He Afternoon I Arrived in Badenweiler, the Iocal Weinstub E Suddenly Con

he afternoon I arrived in perhaps,understandable. Long eclipsed around the time ofthe onesin Bath,75 I Badenweiler,the iocal by Baden-Baden,Badenweiler, on the AD, and the designsare simiiar. Excavated o Weinstube suddenly con- southerntip ofthe BlackForest, has tired in the r8th century it wasthe Grand Duke z verteditself into a theatre. ofbeing hidden awayas a little-known Karl Friedrichof Badenwho made the o f- In walked a flaxen-haired German secret.Having suffered nearly town a famous spaby choosingthis ashis o actressand while I could halfa century ofobscurity it now feels summer residence.His beautifll I(urpark, u z not understand a word of the German she the need to spice up its history. Not that which surroundsthe Roman ruins, is in spoke,it was clearthis was high drama. its history requires much revisionism. the styleofan English garden,firll ofplants I It turned out to be the story of ancient In many waysBadenweile/s past is with healing propertiesand scents,and ex- U Badenweiler,now being used more glorious than any other German otic trees,including a r7o-year-oldsequoia. F Romansin = to promote the once great spatown. spa.For much of the rgth and the first The CassiopeiaTherme, the modern o are right next to the Roman ones - U Margrita Wahrer,playing the goddess halfofthe zoth centuries it attracted baths, z Dianae Abnoba in the classicRoman many celebrities.Hermann Hessespent providing a seamlesstransition from the U style,bringing togetherthe Roman god, a year here and Anton Chekhov and the pastto the present.Once you havenego- [' oflockers- a o Diana,with the Celticone, Abnoba,acted American writer Stephen Crane died tiatedthe elaboratesystem U a small one for I out the story of DianaeAbnoba falling in here. In the r93os two future prime largeone for clothesand o - 0 lovewith a Roman as she took us round ministers of India, fawaharlal and his valuables you enter a peacefulhaven 2 the town. Our tour endedat the Roman daughter Indira, visited to care for where you could spend the whole day. baths where the lovers bathed together Kamala Nehru, |awaharlaLsdying wife. The modern bathsare a seriesof pools, o gaveBadenweiler an image increasingin temperaturefrom to before tragedy struck. But this 3z I The drama took liberties with history: as a town for the sick and dying and it is 36 degreesCentigrade as you progress d u in Roman times, Dianae Abnoba and this historical label that it is now seeking from one to the next. The culmination o her Roman lover would not have bathed to escapeand remodelitself on Bath. is one in which the curent sweepsyou o I together,but such artistic licence is, The Romans built their baths here round as if you are tied to the wheels of a 54 THEoLDtE - Februaryzoog BATHIN6 IN CLORY oPPosfrE: Theentrance to the Rehabilitotionsklinikpark-Therme in Badenweiler BELOW:rrth-century castle ruins which overlook Badenweiler TRAYET BOTTOM:Ruins ofthe originalRoman baths IAIES gateau,is a speciality.And something to look forward to after an energeticwalk. F1-lhere are many well-marked routes fot which | Badenweileris an ideal I starting point. The walks offer a wide choice of terrain, incline and some breathtaking views. My wife and I took a seven-milehike up to Ruine Neuenfels,an rrth-century lookout tower providing an enchanting view along the much fought over German-French border. Badenweileris well aware ofthat dismal history and, as part of its re- discoveryofits past, it is keen to lay to rest some troubled EuroDeanhistorical ghosts.The areaborders Alsace, so often covetedby Germany,but now the Baden and Alsacewine routes Dromote peacefulcompetition over'wine without borders'.We took a leisurely tour along Themodern baths are right nert b the Romanones, providinga seamlesstransi- tionfrom pastto present the Badenwine route, visiting vineyards, Weinstubeand finally, in the little village of Ballrechten-Dottingen,bought a case of excellentGerman ros6. Badenweilermay not succeedin its 'German attempt to become a Bath - it has yet to uncover a German fane Austen - but it has no wish to be a pale copy of Baden-Baden.No casinoshere, nothing very much to attract WAGs -the wives and girlfriends of English footballers who thronged Baden-Badenduring the chariot: where the circuit meets another feeling like I had a new skin. zoo6 World Cup. pool, the propulsion seemsalmost Ifthe baths,as in Roman times, are My experiencewas that, in Baden- strong enough to keep you perpetually in the centre piece of Badenweiler,the town weiler, it was not so much *re caseof no the chariot race round the pool. provides curious little nuggets ofhistory night life, more one of no night lights. A which resonatetoday. The walk up to the meal after ropm is difficult to find and, fter I had tired ofthe baths, I tried castleruins, which overlook the town, on my first evening there, returning to one of a variety of treatments and takesyou past the delightfirl hideaway my hotel at a quarter past twelve, I had to therapies,the Rasul bath. This whose name saysit all - Teaand Lust. negotiatethe Kurpark in pitch darkness. involved my rubbing four different rFpes This is where Napoleons adopted It turned out that Badenweilerhas its of mud - from smooth white for the face daughter, Stephanie,stayed and is now own version of Cinderella: the park lights to coarseblack for feet, elbows and knees a popular wedding spot. Even Marg- are switched off at midnight. - over my body while sitting in a warm rita Wahrer would struggle to present But if this means that Badenweiler seat.The room then turned into a steam a modern Badenweilerplay about Tea could athact the modern day successors bath and, as the steam cleared,gentle and Lust. But tea and cake,particularly to Chekhov and passby the WAGs, then rain fell from the starlit ceilins. It left me Schw ar zw ril derkir s cht ort e, Black Forest who would have any complaintsl February2oog - THEOLDTE 55.

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