From Wiesbaden to Horben: The first day’s discoveries…

Saturday morning, we woke up to a beautiful sunny day. The sky was perfectly clear and blue, and the temperature was warm. I thought it would be a good day to visit the nearby city of Freiburg. But first, we’d have our first breakfast at Luisenhöhe. After our first dinner, I knew breakfast would be an unusual experience.

A smiling waitress, who ended up taking care of us every morning of our visit, led us to a table on the other side of the dining room. We had a view of the surrounding hills and valleys. Bill looked at the waitress’s nametag and got the sense that maybe she hails from Ukraine. She spoke excellent English that was charmingly accented, and she seemed genuinely friendly and service oriented as she offered us coffee. As she poured it, and brought me cream (rather than the usual milk), I realized that the coffee at this hotel was some of the best I’ve ever had, anywhere.

Just as it is at dinner time, breakfast at Luisenhöhe consists of small plates of different things which are brought to you at your table. They offer cold cuts and cheese that you can help yourself to, as well as juices and water. During our visit, they also offered fresh fruits and vegetables and smoothies, with a different thing offered every day. For example, on the first morning, they had vegetables. On the second and third, they had the smoothies. On the last morning, it was fresh fruit. Then after we had our four small courses, we were offered a “sweet” selection. On the first morning, it was a waffle.

Another server brought a big basket of bread, and we chose the pieces we wanted, which ended up being one of each kind. Bill likes hearty full grain breads with nuts and raisins and such. Much to my shame, I like refined white breads. It was no problem. They had several different varieties, all of which were impeccably prepared and very fresh. We had a small “globe” of butter, and jams were available. Below are photos of the first breakfast.

I enjoyed the first morning’s breakfast, although the French toast was made with Bergkäse (mountain cheese) that was too strong for me. It was too bad, too, because I really liked the idea of a savory French toast made with cheese. I’d like to try it at home, only I’d use a much milder type of cheese. It’s not even that the cheese they used was that strong. I just have very sensitive tastebuds when it comes to certain flavors. The musty, barnyard flavors in certain cheeses and other foods make me gag, and if I’m not careful, I will vomit. I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t become a chef! Anyway, I think we’ll try to find a recipe for savory French toast and use cheese that doesn’t make me puke.

After breakfast, I decided I needed to get some photos of the surrounding area. It was a good thing I did, since the skies weren’t nearly as clear the rest of our time there. Below are the pictures I took on the biking/hiking trail near the hotel.

We decided to try out the heated pool after our walk. I had a feeling it would be a good time to do that, since the weather was so nice. I figured people would be out and about. I was right about that, as we would find out after our swim. Below are a few photos from the spa area. We did not have any treatments or use the saunas, but if we go back, I’ll make a point of doing that. One thing I hope this hotel will eventually have is a hot tub or two… I’m sure it’s just a matter of time, especially at their current price point.

*This was a kind of rain shower, which took a moment or two to figure out.*

I have a feeling they use heavily vanilla scented products in the spa. I came to that conclusion on the first night at dinner, when a young woman sat near us and smelled really good… of vanilla. I thought maybe it was perfume, but then noticed she looked like maybe she’d been at the spa. When I later smelled someone else with that same scent, I realized that was a spa product. I loved the scent, although it did kind of obscure the smell of the food in the dining room. I’m not sure that was the proprietors’ aim.

After a swim, and trying out the massage functions in the pool, we got cleaned up and headed toward Freiburg. I took more photos on the drive there. I was excited to see the city… but alas, the parking garages were all FULL! And there were long lines of cars waiting to park in them. Bill made a couple of wrong turns and we soon found ourselves in “Walkplatzes”, where people were giving us dirty looks and making gestures at Bill. We didn’t know Freiburg was such a “green” city, so unfriendly to cars. The GPS sent us to the wrong part of the town, which was positively TEEMING with people who were walking and on bikes.

Here, I want to make a statement to anyone reading this, thinking it’s helpful to shoot dirty looks and make gestures at people who end up driving into the wrong place. We KNOW we’re in the wrong place, and we’re trying our best to rectify the matter. We don’t need you to add to the situation by wildly gesturing, giving us dirty looks, or shouting at us. It just makes you look like assholes. And before anyone points this out, we know that being in the wrong places makes us look like assholes. But, unlike you, we’re trying to fix the situation, rather than engaging in shaming and ridiculing people who simply made an honest mistake. What? You’ve never made a mistake? It must be nice to be so perfect. /sarcasm

Anyway, we did finally get out of that mess, although any relaxation gleaned from the pool was now totally gone. Bill was trying to figure out where we could go with the car. I looked around at what was admittedly a very cool looking city, and I realized that all of those people were a huge turn off to me. So I suggested that we go to France.

“But I forgot to bring my passport.” Bill fretted.

In almost ten years of living in Germany, no one has EVER asked for our passports at the French border. Of course, there is a first time for everything. But what was the worst that could happen? We get sent back to Germany?

We headed to the border, even though Bill didn’t have his passport. Before we knew it, we were driving over the Rhein… and I realized, we were passing Breisach again! As I was getting my bearings, Bill said “I really need to pee.”

I looked up and noticed a “welcome center”. Bill wondered if maybe there was a public restroom there. He pulled into the parking lot and found the place boarded up. Then he turned his head and saw a sign for a “Piscine.”

“Piscine!” he exclaimed. “Perfect!”

Naturally, I had a good laugh at the joke. Yes, we know that “piscine” is French for pool. But it does sound like one could “piss” there. One probably can, if one pays the entrance fee. I had noticed the pool from the German side of the river the day before. As we were trying to escape the parking lot, we were confronted by a bunch of confusing road signs advising us not to make a left turn. Left was where we needed to go to get out that area.

After a few minutes, we found ourselves being funneled into a parking lot where there were RVs, and then we saw a hotel… and they had the patio open for lunch! As it was almost 2:00 PM by then, I suggested we stop for lunch. Bill could use the potty while we were there.

The waitress asked us if it was okay if we had salads. Yes– it was fine. We were still kind of full from breakfast, anyway. We sat down at a table in France, at Hotel Le Caballin, with a view of Breisach, Germany. We had tarte flambées (Alsatian pizzas) with beer, as I marveled at how we ended up in Vogelgrun, France for lunch.

*I’d like to get a closer look at this building in Freiburg…*

I said to Bill, “I am fascinated by borders. It’s so cool to be sitting in France, listening to people speaking French, as I gaze at the German border town we visited yesterday…”

Bill said, “That’s true. Whenever you’re near a border, you gotta cross it!”

And I said, “Especially if it’s the border of good taste…”

We headed back toward the hotel, thinking maybe we could take the Schauinsland Bahn… but there was no parking to be had. Not surprising, given how beautiful the weather was. So, we went back to the hotel and hung out on the patio before dinner. It was a perfect Saturday afternoon…

And then we had dinner, which was, once again, a stunning experience. My one complaint was that we ended up sitting at the big communal table, which meant climbing up on a stool. However, because people didn’t want to sit in the middle seat at the big table (just as they wouldn’t on an airplane), we ended up with a slightly more private dining experience on Saturday night. As you can see in the menu, they had mushrooms on the menu, and I can’t eat mushrooms. I substituted a delicious wild boar dish for an upcharge of 13 euros. It was worth the extra money.

