NAUMBURG 3 DAYS

God !! why are we here.... must be because its on the train line  to Potsdam.
We have walked the old town from end to end, side to side, looked at every church, there are differences here...Catholic and Lutheran
The big saving grace about this place isn't the BnB Zimmer it's pretty ordinary but the Cathedral  of St Peter and St Paul .Its a true monument to the Middle Ages 13th century, art works sculptures, carvings , iron and bronze works add to its grandeur. There is also an impressive court yard  garden

and outside garden. Naumburg  its self dates back about 750 years.. Today we did  short train trip to Bad Kosen and then took a return 20 min each way boat trip down the river.....a tourist con, should have saved our money.
Met 7 old German blokes over breakfast who are riding bikes for about 160 to 200km per day all in their 60's but one is  73 years of age...it was a fun conversation.

PICS
the main market square,
the cathedral
The last of the old city gates and wall
trams saved from east Germany  AND restored.

EXCITING   not really, remember Olten report, well its more exciting
We think POTSDAM will be exciting so don't give up looking!!

FULDA 2 DAYS .....A REAL SURPRISE

Fulda  in Germany has turned out to be a good choice. Its a town of about 50000 with a small but beautiful historic town center..you have to remember how much of Germany was bombed during the 2 WW..There are pockets of really old stuff but they have done a wonderful job either creating new modern cities or restoring back to the past...it was a decision for each region and town.

FULDA has a large an beautiful old castle, we paid the fee and did a self guided tour of the Residence.
pics ..tell the story
Much of town has Baroque buildings as well as full and half timber buildings found across Germany.
We visited the very large Cathedral built between 1704 and 1712
We saw the Schloss Fasanerie Museum but didn't go in... its a impressive building from the outside in a great garden setting.
Other churches in the old city are St Michaels..back to 812AD. St Blasius city church,
Finally we roamed around the wonderful gardens of Fulda with its lake , and a number of fountains ..

PICS
 Buildings
churches
gardens
city squares.
palace interiors

BADEN BADEN DAY 3 AND 4

A nice relaxing day, about 10.30am we caught a bus to a place called Unser Merkur, well above the city of Baden Baden and with views to other valley's and towns . The ticket also included a great trip by funicular rail to the mountain top. We also took the lift to the top of the observation tower...wonderful views.
After walking around the park area and having a quiet sit we decided on lunch at the hilltop  cafe, good sandwich each and after a  beer and wine and we off down the hill and back to town.
 Later in the afternoon we did a walk along the beautiful creek, now this creek is fast flowing and the surrounding lawns and gardens are all well cared for.
But that's not all.... Baden Baden is a money city and it shows in all the shops and buildings but especially the residential homes... Along this creek are some of the towns most exclusive homes ,some were former palaces, there are also some of the  most expensive 5 star hotels in the area....it really is swish.
DAY 4
We started out thinking this might be a much quieter day of looking and walking. We had given up on the idea of another session at the bath house but as the day wore on we decided to try the CARACALLA SPA about 300meters from the hotel and the Friedrichesbad Spa
The Caracalla Spa is a totally different experience.... part one is togs on... this it includes a massive indoor and out door spa  pools  with each pools a different temp, there were pools with and without jets of water. Theres a hot and cold Grotto, Aroma steam bath, solarium and lounges, bubble seats and water falls to massage you.
Then there's upstairs...NO TOGS AND KIDS and a range of amazing saunas, steam baths, Aroma sauna a  spectaculum, fire sauna, and blue room relaxation sensory room, We stayed for over 3 hours ..fantastic arvo, but no pic.... you can google it for the full story and pics

PICS
the funicular rail
views from the park and tower
Mr Smiths house .....eat your heart out john ,unless your related
There is also the Grahams house, what has he been hiding Ayla
its all very nice to say the least.

Next exciting post  is most likely tomorrow.

BADEN BADEN DAY ONE AND TWO

It was an hour and half train trip with one change between Strasbourg and Baden Baden , the downside is that's its 4.5km from the station to the centre of town where the hotel is located..taxi fare a real killer, we will go back to station by bus we hope.
This is the same hotel we stayed in 5 years ago. located directly opposite the Roman-Irish bath house with a 130 year history. We checked into the hotel then decided to head for the bath house
We opted for the 3.5hr option which includes a massage with thick soap and a scrub brush.
Wednesday is mixed sex day, and the whole experience is cloths free.... as per the first time 5 years ago we loved it..... hot pools, cool pools, steam baths  and dry saunas all at different temperatures.
In fact there are 17 stages in the process, all with suggested staying times.... all good , might even repeat the experience
Today after breakfast we walked the town... its not big but very exclusive,  relying very heavily on the tourist trade... not quite the high season yet, so its very comfortable. Russians are big visitors to this town for the baths.... there are 2 complexes both very different
There is also a very exclusive Casino..a big draw card for visitors.
We saw the casino , the opera house /theatre, also wonderful city parks and gardens
the town hall, and an assortment of very stylish shops.
PICS
Casino building
cathedral and fountain
old car I love
fun pic in a window

opera house,
gardens. shops and very nice buildings
our hotel and on the rhs of pic the bathhouse with its wonderful decorated domes.
look out for the foot in room!!

It was an exciting 2 days and the next post should be more exciting.

STRASBOURG --A DAY TRIP TO COLMAR

On the train by 10.20....30minutes later in Colmar. This is another very old  French/German town with a checkered history when it came to wars... now who's side am I on!!  It often split families.
The old town is UNESCO  Protected for its significance....lots of beautiful half and full timber houses
2 big churches .Catholics and Protestant...adding to the cultural problems historically.
There is a special part of the old quarter called LITTLE VENICE.
PICS  tell the story of the day out...
one pic about rest last night
 It gets more exciting over the next few days ...stay awake!!