiking trail that Race had found in a guide-book, and thus gave up and made our own way around the black forest. This resulted in us beginning up on Staufen Burg, a castle built in 1100 surrounded by modern-day vineyards, and ending at the Landgasthaus in Etzenbach for a pint and a glass of Honig Likör. Just what one needs after a 20 km hike in the mountains.

So, what a day. We ended up in Etzenbach and walked back to Staufen on a path alongside the train tracks. That hike is by far one of my favorites. It just supports a quote that I used to think that I understood, but I feel I am grasping better and better each day here. So I leave you with that, and with my favorite picture of my time in Germany thus far:

*Wandern in German means “to hike”. Gotta love Deutsch.