Bill selected a Sylvaner wine to go with our dinner. The sommelier praised his choice. Bill told him that we’d visited Würzburg in February and visited a winery that specialized in them. Much to our surprise and delight, the guy said “Weingut Am Stein?”

Yes! That was where we stayed, and we had a wine tasting there. It turned out the sommelier knew all about it, and in fact, they had some wine from Weingut Am Stein on their wine list. That was a pretty cool moment.

Baden-Württemberg, Schwarzwald

From Wiesbaden to Horben: Arrival at Luisenhöhe…

We arrived at Luisenhöhe shortly after the 4:00 PM check-in time. Bill was a little confused by how to access the parking garage. As he approached, he turned right, instead of left. A right turn got him to what appeared to be a sort of sally port. A left turn got him into the generously appointed parking garage, which offered several outlets for electric vehicles, as well as spots for gasoline powered cars.

Bill parked at the first spot that was free. He commented that he was sure he’d be asked to move, since the spots were all numbered. I grabbed my purse and found the door into the hotel. From the very first glance, it was impressive. The underground entrance reminded me trees, but my German friend, Susanne, said that it was actually meant as a designer’s nod to the area’s silver mining history. Whatever it was meant to signify, I thought the entrance was very cool looking…

We took the elevator to the reception area, where a friendly young man with a big smile and curly brown hair greeted us. He quickly found our reservation, the paperwork for which I had filled out at home before we left. When Bill asked about parking, the receptionist assured him that it was fine to leave the car where it was parked. Then he offered us a welcome drink– alcoholic or non-alcoholic. Naturally, we went for the alcoholic choice, which turned out to be locally produced Sekt. As you can see below, the view changed constantly.

We sat in the hotel’s bar area, enjoying the views of the mountains in the distance. It was pretty cloudy on Friday, but even with the clouds, the mountains offered dramatic scenery. Bill immediately noticed the Chemex coffee system carafes in the bar area. He was impressed, as this type of filtered coffee system is very cutting edge. My eyes were caught by the row of bottles that looked almost like perfumes. I later asked the bartender about them, and he said they were indeed meant for making cocktails with just the right flavors.

After we finished our welcome drink, we went back to reception, where a young woman waited with the keys to room 207. Below are photos from that room, which is one of the largest of the basic rooms offered. From the room we booked, the price jumps considerably, as those rooms are considered either feel good or favorite suites. They are much larger and more private than the regular rooms are.

*Bed– it had a nightlight under it that was tripped every time we got out of bed.*

One of the most interesting features of the room was the window. The bottom half was made of glass, while the top part could be opened with an unobstructed view, or with the sunshade pulled down. The whole thing was controlled by a touch screen switch on the wall. This was also where the climate control was located. There was a heavy sliding door that could be pulled to close the window from the elements or noise from outside.

Bill demonstrates the window. I was the one pushing the button, of course. As you can see, we had a view of the pool and the spa area…

If we ever go back to this hotel, I would opt for a room with a “panorama” view, even if it meant a little less room. The larger room we had was right by the pool and spa area, making it seem somewhat less private and, at times, a bit noisy. It wasn’t too much of a problem during our visit, since it’s early spring and the hotel wasn’t full. But when people show up for the summer, and the hotel is fuller, having a window that opens to the pool area may be problematic for people who like quiet. I noticed in the couple of hours before dinner, as people were enjoying the pool, that I could easily hear their conversations. That probably doesn’t bother everyone, but I am kind of sensitive to noise. I can picture a crowd at the pool being rowdy in the afternoon when I might want to take a nap… 😉

To be totally honest, I wasn’t that impressed with the room itself. The room has a bathroom that is kind of open concept, with a private stall for the toilet and the shower, rather than a private room for everything. For some reason, there’s a clear glass panel in the shower, making it possible to see inside the shower. That’s fine for people in a relationship, but it might be a problem for friends sharing a room.

The mattress was a bit firm for my taste, although it wasn’t as firm as the mattress was at the Wald Hotel in Stuttgart. Each side of the bed had two foam rubber pillows. We brought our own feather pillows, because we’re weird like that. It wouldn’t have been necessary to bring the pillows to this hotel, but you never know in Germany. Sometimes, they really don’t give you enough pillows. Each side also had its own duvet, which some people like or hate. Personally, I don’t mind it.

The shower had a huge rainfall head, but the water pressure was a bit weak, which was disappointing for me. I like a massage action on the shower. The toiletries were good quality, with a woodsy, unisex scent. They were in big pump bottles– body wash, shampoo, and conditioner (balm). The vanity area was a bit crowded and small, but I did appreciate the good lighting and makeup mirror. They also provide robes for the stay, and a bag you can take with you. If you need slippers, they can provide them. I brought my own robe and pool shoes, but Bill used the robe. He said it wasn’t very roomy.

There were plenty of electrical outlets for all of our electronics, and lots of lamps, rather than overhead lights. I liked that, since overhead lighting usually stresses me out. The floor was painted concrete, which I didn’t like much, but I can’t deny that it came in handy. When we stopped at the gas station on our way to Breisach, Bill bought me a Coke, which exploded when I opened it. The concrete floor made it easy to clean up the resulting mess. I’m sure it’s better for keeping allergies at bay, too.

After we settled in for a couple of hours, Bill and I headed down to the restaurant for dinner. It’s optional to pay extra and book nightly dinners at the Luisenhöhe, although breakfast is included in the price of the room. The service hours are between 6:30 PM and 8:00 PM. You just show up anytime between those times.

I will admit, my first impression of the hotel’s restaurant, Restaurant Luise, wasn’t 100 percent positive. Food service at Luisenhöhe is unusual, and it may not suit everyone. However, now that I’ve spent four nights there and tried a huge array of dishes I never otherwise would have, I can say that I would enthusiastically recommend booking dinner, especially if you aren’t super picky. It really is a pretty amazing experience.

The hotel’s Chef de Cuisine is Niels Möller, and he is something of a culinary wizard. Every night, there’s a four course meal offered, which can be ordered with or without flesh (meat or fish). The chef chooses very fresh, local, seasonally appropriate ingredients, and somehow matches them perfectly, often with items you would never expect. I was pleasantly shocked at every meal, even at the one in which I couldn’t eat the main course because it had mushrooms and veal. I will eat veal sparingly, although I prefer not to. I do not eat mushrooms under ANY circumstances. Fortunately, they do have a menu in which a substitute dish can be ordered for a modest upcharge.

The wait staff is very friendly and many of the staff members speak excellent English and/or French. Several of the servers appeared to also be in training to be sommeliers. The first two nights we were there, we ordered wine from the guy who was clearly the sommelier, as he had a lapel pin with a bunch of grapes. But on Sunday and Monday nights, we were sold wine by more junior staffers, both of whom did a great job.

