Baden-Baden

Our day in Baden-Baden was too short instigating a new rule that we never stay only one night in any one place. We started our tour by walking just up the hill by the Stiftskirche.

Alongside the church, there were these giant elevated clay pots. I wish I knew more about the back story here; do you?

Baden-Baden is all about hot springs (I didn't realize until this trip that "Baden" means "Bath" in German) and there are many of them all around the city including near the church. As a result, the local flora is almost tropical despite Baden-Baden being further north than Fort Kent, Maine.

Nearby is a public fountain with 105℉ water flowing out! This was a new thing for me.

The streets of Baden-Baden range from quiet, twisted and picturesque to more energetic, commercial and touristy. Here is a not so busy intersection near our hotel.

We next made the transition to the busier section of town. Sadly we did not have the time to stop in and sample the Budweiser (Czech, not Belgian) at Restaurant Prager Stuben.

A colorful hotel restaurant in the main section of Baden-Baden.

Sometimes you see interesting things walking the streets of a foreign city.

We walked over to the famous Kurhaus Casino - felt by Marlene Dietrich to be "the most beautiful casino in the world" and home to the NATO summit in 2009. We briefly checked out the interior but did not partake.

And then back across the canal into town, back to our hotel to reluctantly check out and hit the road. 

Next stop: Strasbourg, France on the way to Colmar.

Baden-Baden

We made it to Baden-Baden to a wonderful hotel called the Rathausglockel (highly recommended) where we also had a fantastic supper complete with tarte flambée - a totally new and life changing experience for me.


The next morning dawned loud (church bells very close by though we both slept through several aural displays) and beautiful. I poked my head out of one of our windows to see a couple early morning scenes.

The Hotel am Markt was even closer to the nearby church and therefore had an even louder wake up call with the bells.

Once I got up, I took a short walk up through the hills of Baden-Baden. The street were beautiful and hilly. 

Before returning to our hotel ready for breakfast!

Basel and Germany

After several days of meetings in Ghent, I flew to the EuroAirport in Basel Switzerland. Despite the grand name, it's a very manageably sized airport.

I arrived right on time via EasyJet from Amsterdam and was ready to meet Meg (coming from Boston through Charles de Gaulle in Paris) about an hour after I landed. 


This did not happen.


After seeing Meg's flight canceled on the arrivals board and speaking to her on the phone, I learned that due to a French transportation strike, the flight was not flying. I looked into other transport (driving to Paris, rail) before concluding our best shot was to wait and hope the flight would eventually fly.


So I rented our car for the upcoming week and walked around every nook and corner of the EuroAirport visiting the huge art display called the "Luminator" by the Swiss artist Jean Tinguely.

In time, Meg's flight did fly. She arrived in Basel nearly four hours late but I deemed that a victory after contemplating our other options. We jumped in the car and hit the road stopping first in the small and beautiful town of Staufen, Germany for a very late lunch. The food was delicious, the day gorgeous and the town very picturesque.

We reluctantly left town after stopping at Cafe Decker (highly recommended!) and loading up on some delicious chocolates and headed North to Baden-Baden.

Antwerp Train Station

The recent trip to Europe started with the (now) standard flight to Amsterdam followed by a train trip to Ghent through Antwerp. Though I was not able to catch up with our friend Ewa in Antwerp (for mussels and beer!) , I had the opportunity to stop in the beautiful train station there.

Zach

Six years ago - I can't believe that - we lost our Zachy boy. He got up early and went out for a morning walkabout and never returned. I was devastated and wrote this blog post hoping for a miracle. The miracle was not granted.

I think about you Zachy almost every day. The world is not the same without your ineffable catness in it - and your little black sister is out of hand without your firm guidance. I miss you Zach.

Dali Car

While we were wandering through Beaune, France sampling the amazing wines and admiring the scenery, we stumbled across a permanent Dali exhibit and a great advertisement for said exhibit.

On this trip, I took the iPad rather than my laptop which was the perfect excuse to play with Snapseed - a remarkably fun photo app which let's you do Dali'esque transformations to everyday scenes.


We're posting more pictures from the trip at our full gallery here. Please check it out!

Brandy in the Sun...

I think I'm getting into this dog portrait thing...

King of the World...

Our expired Christmas tree still lives on the deck and is a favorite of the red squirrels. They seems to covet the view from the top!

Morning Sun

The morning sun caught Brandy on our walk this morning...

Some days...

...are Vivaldi days or Yo-Yo Ma days or even weird Tom Waits days. Way too many days are Journey days. 


Today is a Keith Moon day.

I found this fantastic picture on the web of a very young Keith Moon preparing to change the world while simultaneously destroying himself. Let's go big on the first part and temper the second part today OK?

[Drum set kicked over. Cymbals shattered. Foot through the bass drum]

Snoozer Dog...

Brandy loves her bed - but she doesn't always stay in it...

Goodbye my sweet Prince

Turns out that Prince stopped in our lives just for one night and is now on to the next phase of his increasingly happy life. I took these shots - including one vaguely illustrating his "flippy walk" and another showing off his serpentine tail - just before he joined his new family.

Prince...

We have the opportunity to help another rescue dog named Prince! He has definitely had a very tough run but is getting along well with Brandy and is drinking up the attention.

Dancing Bears...

I seem to have a crush on our dog. Yes our dog - we're in the process of moving from fostering Brandy to adopting her. She is a wonderful addition to the household!

Roxy...

This little girl in need joined us last Friday night. Roxy is a terribly sweet girl and a good playmate for our Brandy.

The oeufes of color...

We were lucky enough to get this batch of fresh eggs recently. They were the most colorful non-Easter dozen of eggs I've ever seen.

Can't wait to eat them...

First balloon of the season...

... rolled past our place this morning. It was a new design (to us) with a single passenger. Opportunities like this always make me pine for a longer, better lens...

The Best Part ...

... of the trip to Gent was stopping in Antwerp to see our good friend Ewa. After picking me up at the amazing Antwerp train station...

She took me for a delicious beer at Elfde Gebod (The Eleventh Commandment) 

and then amazing mussels and frites at Stadscafé. 

Having such a good friend so far from home is a special thing indeed. Thanks Ewa!

Snow in Ghent

 On the last day in Ghent, it snowed. This happens infrequently - perhaps once a year - so the city is not particularly prepared for it. Things slow down and get a bit quieter; there are snowball fights and at least one little fellow getting towed down Zebrastraat on a sled.

Zebrastraat...

Is that a giant nail?

Arrival...

Ghent's Festival of Lights!

Ghent at night...

Here are a couple shots of Ghent's beautiful downtown area at night.


The Belfry of Ghent...

Here is Graslei Harbor...

Saint Nicholas's Church as a car drives by...