Tag Archives: wellness

Baden-Württemberg, Luxury, Schwarzwald, short breaks

From Horben to Wiesbaden: Time to go home to Hessen!

Tuesday morning eventually arrived, and it was time to pack up and go home. I can’t say I was sad to be going. As much fun as we had in Horben, I was missing Noyzi and my bed, which has a foam topper on it and is easier on my back. The weather had also taken a turn for the worse. It was raining outside, and the temperature had dropped about twenty degrees, at least on the Fahrenheit scale.

We were ready to go back to our normal lives in Hessen, but if we had stayed another night, it probably would have been a spa day for us. I regret not having a massage while we were at Luisenhöhe, if only so I could enjoy that wonderfully aromatic vanilla scented fragrance they used there. But that gives us a reason to go back sometime, if the opportunity ever arises.

Bill loaded up the car while I put on my face. Then we went down to breakfast and enjoyed one last innovative meal. I really enjoyed the staff at Luisenhöhe. Most of the people working there truly seemed to enjoy their work, especially those working in the kitchen. The equipment is state of the art, and the head chef truly is a genius. Or maybe I just don’t get out enough.

Below are some photos from our final breakfast, served once again by the smiling waitress who took care of us the previous four mornings. The night before, Bill had spoken to the bartender about the Chemex filtered coffee system they had in the bar. He wanted to try it, but unfortunately, the barista said it wasn’t possible. I don’t know if it was because he didn’t know how, or because they didn’t have the available equipment. We did learn, however, that coffee drinks are included in the price during breakfast. The barista brought us a couple of Americanos for our trouble. I wish I had thought to ask them where they get their coffee. It was really good.

We had a “sausage salad”, that I suspect was made from the goat pastrami we had in the previous night’s dinner. There was goat yogurt with granola, pears with pistachio nuts, wonderfully fresh brioches, milk rice, fresh fruit, and a poached egg on spinach…

Since we had already packed the car, all that was left to do was check out. So, with slightly heavy hearts, we headed to the reception and tallied up the damage. Four nights at the Luisenhöhe, with the optional dinner board, wine every night, tips, and multiple visits to the bar, set us back 3,400 euros ($3,700). Yes, it was expensive, and in some ways, I think it was a bit overpriced. I think the room rate was too high, but I think the food was worth every euro cent.

Seriously… my mind was blown at just about every meal. It was very healthy and fresh, and there were so many interesting combinations of ingredients that I never would have expected. Everything was beautifully presented, and the staff seemed to really enjoy their jobs. The setting for the hotel is exquisite, with flowering trees, green hills, and when there’s no Sahara dust, blue skies. I bet it’s stunning there in the autumn. I hope I can find out firsthand, even if I do think the room was slightly too “spendy”. I’m sure they need to charge a lot, though, as I read it cost about $60 million to build the hotel, which is very cutting edge. It’s powered by geothermal means and has a green roof.

The receptionist thanked us for staying, gave us a couple of bottles of sparkling water, and a tin of the hotel’s special tea as a parting gift. We headed down to the parking garage one last time. Then we were on our way home. I took a few more photos as we left the beautiful Freiburg region. I do hope to be back someday soon. As you can see in the photos, the weather did change a bit…

We got home in the early afternoon, after a completely uneventful drive north. I started doing laundry, and at about 5:00, Bill went to get Noyzi. I wasn’t there for the reunion, but Bill said he was delighted to be picked up after a few days hanging out with his canine friends at the Tierpension Birkenhof.

I don’t know what we’ll do this year for a big vacation. We usually go away for a week or two. This year, we’re expecting a new canine family member, who will be joining us from Kosovo at some point in the near future. We had been talking about visiting Iceland, but then we heard about the volcanos erupting. I have been getting some tempting offers from Hebridean Island Cruises, which I have to say is probably my favorite cruise line. I just wish they went to places other than the UK. But I do have my eye on a cruise in Ireland that I might decide to book. We’ll see.

Actually, Bill and I have been talking about doing more short trips, but on a regular basis. We used to do that a lot when we had less money and time to travel. It would definitely help keep my travel blog more interesting. But that plan remains up in the air for now.

Anyway, that about does it for my series on Horben and the wonderful Luisenhöhe. I do hope the hotel is a success, as I’m sure it will be. We really enjoyed ourselves. I hope we’ll be back again. Stay tuned for my usual “ten things I learned” post.

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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’s 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…

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anecdotes

Try it… you might like it!