Our first night, we were seated at a two top between two other two tops. That would not have been my preference, as we were rather close to the other couples, which made it harder to converse privately. It didn’t occur to me to complain. I did notice other people complaining about proposed tables and being moved elsewhere. I guess my time as a server makes it hard for me to complain at restaurants.

We were a little confused at first, thinking we were to choose an entree, until the waitress explained that we would get everything on the menu. Everything is on small plates. I did notice the lady next to me didn’t have every course or had a substitute. She was very thin and fit looking, and her husband was a very snappy dresser. They spoke German, but I suspect they came from Switzerland. They didn’t dress like Germans. 😉

Below are the dishes we were served the first night. Bill decided to go vegetarian for that one:

*This is the non-vegetarian option, with mackerel…*

It looks like this might be their Friday night selection this season, since this menu is the example on their Web site. All of it was very good, although this was not my favorite of what we had during our four night stay. I’m pretty sure the chef was there on Friday and Saturday night. He served us one course each on each night, spoke English and French, and was utterly charming. He can do magic with food.

After dinner, we decided to skip the nightcap and go to bed. It had been a long day, and Saturday promised to be active. More on that in the next post!

Baden-Württemberg, Rhein, Schwarzwald, short breaks

From Wiesbaden to Horben: Our first glimpse of Luisenhöhe, by way of Breisach!

When I plan trips, sometimes I get carried away with what I’d like to try to do. As a member of several Facebook photo groups, it’s easy to find quaint little villages where I’d like to go take some photos and walk around a bit. That was the case last week, days before we ventured to Horben. Someone in the Schwarzwald photo group on Facebook had shared a picture of a very attractive village that was on the way down to the Freiburg area. I thought it might make for a nice place to stop for coffee and a wee off of Autobahn 5.

Unfortunately, after I saw someone’s photos of a quaint village in the Black Forest, I neglected to make a note of where the place was. Bill and I looked for it on Google Earth, but never were quite sure of what we were looking for. Then, on the morning of April 5th, I decided to do laundry before we left the house. We can only drop off Noyzi at the Hundepension at an appointed time, so we didn’t end up leaving early enough to make a stop in a village. Instead, we wound up at a very familiar Rasthaus stop, where we had very ordinary food for lunch. That would be the last ordinary meal we’d have before we got home yesterday afternoon. I see that I didn’t even bother to take a photo of it. Instead, I took one of the Paulaner Hefeweizen I drank, so I could tag it for the Untappd app.

Noyzi was very happy to go to the Tierpension Birkenhof. He was so excited that he ran to the young folks who run it and practically bowled them over with his brand of canine hugs. It’s always reassuring to see how much Noyzi loves the staff at the Hundepension. We never have to worry about him when we take trips. He loves car rides, too, as you can see!

Noyzi LOVES the Birkenhof!

Although we weren’t able to stop in a cute town for a coffee break, we did kill some time in a town we’d never been to before. I get a lot of ads for river cruises, especially along the Rhein. I would never book a Rhein cruise, though, unless there was a reason other than the ports of call. I live about twenty minutes from the Rhein, and have seen most of the places where the vessels usually stop. I did notice, though, that Viking ships usually stop in a little town called Breisach, which is right on the Rhein and across the river from France. We had never been to Breisach, so we decided to stop there on the way to Horben. I thought maybe we’d have lunch there, but again, we got on the road too late for that.

Breisach is about a thirty to forty minute drive from Horben. Bill put it in the GPS, which was going to take us on a scenic route through another cute town to get there. Unfortunately, the GPS doesn’t always know about roadworks. When we were faced with a detour in a little town near Breisach, we decided to backtrack to the main road, with a quick detour to a gas station so I could have a pee break. The weather was a bit cloudy, but fairly warm. It was okay for a short stop near the cruise “port”, which turned out to be a little stop on the edge of the old town. Viking had two identical ships there, anchored side by side. Emerald Sky was also docked there when we made our short visit. We were happy to find free parking and a free toilet that was moderately clean and stocked! That’s quite a score in Germany.

Breisach is a very attractive town, smaller than I was expecting it to be. A large Catholic church– Breisacher Münster St. Stephan— overlooks the little port town, and I noticed lots of tourist friendly businesses near the port and the main drag. The ice cream shop was doing especially brisk business on Friday. As I gazed across the Rhein, somehow it didn’t occur to me that I was looking at France. Especially when I noticed a water slide on the other bank. Yes… that is extreme eastern France! And there’s a lot of waterfowl there, too. I was especially enchanted by the swans. I think I could be persuaded to visit Breisach again, and spend more time exploring there.

Below are some photos:

*A little town near Breisach. It was very cute, but loaded with construction.*

After our too brief stop in Breisach, we continued on toward Horben. Our route took us through a corner of Freiburg, a beautiful, sunny, “green” university city that we need to return to by train and explore some more. Freiburg is not friendly to cars, as we found out on Saturday. But, what we did see of it is very appealing, especially if you like to bike. I definitely want to visit it properly and see what’s there. The part of Freiburg that leads to Horben is very charming and kind of ritzy, as you can see below.

As we made our way up into the mountains, we passed through a charming suburban hamlet. Then we saw it… the distinctive horseshoe shape of the Luisenhöhe, which just opened in the fall of 2023. More on that in the next post!

Baden-Württemberg, Schwarzwald, short breaks, trip planning

Facebook introduces us to the wonders of Luisenhöhe…

We’re back home in Wiesbaden now, after our four night trip to the southern Black Forest (Schwarzwald) hamlet of Horben. Before a couple of weeks ago, I had never heard of Horben. Now, our visit there will live among many cherished memories I will forever have of our years in Germany.

I discovered Horben by way of Facebook. Last month, Bill was on a long TDY assignment in Bavaria, working very long days and nights. Meanwhile, I was sitting here alone, bored and a little depressed. When he got back from his temporary duty yonder, I asked Bill if he’d like to go away for a few days. He said he’d like to take a short trip. I went looking for the right place. I wanted something restful, but in a nice area. I wanted good food and a decent spa. Since it was going to be a short break, I didn’t want it to be too far away, although we did briefly consider flying somewhere.

Facebook kept sending me ads for a place called Luisenhöhe. I was definitely intrigued, because it looked like just the kind of place I enjoy the most. I noticed it was in a very scenic area and promised an excellent dining experience. Then I noticed it’s practically a brand new hotel, had only a few reviews, and it costs a lot of euros to stay there! Also, it’s in Germany, and I was kind of hoping to go somewhere else for a few days. I decided to keep looking. I thought maybe we’d finally visit Basel, Switzerland or maybe Bern. I even had a hotel in mind…

But the Facebook ads for Luisenhöhe were continuing to beckon, and I finally realized that Horben is very close to Freiburg, a city/area my German friend, Susanne, has been bugging me to visit for the ten years we’ve lived here. Susanne is from the Freiburg area, and she kept telling us how beautiful it is. I believed her, as we’d driven through Freiburg before on other trips. I’d even looked into staying there, but my plans were always overcome by events.

