Bathing in Baden-Baden

So my parents got Javier and I a gift certificate to Der Kleine Prinz, a hotel in Baden-Baden, for Christmas. With winter being what it was we thought this would be the perfect time to get away and enjoy the spas. And it was. It was a great trip; what a fabulous gift idea. Thanks mom & dad!
Here are a few pictures of our room:












Now there isn't so much to do in Baden-Baden, but that is sort of the point. They have a theater and casino, but the big draw is really their spas. They are world famous and we found out why.

We drove down Saturday morning, checked into our hotel and did a bit of walking around. Its a cute town; you can walk end to end in 20 minutes so not very big. Here is a picture of the Trinkhalle (the old drinking hall, now used as tourist information)

At our hotel we had tea and cake in the afternoon and then headed off to the The Caracalla Spa. This spa had thermal pools downstairs (indoor and outdoor) and the saunas upstairs. Though the pools were fun, and it was neat swimming outside in the cold, there were a lot of people so we headed upstairs to the saunas. Our favorite parts of the sauna:
- The extra steam button in the dampfbad (Javi's favorite not mine)
- The outdoor saunas
- The multiple aroma saunas
We wished that there were more jacuzzis, less creapy old men and a bigger cold water pool. All in all we enjoyed our sauna experience.


After the spa we went to Lowenbrau for dinner. I had the pig knuckle. There was so much food, Javier had to help. Take a look.

On Sunday we went to the Friedrichsbad Spa before heading home again. This spa was different in that there are defined stages you need to follow. Usually this spa is split men/women, but on Sundays men and women bathe together. Though Javier didn't care of the orderliness of the stages so much there were a lot of unique features we really enjoyed about the spa. First off they have a soap and brush massage. Its early on in the stages but it feels wonderful. On the men's side they have two large dampfbads. These steam rooms were nice and hot, just the way we like them. They had a huge ice cold water pool, warm towels when you were done and a lotion station (where you apply body lotion) to finish off your experience.

Aside from the experience, the architecture and design were beautiful in the spa. Hand painted tiles, dome ceilings and angelic paintings. It was both relaxing and refreshing. It was a wonderful way to end our weekend.

With all that said and done, Javier and I agreed that our very own Kaiser-Friedrich spa in Wiesbaden was still our favorite. That won't stop us from testing all the other European spas though :)