Last night, George Takei’s page shared an AITA post about a German woman who was upset because her American boyfriend refused to go to an “all-nude” spa with her. If you follow this blog, you might already know that I am an American, and I am a fan of the German “all-nude” spas. I’ve written about our experiences a few times, and based on the hits I get, I know that this topic is interesting to people all over the world.

It took me a long time to work up the courage to try a nude spa. Once I walked into the Palais Thermal the first time, though… (my very first nude spa experience), it took me very little time to join in the fun and bare it all. My very self-conscious, modest husband, Bill, soon followed. We both quickly realized that being nude in a German spa is no big deal. Everybody is nude, and no one cares what your body looks like. The focus is on wellness and health, not ogling and gawking. I was VERY proud of Bill for trying it, by the way. I thought he never would, but once he tried the spa and didn’t die of embarrassment, he became a fan.

I want to ask this guy… Why go to Germany as an exchange student if you don’t want to embrace the culture? My guess is that she got tickets to Friedrichsbad in Baden-Baden, which is NOT cheap. However, it is a very nice experience.

It was with that truth in mind that I decided to leave a comment on George Takei’s post. I noticed several Germans “liked” my post, but one person– name of Sasha– decided to berate and insult me for posting that the American boyfriend “doesn’t know what he’s missing.” Sasha started by saying my comment was “ridiculous”, because just because I like something, that doesn’t mean everyone will. Then he (I’m assuming it was a “he”) continued by leaving uncivilized and insulting comments about everything from my intellect to my appearance.

The dude in Takei’s article later followed up with this conclusion…

She should have asked him before buying the tickets. BUT– by not even considering her proposal, he’s missing out on an interesting experience.

I finally shut down Sasha after he said I “wasn’t very bright” by “agreeing”, with a laugh reaction and the comment “Whatever you say!” He “liked” it and fucked off, much to my relief.

I wonder what that was about. Was he looking for a fight with a stranger? Was his goal to try to humiliate me? I don’t think he got what he was looking for, because I just laugh reacted at him repeatedly, and resisted the urge to comment with annoyance or nastiness. I did advise him to keep scrolling or simply fuck off, if he didn’t like my comment, but his reaction was to continue being rude, rather than having a discussion.

I will agree that not everyone likes nude spas. However, this guy has obviously never even been to one, and would never even consider going to one. It kind of makes him a wimp, in my book. If he goes and doesn’t like the experience, that’s one thing. But by just giving in to the idea that nude spas are weird and make him feel “uncomfortable”, he’s definitely limiting himself. I wonder why he’d want to be an exchange student if he’s so afraid to try new things.

Put it this way… what’s the worst thing that might happen?

He’s not going to die. If he started to die, he would probably quickly be rescued. Germans are mostly great at rescuing people who are in medical trouble.

Does he think people will laugh at him?

In all the times I’ve been to nude spas, that has never happened to me. And I have a body that might inspire laughter. In fact, the vast majority of people who go are there to relax. They are focused on themselves, not you. The one exception is the time we went to the Mineraltherme near Stuttgart, and there were American teenaged boys there who had probably gone there thinking they’d see “hot” women in the nude. I am sure they were sorely disappointed.

Is he afraid he’s going to be “grossed out” by other people’s bodies?

If so, he might want to think about his attitude toward other people. We were all born naked. Everyone has “parts”. It’s not really a big deal if you see someone else’s parts. You can avert your eyes. Most people stay in the water, anyway, when they’re nude. When they get out of the water, they wrap up in a towel or a robe. In fairness, though, the Friedrichsbad isn’t really like that. The time we went there, we were nude pretty much the whole time.

While I understand that a lot of people are embarrassed and self-conscious about their bodies, it might be worth trying a nude spa. Personally, I find them quite liberating, but that’s probably because people take spa culture very seriously in Germany. The focus really is on HEALTH and WELLNESS, not sexual attraction, shame, or humiliation. It’s one very pragmatic aspect of German culture that I love. In fact, I am way overdue for a visit to our local spa. Almost all of the ones I’ve been to have been beautiful, peaceful, heavenly places. I’ve always left them feeling relaxed and wonderful.

While I might agree that the German girlfriend shouldn’t have bought tickets before talking to her American boyfriend, I also think he should get over himself and give the nude spa a go. He might be surprised by how positive the experience can be… and if it doesn’t turn out that way for him, nothing says he ever has to do it again. I mean, I tried going to a gynecologist and hated the experience, so I don’t go anymore. No harm, no foul. 😉

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