Finally, I decided to show Bill and get his reaction. He was as attracted to Luisenhöhe as I was. He also liked the other finalist, Les Trois Rois, in Basel, Switzerland. Finally, we decided to let fate settle things. We flipped a coin. Luisenhöhe won. I felt good about that outcome, especially when I realized that Horben is very close to France and Switzerland, and if we got too bored in that area of Germany, we could easily cross either border.

I immediately set about booking our stay in a 31 square meter “Wellbeing Room”, facing the garden. Since we booked within two weeks of our stay, we were committed to paying. So, I prayed everything would go according to plan, and we’d manage to finally visit the Freiburg area. Now that’s we’re home from our trip, I feel like it was meant to be that we would discover the Freiburg area and this amazing new hotel with food that blew our minds!

I’ll be writing in detail about our unique experience over the next few days. I will also be sharing photos of some of the most picturesque views I’ve seen in Germany. As we were saying goodbye to some of the very friendly staff members last night, we were warmly thanked for coming, and welcomed to come back soon. I honestly hope we can. As long as Bill works these crazy TDY assignments, I think it’s within the realm of the possible!

I hope you’ll follow along as I write my series. I’d really like to help this new hotel succeed! The food alone is something amazing to behold…

Schwarzwald

Ten things I learned in Bareiss style Baiersbronn…

Now that my latest blog series about Hotel Bareiss is complete, here’s my usual “ten things I learned” post. I find that these top ten lists tend to get read more than my “blow by blow” posts. Let’s face it! People don’t necessarily care about the minutiae of someone else’s vacation. On the other hand, sometimes including the small details is useful for some readers, or even just to myself, as I get older and duller. 😉

Anyway, here’s my list, even though we’ve done Baiersbronn before. I see that I didn’t do a ten things I learned list for our first Baiersbronn trip, so maybe it’s good to do one now. Here goes!

10. The Hotel Bareiss experience reminds me a little of being on a cruise ship.

The first time we visited Baiersbronn for more than a couple of hours, we stayed at Hotel Engel Obertal, which is a perfectly nice hotel that offers half board. But that hotel didn’t seem to be nearly as structured as Hotel Bareiss is. Yes, lunch was included in the daily rate there, but we didn’t feel like we HAD to eat lunch there. Although we didn’t HAVE to eat dinner at Hotel Bareiss either, the very heavy service component and knowing that we were paying for the food, anyway, made us feel obligated to eat there. And while it wasn’t a bad thing at all to dine at Hotel Bareiss, that aspect made me feel a little like I was on a cruise ship. The resort offers a lot of activities, too, like a cruise ship does.

9. Hotel Bareiss is very expensive, but offers an extremely high quality product.

When I compare Hotel Bareiss to Hotel Engel Obertal, I see some obvious similarities. However, Hotel Bareiss is an institution in Baiersbronn, and people come from all over to experience it. Service is mostly top notch, and they put a lot of effort into presenting a very pleasant experience for guests. That experience will cost you, of course! But if you have the means, and you just want to relax without worrying about anything, Hotel Bareiss might be just the place to go.

8. I wouldn’t call Hotel Bareiss a very “romantic” place for couples…

Although this is a five star resort hotel with a three star Michelin restaurant, it’s also a very family friendly place. There are lots of activities available for children, and they aren’t specifically prohibited from going into places. That means you might see them in the bar, or even in the sauna area. However, I did notice that visiting in late September/early October meant that most kids were in school, so their population was at a minimum during our stay. I would not book Bareiss in the summer if I was wanting to avoid running into families with children, though.

7. Baiersbronn and the Black Forest offer a lot to do outdoors. But maybe there are not as many things to do inside. Planning for the weather is a good idea.

We suffered some rain during our visit, which made us not really want to venture out so much. A lot of the things I was thinking I’d like to do were strictly outside activities. There are some museums and other indoor activities for the resourceful, and the hotel offers excursions to nearby places like Strasbourg, France or Baden-Baden. The hotel also offers classes sometimes. For instance, they have culinary and wine courses that can be booked. I didn’t mind the rain so much, since we had such a hot, dry summer. Next time, maybe I’ll look for more inside opportunities, in case of inclement weather. Or, at the very least, I would bring clothes and shoes for wet weather. Baiersbronn is kind of a sleepy town, but there are other areas nearby that are well worth a visit.

6. Bring an extra bathing suit!

Hotel Bareiss has an AWESOME pool area, and it’s usable all year. If you like to swim or relax in the water, you may want to bring an extra bathing suit. They also have a dryer in the locker room that will wring most of the the water out in eight seconds.

5. You can bring your dog!

Although I tend to relax more when I travel without our dogs, I did miss them while we were at the Hotel Bareiss. I think Noyzi, in particular, would have loved the hotel. So many people brought their beautiful pooches with them, and there were a lot of amenities for them, including dog sitting! But bear in mind, if you do bring your dog, there are steep extra charges involved and not every room will be available to you.

4. Pack a nice outfit or two.

The Hotel Bareiss requests that guests dress nicely for dinner. That doesn’t necessarily mean putting on a dress or a suit, nor does it even mean they’ll turn you away at the door. But if you happen to be at the hotel on gala night, you will want to be dressy, as most people do put on their gladrags for the occasion. If you wear jeans and a sweatshirt, you might feel quite underdressed.

3. Don’t be afraid to try other area restaurants.

Baiersbronn is home to quite a few excellent restaurants besides the ones at Hotel Bareiss. Most are affiliated with other hotels, to include the ones at Hotel Traube Tonbach, another highly regarded hotel in the area. We ate at Traube Tonbach last year and had a very nice experience. We also tried the Meierei, which has a Michelin Plate, and liked that even more than the Michelin starred restaurant at the Traube Tonbach. But even if you aren’t into gourmet food, you can find really good eating in Baiersbronn. Especially if you like fresh trout, like I do!

2. You don’t have to spend a mint to stay in Baiersbronn…

It’s true that we dropped a load of euros at Hotel Bareiss. This year’s visit was about twice as expensive as last year’s, although we also stayed a day longer and in fancier digs. But if we’d wanted to, we could have easily bunked comfortably in less extravagant lodging and had a great time. In fact, in some ways, I think I might have preferred a less “structured” holiday. I don’t think I’m that into resorts and half board plans. I like having the freedom to try different places and do my own thing. Maybe next time we go to the Black Forest, we’ll try to find a self catering apartment in a different area.

1. On the other hand, I would NOT turn down another visit to Hotel Bareiss…

It really is a lovely hotel, with friendly and mostly professional staff, and magical surroundings. We absolutely did enjoy ourselves, and would heartily recommend that others visit. Just remember that when you book Hotel Bareiss, you’re likely to be committed to going. You may wish to purchase travel insurance, in case you need to cancel. In our situation, I was worried about Arran being sick with lymphoma and needing us to come home to take care of him. However, he has now shown us that he is clearly not ready to leave us yet… so I’m glad we didn’t cancel! In fact, as I write this, he’s visiting the vet. I have a feeling she might be pleasantly surprised by how he’s doing today.

