From the Alps to the Black Forest

 

From Innsbruck the Fern Pass connects the Austrian Tyrol with Germany, a fabulously scenic route with views to the Zugspitze, Germany's highest mountain. 

And just as well there were pretty sights, because we encountered an Alpine traffic jam (the beginning of European school holidays) over the Fern Pass  and were obliged to inch forward in a slow crawl -

as the weather shifted from cool with dramatic clouds ...

to stifling (even this high up) July heat. 

We watched enviously as the driver in front raised the doors on his vintage Mercedes Gullwing to let fresh air flow through - what a fantastic design!

By mid afternoon we'd reached the Black Forest and the spa town of Baden Baden. 

I'd posted about taking the waters here in the autumn of the previous year, and was really excited to be back in this lovely town in full summer.

Baden Baden has such a solid, prosperous feel. There's obvious affluence but it's understated and undershot with a sense of history 

and cushioned in the surrounding natural beauty of the Schwarzwald.

Walking from the town centre we passed the colonnaded Trinkhalle (pump room) for tasting  the restorative spring waters

to the less salubrious Kurhaus (casino) where Dostoyevsky famously gambled his earnings away.

In front of the casino, the July Sommernachts fest was in full swing, with food and drink at outdoor tables. 

Crossing the road at the grand Theater, in the style of the Paris Opera ...

 

we headed along the Lichtentaler Allee, the parkland that runs along the river Oos, lined with elegant classical villas

where well-dressed people were walking well-groomed dogs 

past the Museum Frieder Burda, designed by Richard Meier, which has one of Germany's biggest collections of modern art

ending at the grand 19th century Brenner Park Hotel 

for a drink in the terrace gardens, before heading back into town in search of dinner.
And to contemplate the end of a fantastic 8-day road trip from London through France and Belgium to Luxembourg, Austria, Slovenia, Italy, the Austrian Tyrol, and Germany 

Baden-Baden, Germany, June 2016

Salzburg, Slovenia, Trieste trip