Enterprising second-century Romans had turned the place into a thermal resort (hence the name, "baden" being German for "bathe"), but (Misadventure the First) the famous hot pools proved elusive. The closest I got was a swimming pool called "römertherme".
In Misadventure the Second, I took the bus out towards the mammoth Cistercian abbey Heiligenkreuz (discovered on Wikipedia). Misled by a highway sign, I panicked and got off too early, finding myself ten kilometres from anywhere in a stretch of healthy but exceptionally boring Austrian forest, with an hour and a half to wait for the next bus back.
Serves me right for going somewhere not in Lonely Planet.
It was a nice enough town, though, with an averagely-pretty (my standards are rising) church and some parks and a large oldish central area full of old shops. My German went down better there than in Vienna, too, and I had several quite coherent conversations. From twelve til two there was what seemeed to be an Austrian version of a siesta -- all the little one-man shops shut, and the streets emptied, and mushrooms of people appeared in cafes.
I went back to Bratislava yesterday evening to say goodbye to Eyal and Lauren and pick up the luggage I'd left with them. I'm taking an overnight train tonight to Munich, and from there to the university town in south-west Germany where I'll be studying for the next few months.
No comments:
Post a Comment