Well, that about does it for this year’s visit to the Schwarzwald. I hope this series has been entertaining, informative, and inspirational. If you’re living in Germany, I highly recommend taking the opportunity to visit The Black Forest. We completely missed it the first time we lived here. I’m so glad we came back and rectified that tragedy! And if you are into good food, especially fine dining, you may want to make a point of visiting Baiersbronn. As I mentioned in 2018, when we first heard of Baiersbronn, there are lots of (Michelin) “stars” in them there hills!

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Baiersbronn in the Black Forest– Bareiss Style! Part eight

Here’s the very last part of my series on the Hotel Bareiss in Baiersbronn. I hope it will be short. I’ll try to make it so, as I will also be doing my customary “top ten things I learned” post, for those who can’t be bothered to read the whole series.

Sunday night, after dinner, we found a letter from the hotel management thanking us for our stay. The letter was in English, but it had a couple of rather glaring errors in it. I know this sounds really “uppity” of me to notice, especially since I understood it perfectly. But, I’m afraid I am a bit of a stickler about such things, especially since so many people speak English at the hotel, and the errors were pretty basic (ie; not capitalizing the word “dear”). Also, this hotel charges out the wazoo, and purports to exact high standards in all things. So I wasn’t very impressed by the letter, which thanked us for staying, offered instructions for checking out, and requested us to fill out a survey, which I was happy to do. One thing that was lacking in the room, or maybe I just never found it, was a pen. Fortunately, other hotels were more generous, and I had a couple in my purse. 😉

I didn’t sleep well the last night, because I woke up at about 3:00 am needing the bathroom. When I was finished there, I was wide awake, which prompted me to look at Facebook. That was a mistake, since that was when I saw the comment about my trout looking like it was vomited on, and that irritated me. I probably should book a meditation vacation next. I need to stop being annoyed by dumb things.

I did finally drift off to sleep again, and we got up at about 7:30 am. We packed everything up before heading off for our last breakfast. Then Bill fetched the car key fob from the “mailbox” in the lobby, so he would have it ready for the porter who came to help us with our bags. The same very kind gentleman in the green blazer arrived quickly to load us up and get us on our way. I took a couple of photos of the minibar, which I never managed to look at during our stay. It was pretty well stocked! I didn’t see a price list, but I’m sure nothing in there was cheap. They did provide us with daily waters and fruit. I took the fruit home, since I knew they would be throwing it out, anyway.

Bill settled the bill, which came to about 4800 euros. That was for the room, half board, a la carte dining, drinks, tips, taxes, an energy surcharge (thanks Putin), and parking in a private garage. Yes, it was a lot of money, but it was less than we would have spent on a luxury cruise. We don’t do big ships– we do smaller lines like SeaDream and Hebridean– and if we ever cruise again, we’ll probably do a French barge cruise. We would have easily spent more than that for a week on a boat, plus we probably would have had to fly to reach the vessel. This was a lot like being on a cruise, but having access to our car. I like not being a captive audience!

Thankfully, right now the dollar is in the very rare position of being worth more than the euro is. So actually, we spent about $4700. What a bargain! 😉

Of course, you don’t have to spend that much to enjoy Baiersbronn. The area has a bunch of lodging options to fit any budget. In fact, I was looking at another hotel– four stars– that is rated higher than Bareiss is on TripAdvisor. Because it has fewer facilities, it’s less expensive. And it is important to note that in Europe, five stars doesn’t necessarily mean service is five star. The stars indicate the facilities available and supposed luxuries. So you could stay at a perfectly basic but wonderful one star hotel that just offers a bed and a toilet. Or you could stay at a really shitty five star place that has a big pool and a business center. Keep that in mind.

I do think the Bareiss Hotel is a beautiful property and, for the most part, I was very pleased by the service. Most everybody was very pleasant, and the facilities are very good. My only quibble was that some of the decor was kind of dated looking to me. The color scheme included a lot of pinks, greens, and mauves, with lots of gold fixtures, if you catch my drift. Yes, it’s a hotel with a long history, having been founded in 1951 as the Kurhotel Mitteltal by Hermine Bareiss, and the quaintness is part of its charm. But there were a few areas that looked like they could use a coat of paint or maybe an updated color scheme. Of course, making those changes would result in higher prices.

I did love the uniforms everyone wore. The dirndls were especially pretty, and it looked like they had several styles. I don’t like wearing uniforms, but I would feel beautiful in some of the dirndls they had for the ladies. A dirndl is a rare dress that actually flatters my figure.

Once Bill paid the tab, we got in the car and headed home. Just as we were leaving the valley, the sun came out and there was beautiful sunshine. Figures. It would have been a good day to go to the waterfalls. Maybe next time we’ll make it there. I did get some pictures from the drive out of the Schwarzwald. It’s so beautiful there. I do like Wiesbaden, but it lacks a lot of the landscape and natural beauty of Baden-Württemberg. Since I lived in that area for a total of six years in two and four year stints, it will always have a piece of my heart. I feel like I’m going home when I visit BW, even though my actual home is Virginia.

So now we’re back in Wiesbaden, and it’s time to face the music with our sweet Arran. He survived the Hundepension just fine, and is still chipper at this point. I know it’s temporary, but it’s good to see him, and Noyzi who, just today, is celebrating two years of life with us. We brought him home two years ago today. Who knows what’s in store for us? We could have a rough winter. So I’m glad we took this trip. I don’t think I’ll forget our experience at Hotel Bareiss anytime soon… especially since they sent us home with a parting gift.

*It’s not Molton Brown, which were the toiletries in the bathroom… in fact, it’s better.*

Tomorrow, I will post my top ten things I learned rundown… Hope you’ll read it!

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Baiersbronn in the Black Forest– Bareiss Style! Part seven

Ah Sunday… our last full day at the luxurious Hotel Bareiss in Baiersbronn. Once again, I wondered if we might be able to venture to the waterfalls. Once again, I was disappointed by wind, rain, and the occasional teasing from the sun. Oh well. Now we have a reason to come back to Baiersbronn, or some other fancy resort in the area.

So what did we do on our last day? That was another pool day for us, and since I’ve already posted my pool photos in part four, I don’t have much to write about that, other than we discovered that the Bareiss has a really cool swimsuit dryer that wrings the water out of your bathing suit in eight seconds flat. I hadn’t noticed it during our first visit. Also, this was the day that I saw the nude lady in the jacuzzi, informing me that the sauna and steam room area at Hotel Bareiss is obviously clothing optional. I didn’t see any signs about that, although it’s well known in Germany that you don’t sit in a sauna or steam room while wearing a swimsuit. You will be properly bitched out for it, if you do!

