Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge

We spent a couple of nights over Memorial Day Weekend camping on a rural AirBnB property just south of Cambridge, MD.  My main objective was astrophotography.  However, being so close to brackish tidal water and forests also meant that it would be a great opportunity to for some kayaking and nature viewing.

For the astrophotography details, see the other blog.

On Sunday morning Hans was up early taking pictures of all the wildlife around us.  When I awoke we had a simple breakfast and a bunch of coffee.

The visitors center for the wildlife refuge is a pretty nice and large building with lots of exhibits.  I picked up a couple of free maps and we drove to the main boat launch, deciding to paddle on the river side of the refuge.  We saw a fair number of bald eagles and eagle nests along our three-mile paddle.  After kayaking into the river current and headwind, our return trip was fairly quick.

We made one more stop in the refuge to go on a pretty short hike along a nice and flat loop trail.  Unfortunately we didn't see much nature (apart from a skittish rat snake) but at least the air was cool and we were in the shade.

For dinner we went back into town and had a very nice time at a waterfront restaurant.  In the evening clouds rolled in so I kept the astrophotography stuff in the car and we went to sleep at a normal hour.  On Monday we drove home.

 

Male red-winged blackbird

Eastern cottontail

Female red-winged blackbird

Male indigo bunting

 

Germany: Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte

This morning we were ready for another dose of nature but understandably Hans needed a break from driving so we traveled about 10 minutes out of town to a nice little wooded area for the Wegweiser Wasserfal.  The falls were not nearly as dramatic as what we saw yesterday however the canopy and vegetation made for some very interesting photos.

Back in town it was time to finally have some of the region's famous Black Forest Cake.  And our guidebook practically urged us to check out the fanciest cafe in town.  Their lunch was actually very nice and we had a light meal of ravioli along with coffees.  Hans got a coffee with kirschwasser but he did not enjoy it as much as he had hoped.  Having it with something sweet helped to take the alcohol edge off.  When it was time for dessert we were in absolute heaven.  The bottom crust was a basic pate brisee and then it had layers of chocolate cake soaked with kirschwasser and whipped cream (also with the liqueur).  It was all so delicious.

In the afternoon it was time for the spa (at least for me).  Friederichsbad is Baden-Baden's most famous spa, featuring Roman-Irish bathing.  Irish in that there are steam baths and Roman in that everyone is nude.  Yep. 

There are two sauna rooms, two steam rooms, a cold pool, a warm pool, and two mild temperature pools.  After check-in, you leave everything in your locker and walk around with a tiny bath sheet that they call a towel, lol.  Then, you just enjoy soaking in all of the areas.  When you are done they have a warm quiet room with soft beds for a little nap and then you sit on loungers with some freshly brewed tea.  It was absolutely wonderful.

While I was doing my spa thing for three hours, Hans walked around downtown and went through the music festival area.  When we reconnected he took me through there and I quickly began to realize how hungry I was after seeing all of the beer and food stands.

We went back to our hotel and had an incredible final dinner in Germany.  I had a roasted duck leg and Hans had roast boar.

Slept like a baby!

That was the conclusion for this fantastic introductory trip to Germany.  The next day we packed up the rental car and drove back to the Frankfurt airport.  We wished we could have had a bit more time on the trip but now we're inspired for our next visit!  Thanks for reading.

Germany: The Black Forest

This was a very long day of driving, hiking, and shopping.  In the morning we walked to this morning's farmers market for some snacks and a light breakfast.  The variety and quality of goods was honestly impressive.  We had coffee and apple waffles from a little trailer and then picked up some fresh apples, strawberries, and bread.  We still had a little bit of leftover sausage snacks and nuts from a few days before.  The scenic drive through the Black Forest region was lovely.  Occasionally we had to take a detour off of the main highway due to an extensive road closure however the small villages that we went through were very pretty.

Hans drove us to the Burgbach Wasserfall, the tallest single-drop fall in the Black Forest.  To reach the falls it's a very easy hike through the woods and up a little bit of rocks.  As you can see below we took the bulk of our pictures for the day on this hike.

 

Waffles and produce!

 

The rest of our day was occupied by driving around to various little towns and shops.  We went to the last active Black Forest glass works in Wolfach and ended our tour in the town of Triberg, home of the House of a Thousand Clocks!  We had many opportunities to buy ourselves an authentic Cuckoo Clock from a very nice wood carving shop but instead we purchased some other (but also good quality) crafts.

We were pretty exhausted upon our return to Baden-Baden so we picked up some take-away pizza around the corner from our hotel and did some relaxing.  Before getting dinner I took some pictures of the town at twilight.

Nighttime photo of our hotel

Evening falls on Baden-Baden