Saturday 27 August

In the afternoon, Pat and I drove from Frieberg to Baden Baden, Germany about a one hour drive north on the Autobahn. When I read that they go 120, I thought that meant miles per hour. It is different. It is kilometers so it is equated differently, but you can go fast. [Don't tell anyone, but I was flying along at 180 ... I love to drive fast and the car was awesome!]

The Autobahn is like any other highway, complete with traffic in some areas, and the usual things one encounters. I want to note that large highways in the US always have places to pull over for gas / petrol, bathroom / food / etc. but this was not the case on the Autobahn. We drove on A4, A5, and A6 as we visited different cities. The highways we traveled on generally had 2 lanes on each side, not at all what I expected. The New Jersey Turnpike, up this way, has 6 lanes in each direction!

Castle ruins along the way

Baden is another charming city featuring many outdoor activities and a gambling casino. Nothing spiritual about this part of the trip, just some sightseeing.

Baden is a historical state in the southwest of Germany. It came into existence in the 12th century as the Margravate of Baden and subsequently split into different lines, which were unified in 1771. It became the much-enlarged Grand Duchy of Baden, a sovereign country, through the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1803-1806.

It joined the German Empire in 1871, remaining a Grand Duchy until 1918 when it became part of the Weimar Republic. Baden was bounded to the north by the Kingdom of Bavaria and the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt; to the west and practically throughout its whole length by the River Rhine, which separated it from the Bavarian Rhenish Palatinate and Alsace in modern France ; to the south by Switzerland, and to the east by the Kingdom of Württemberg, the Principality of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and partly by Bavaria.

After World War II in 1945, the French military government created the State of Baden with Freiburg im Breisgau as capital out of the southern half of the former Baden. The northern half combined with northern Württemberg was part of the American military zone and formed the State of Württemberg-Baden.

In 1952 Baden was merged with Württemberg-Baden and Württemberg-Hohenzollern to form Baden-Württemberg.

Casino on the left

Not much else to share about Baden Baden as we only spent a few hours there. Baden Baden is famous for its 'baths' but we had no time and this did not appeal to me at all.