Bill and I weren’t really interested in the saunas or steam rooms, anyway. After a few more turns in the indoor and outdoor saltwater pools, we just enjoyed the awesome outdoor hot tub in the sauna area, which we had all to ourselves. The sauna world also had a Kneipp walk pool, an icy cold plunge pool, foot baths, and an exit to the outside, where I assume one could walk around au naturale if they wanted to. I’ve heard being nude in public isn’t necessarily illegal in Germany, although it certainly would be noticed and frowned upon. But I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong. 😉

After we came back from the pool area, we decided to walk into town and have lunch at a restaurant at Hotel Lamm, another lodging facility located across the street from Hotel Bareiss. Hotel Lamm isn’t as fancy as Hotel Bareiss is, but it does have a pretty nice restaurant. As we were walking in, we noticed a large group of young folks in Trachten– traditional German clothing– and they were obviously headed to the Volksfest in Stuttgart. Or maybe they were going somewhere else, but they sure looked like they were going to party, and they could get the train and enjoy themselves safely.

The restaurant at Hotel Lamm is called Wipfel (Treetop), and it is staffed by young folks dressed in traditional Trachten. Our waitress switched to English as soon as she heard us speak, then apologized for not having a menu in English. It was okay, as we both speak German restaurant lingo pretty well.

I was still perturbed about the unpleasant reactions to my trout dish on Saturday, so I ordered another one! That one didn’t attract as much attention. Bill had beef with horseradish sauce. We shared a bottle of locally produced Riesling, a bottle of mineral water, and more farmer’s bread. I was impressed by the Wipfel, and the hotel itself looked nice. I’m sure it is a hell of a lot less expensive to stay there, too!

*Farmer’s bread, honey drizzled butter, and amuses from the kitchen!*

We walked around Baiersbronn a bit after a late lunch, then walked back to the Bareiss, gawking at all the Porsches, Mercedes, BMWs, Teslas and Volvos… I never thought we’d stay in such a place. When we married 20 years ago, we never went anywhere for fun, because we were broke. It wasn’t until we were married 3 years before we finally went on a trip that didn’t involve staying with family. We’ve come a long way.

Dinner at Bareiss on Sunday night was a more casual affair. I didn’t visit the buffet, but I believe vegetables was the theme. As it was, I just had one course from the menu, a filet mignon with roasted potatoes, and dessert. I wanted to try another steak, and was pleased that this time, the temperature was right. I also loved the dessert, which was a pistachio parfait.

Because it was our last night, and because I was thinking of Arran, who was named after a Scottish island in the Hebrides, Bill and I visited the bar one last time. I drank a couple of drams of whisky, while Bill had a cocktail and a wee dram of scotch. I was glad to see they had Glen Scotia from Campbeltown, but they didn’t have any Springbank!

The bartender, who had been a little aloof, was genuinely kind when we said we were going home. It was nice to hang out in her bar for a few days. But going home is better for the wallet! And, to be honest, as much as I enjoyed our visit, I was ready to come home. I think long trips are kind of hard for us, especially when things are structured, as they tend to be in resorts. I don’t know if or when we’ll be back to the Schwarzwald “on holiday”, but I would love to find a really nice self-catering house with great views of the mountains and the freedom to try different places for dinner.

On the other hand, of course I would also love to go to the Bareiss again. Stay tuned for part eight, which will close out this series.

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Baiersbronn in the Black Forest– Bareiss Style! Part four

Friday morning, I was eager to see the pool and sauna areas of the hotel. I had a specific reason for this, and I apologize in advance, as many people will consider it TMI. I am 50 years old, but I’m not yet menopausal… and I knew that there was a good chance I would be visited by everybody’s favorite “Aunt Flow”. So I wanted to try the pool before that particular chore would make swimming more problematic. As it turned out, Aunt Flow decided to spare me, but on Friday, I wasn’t sure. So, that was where we spent our Friday morning, after breakfast, of course. I got a few more photos of the lavish offerings, which I will share below.

Bill and I went to the pool area before we got our bathing suits. We wanted to know what to expect. I took some photos for the blog, as no one was there at all during our initial visit. That alone makes the Bareiss Hotel kind of special. It has facilities that rival some of the awesome public spas we’ve visited in Germany, but I’ve never seen them empty like this… Imagine all of this all to yourself! It’s pretty great. Of course, in the summer, I’m sure it’s not like this at all. That’s why I suggest booking during the less popular times to travel, if you can manage it. Below are some photos from the pool area.

I didn’t get a good shot of the heated outdoor pool. That one can be entered from inside and accessed by a sliding door with an “eye”. It had bubbling rack where people can sit and get a massage, a flow channel, and a couple of massaging jets. I liked that pool, too, but it was too chilly and inconvenient to get a photo. The sun eventually came out, and I got a nice view of the area from the solarium.

Bill and I did not use the saunas or steam rooms. That was mainly because neither of us really care too much about them, and here in Germany, you have to be nude. I don’t mind being nude in the saunas or steam rooms, especially since everybody does it here. But the Bareiss doesn’t really have a lot of room for changing. I found only one dressing room, and I didn’t feel comfortable getting naked in the locker room, which was for everybody. They do have “spa kilts”, which really just looked like big towels. I didn’t want to mess with it. They also provide robes and slippers. We used the ones in our room, but I would have been more comfortable if I’d remembered to bring my own robe, which I know fits me properly. We did use the whirlpools in the sauna area, which were very nice. I think those were clothing optional, as we did see a naked lady in one of them. We just kept our suits on. Below are some photos from the sauna area and the shopping area.

*Our favorite whirlpool… hot water, near a “waterfall”, and very private. In the sauna area.*

There’s a swimming pond and an outdoor pool that we didn’t check out, due to the cool temperatures. In hot weather, they offer another option for swimming and sun worship.

I could have spent all day in the pool area. The one thing that seemed to be missing was waiter service. They did have the breakfast area set up, and I’m sure we could have ordered room service from the pool area. I still think it would have been good to have someone there full time to provide drinks or snacks to those who wanted them. I know it was technically available, since I saw one family getting service, but it’s not like anyone was obviously there for that purpose. I can’t complain, though, as the pool area is very relaxing and offers something for everyone. Especially the grownups! I did see that on Saturday night, which was the gala night, the kids’ program had a “pool party” after 7:00pm, which is when the pool area closes.

I also got some photos of the solarium and the gym area. No, I didn’t use either of them. 😀 And I got a few pictures of the shopping passage, where there are little boutiques selling jewelry, clothes, and gifts. If you want to, you can also get your hair done. I haven’t had mine professionally done since 2010. My dentist thought I colored my hair, but that, too, is natural as of 2017! The hard water in Germany makes coloring my hair too risky.

By the time we were finished with the pool, it was getting close to lunch time. We decided to have cake and coffee instead. Again, drinks aren’t included in the price of board, except at breakfast. But the cakes are included, and boy were they beautiful!

After we had cake, we decided to take a walk into town and visit the Apotheke. Bill was troubled by fullness in his ear and hoped the pharmacist could help. He bought some ear drops and, as it turned out, they were helpful after a short wait. I had a chance to take a few more photos.

And finally, as the evening approached, we decided to visit the goats again… and I got more pictures! On the way there, we ran into an elderly German gentleman with an adorable dog named Maya. Upon discovering that we are Americans, he told us in perfect English that he used to live in Baltimore, Maryland and went to Harvard Business School. No wonder he was vacationing at Hotel Bareiss. He’s probably loaded! We hung out with the goats until the ponies were brought in, and little kids were allowed to go into the pen and pet everybody.

I already miss the petting zoo.

Now… time for part five!

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Baiersbronn in the Black Forest– Bareiss Style! Part two

Travel insurance is important for expensive trips!

It’s a good thing that I bought travel insurance for our trip. In the weeks leading up to it, we learned that our older dog, Arran, has lymphoma. We had another dog named Zane who also had lymphoma, and sadly he died just one week after he was diagnosed. In Zane’s case, the cancer appeared while we were vacationing in Scotland back in August 2019, and we had no idea that he was sick. A week after we got home, I felt swollen lymph nodes under his jaw, and a week after that, he was gone.

So naturally, I was worried about how Arran would do while we were visiting the Bareiss Hotel. We didn’t find out about his lymphoma until canceling would have required us to pay 80% of the cost of the reservation. Then, we would have been fighting the insurance company. Nevertheless, the thought of canceling did occur to us.

We ultimately decided not to cancel, because Arran is overall healthier than Zane was when he got sick. We also took him to the vet last week, and she said she thought he would be okay during our time away. We had a fine needle aspirate done to see what kind of lymphoma Arran has; it doesn’t appear to be as aggressive as Zane’s was. We also knew that since we’d just be in the Schwarzwald, it wouldn’t be a problem to come back and deal with Arran if the need arose. We didn’t get any calls from the Hundepension while we were gone, so we assume he did alright. He has an appointment to see the vet on Wednesday, at which point we’ll determine what can be done to make the rest of his time the most comfortable.

I’m bringing up travel insurance for another reason. A friend of mine from back home in Virginia was fretting the other day because she had booked a cruise, and the area from which the sailing was occurring was affected by Hurricane Ian. She did not buy travel insurance. Fortunately, it didn’t turn out to be necessary; the cruise was delayed, rather than canceled. But she was lamenting about not being “smart enough” to get insurance. I don’t always insure my trips, but I will for expensive hotels that I can’t cancel, and for things like cruises. This trip, costing well into the four figures, was expensive for us. So I sprang for the insurance with “cancel for any reason” coverage, just for the peace of mind. I really recommend it, even though it adds an additional cost to the trip. We usually buy our insurance through USAA, but you can purchase it through many outlets. Be sure to read the reviews before taking the leap! Not all travel insurers are created equally. In fact, given how much service at USAA has been slipping lately, maybe it’s time I re-evaluated getting insured through them. 😉 (as of 2024, we do have to buy travel insurance elsewhere, since Travel Insured doesn’t offer coverage to us in Germany anymore.)

Edited to add: I am pleased to report that Arran made it through his time at the Hundepension with no issues. He’s home, and delighted to be back with his favorite person, Bill!

Now… on to happier matters!

We decided to start our trip on Wednesday, because our dental visit was scheduled for Thursday afternoon. Downtown Stuttgart is about a 90 minute drive from Baiersbronn, and we didn’t want to be in a situation in which we were arriving late. In retrospect, it would have been okay to arrive on Thursday. I just thought it would be better to be checked in and settled before the dentist visit, especially since we had never been to the Bareiss before and didn’t know how things worked there. Besides, we love luxury hotels, so an extra night is never a hardship.

On the way to the Schwarzwald, we stopped at the Hundepension with Arran and Noyzi. Noyzi was absolutely delighted to be there. He loves the young lady who takes care of him– and young women in general. He also loves to play with other dogs. I expected Arran to be sulky, but he was actually pretty chill. Noyzi practically dragged me to the gate, while Arran moseyed along quietly, touching noses with a few dogs who greeted us on the way in. When we got to the gate, Noyzi literally pounded on it with his paw! He was so excited to see Natasha, the caretaker.

We explained about Arran to Natasha and I asked her to contact us if she had any problems with Arran, since we were only going to be a couple of hours away. Natasha didn’t contact us, so I’m guessing Arran was a slower, finickier version of himself. Bill will go get them in a little while.

Once the dogs were dropped off, we got on the road, stopping at a Rasthof for a bathroom break. Awhile later, we both needed another potty break. Unfortunately, at the second time we needed a break, there weren’t any full service facilities available. Bill decided to pull off at one of the “free” WCs on the side of the Autobahn. Those things are a mixed bag. Sometimes, they’re relatively clean and well maintained. Sometimes, they are something out of a horror show. The one we encountered on the way to Hotel Bareiss was closer to the horror show. The floors were a bit flooded, and there was toilet paper strewn everywhere. I have seen some truly gross facilities in my time, having lived for over two years in Armenia, where the public toilets were so nasty that one was happy to find a squat hole, rather than a commode. We should have moved on from that toilet, but I decided to hold my nose and go. It was not a good decision, as the gross water on the floor got on my pants.

Bill did come away from the experience with a funny story, though. A lot of the men were just going behind the facility and peeing in the woods. I should have done that myself, actually. But one elderly German man braved the toilet with Bill, and complained to him in German. He said something along the lines of, “So, this is Germany. We were in the Netherlands for four days last week. Everything there was right. Look at the state of things here in Germany. Shameful!”

I was pretty grossed out by that bathroom experience, and especially by the souvenir left on my pants. I actually considered changing pants before we got the hotel, I was so offended. But we pressed on, and arrived at the Hotel Bareiss in the early afternoon. We pulled up the grand structure with the electric gate, that didn’t open for us at first. But then we arrived at the front of the hotel, and a very kind and friendly man in a green blazer welcomed us. We walked into the lobby for the first time, noticing that the doors opened electronically just about everywhere on the grounds.

A young man at reception eagerly welcomed us, easily finding our booking. He spoke English, but had some sort of severe speech impediment. I don’t know exactly what it was– maybe stuttering of some sort, or perhaps dysprosody? He was very professional, and I was amazed by his ability to explain things to us in English, in spite of his obvious problems speaking with fluency. We tried to put him at ease to make it easier for him to speak clearly. The only issue was that he had a trainee with him who appeared somewhat amused by his colleague’s difficulties speaking to us. I suppose that’s a human reaction, but it was kind of uncomfortable to witness.

*You put your car keys in the “mailbox” so it’s easy to summon your vehicle.*

The young man showed us the little “mailboxes” in the lobby, where we could store our car key fob for easy access when we wanted the car brought to us. Then he took us to our room. I booked the Double Room Rotunda Landhaus II. This room– LH 35– had a huge balcony with a nice view and was outfitted with quaint floral accents. There was a large heart on our door that read “Herzlich Willkommen!” I noticed the heart sign was on the doors of all newly arriving guests. The bathroom had a huge bathtub in it, that I never got around to trying. It had his and her sinks, a bidet, and lots of gold fixtures. There was lots of closet space and a minibar, as well as an adjustable bed, couch, and a flat screen television with German channels. Below are some photos of the room:

*You could kill someone with that key ring!*

Because it was still early in the day, and we hadn’t had lunch, we decided to see what we could find to eat. It was about 1:30pm, so they were serving lunch in the dining room where we had most of our meals. Lunch is not included in the price of the room, but breakfast and dinner are. That was different from the Hotel Engel Obertal. There, breakfast and lunch are included, but dinner isn’t.

Bareiss has several a la carte restaurants, including the Kaminstube, which we didn’t try, the Dorfstube, and the Forellenhof, which we tried last year. The hotel also has a Three Star Michelin Star restaurant called Restaurant Bareiss. Of course, to eat in the fanciest restaurant, one must reserve well in advance. Maybe we’ll try Restaurant Bareiss if we manage to stay at the hotel again. I would love to do that, since I really enjoyed our a la carte lunches. The meals we got from the board option were all excellent, but I was very impressed by the a la carte dishes that we paid for separately. I definitely think there’s an even higher standard with those menus. Below are some photos from lunch, which we purposely kept small, because I knew dinner was liable to be a big production.

After lunch, we took our first walk through the “Waldpark”, which includes a short barefoot trail and a petting zoo. We met the hotel’s delightful goats and ponies, as well as some of the rabbits kept on site. Bareiss also has pet deer on the premises, but we never got around to visiting them. I was too enchanted by one special goat, who proved to be very friendly and willingly posed for several photos. I wanted to get a pet goat after meeting the ones at Hotel Bareiss!

For dinner, the hotel management requests that guests dress in smart casual attire. I didn’t see this rule being enforced, much to the chagrin of one European TripAdvisor reviewer. I did bring a couple of dresses, which proved to be useful, especially on Saturday night. Most nights, I wore pants and a sweater, while Bill dressed like he was going to work. Some people wore jeans, though, and weren’t turned away at the door. The staff all wore traditional German attire. I was impressed by the beautiful dirndls and dresses the women wore. I don’t generally like uniforms, but I thought the ones at Bareiss were very nice looking.

As for dinner itself– it’s extensive. Each night, there’s a theme. Most meals begin with a trip to the humongous salad bar/buffet, where there are many different dishes available, according to the theme. The array of choices is incredible. I counted over 35 different cheeses offered. I don’t eat much cheese myself– at least not the fancy ones that Bill likes. I do enjoy watching him enjoy them, and he sure went to town.

Then, you choose courses from the menu– starters, soups, fish dishes and red meats, cheeses, and desserts. If nothing on the themed menu impresses, you can order steak, or other cold dishes that are always available. Beverages are not included in the price of dinner, but they are included at breakfast. Each night, we enjoyed a different bottle of locally produced German wine from the hotel’s vast cellar. And, in case anyone is wondering, yes, they have wines from other places, too.

Below are some photos from our first dinner, which had an Asian theme. I wasn’t very hungry, due to the lunch we enjoyed late in the afternoon, so I only had fish and dessert… and wine, of course. The family that owns the hotel gifted us with a complimentary glass of Sekt. Dinner is served from 6:30pm, and the staff requests that people come between 6:30 and 8:30pm, although it’s possible to come later– until 10:00pm. Our waitress the first two nights was the same lady who looked after us at lunch. She was very friendly and professional.

*Bill had a bigger appetite and tried more than I did the first night.*

I’d say our arrival was a success! Stay tuned for part three.

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Baiersbronn in the Black Forest– Bareiss Style! Part one

Those of you who regularly read my travel blog might remember that in August 2021, when it came time for Bill and me to visit our dentist in Stuttgart, we decided to book a stay at the Hotel Engel Obertal in Baiersbronn. We spent four pleasant nights at that luxury property and mostly really enjoyed ourselves. While we were staying at that hotel, we visited a restaurant owned by the Hotel Bareiss called the Forellenhof Buhlbach. I noticed a number of guests who were enjoying fresh trout there were also staying at Hotel Bareiss. I didn’t know much about the place, other than it’s where one of the two Three Star Michelin restaurants in Baiersbronn is. I also knew that Hotel Bareiss is considered a pretty swanky place to stay.

In August, Bill rescheduled our dental appointments, to accommodate the Hundepension taking care of our dogs, Arran and Noyzi. Since we moved to Wiesbaden and COVID-19 has been less of an issue, we’ve been combining our trips to Stuttgart with “mini breaks”. Last year, we did Baiersbronn, for instance. In the spring, we went to Sessenheim, France, and stayed in a beautiful little boutique hotel with a gourmet restaurant. I was considering staying in another nice place we haven’t yet been, when I remembered the Bareiss Hotel, and how curious I was about it. So I checked their availability for our dates…

Sure enough, they had room in their “Landhaus”, which is where some of the hotel’s suites and apartments are. After talking about it with Bill– especially given the steep price of the room– we decided to book it. And, because of the steep cost, and the contractual obligation to pay soon after we booked, I also bought travel insurance. It made sense, since the original quote– just for five nights in the room, parking in a garage, and half board, was about 3700 euros. That may seem like a lot, and it is. But you get a lot for your money at this hotel. Besides offering a comfortable place to stay, the Bareiss also has daily activities and many facilities, an awesome spa and sauna world, a huge pool complex with several pools, most of which can be used year round, walking trails, a petting zoo, and lots of child friendly attractions. It’s also an extremely dog friendly hotel, although there is a daily 35 euro charge for each dog.

Having just left the hotel this morning, I can say that the high price was mostly worth it. I liked the Bareiss more than Hotel Engel Obertal. The food was exceptional, especially considering that we mostly ate from the board program, rather than a la carte. The staff is mostly excellent, too. I did have a few quibbles about a few things, which I’ll get to as I write the blow by blow account of our trip. But– overall– I can say that we did enjoy ourselves very much.

I just wish we’d had better weather, because there were some outdoor activities I wanted to do while we were visiting. However, not doing those activities meant that we got to enjoy a couple of fabulous mornings in the pool and sauna world. They were not at all crowded, and were on par with some of the best public mineralthermes/spas/quellens we’ve been to. Imagine going to your favorite pool based spa with almost no one there, competing for resources. That’s what it was like for us at the Hotel Bareiss at this time of year, when most children are in school. I think if you’re a couple or a bunch of ladies who want a relatively quiet and less child populated experience at this property, definitely book in late September or October! In the summer, I’m sure it’s a hell of a lot more crowded and expensive! But then, the weather is also sunnier.

I’m going to start from the beginning of our five night stay and give a very detailed account, then do my usual quick and dirty top ten things I learned post, for those who want to skip the details. I hope you’ll come along with me on our latest Black Forest journey!

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The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

…the wanderings and ramblings of a boring housewife…

Tag Archives: Black Forest

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