Europe Chevron. Germany Chevron. Baden-Baden Chevron. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission. All listings featured in this story are independently selected by our editors. However, when you book something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission. And indeed, embracing the ablutions and physical taxation of showers and steam puts time on a slow drip, relegating reality to an afterthought.
Truth be told, my search for a place to rinse off the COVID pandemic and direct attention to my health is what led me to this fairy tale hamlet at the northwest edge of the Black Forest.
In focusing my energies on my daughter, I have probably deprioritized my own well-being. Plus, a minor bout of Omicron early this yearโand the more sedentary work-from-home lifestyleโlit a fire under me to take better care of myself. It also promises to alleviate symptoms of rheumatism, arthritis, neuralgia, and goutโwhile also jolting you with generalized euphoria.
The next morning, at the behest of the princess, I embraced the wellness lifestyle of someone more accustomed to a throne than a swivel chair during a consultation with Dr. Otherwise feels self quickly hurt. At Caracalla, I focused on wading in warm water under rock grottoes and dunking myself in an outdoor hot tub before venturing to the fireplace-equipped forest sauna.
I felt my anxiety level drop amid the blanketing warmth. The modern facility pumped with ancient waters felt at once a luxurious indulgence, and a pragmatic method to quell my busy mind. But as my fingers and toes pruned in the scalding pools overcrowded by others seeking health by water, I found myself craving a bit more elbow room and wondered where I could find it. And lo, after moving across town, via an Aston Martin taxi, to Maison Messmer , the summer residence of Kaiser Wilhelm I that has been modernized into a five-star hotel complete with a Roman-style spa I stayed in the Prinzessin Luise Suite, complete with an in-room sauna , I could see the Black Forest from the hotel and felt drawn to explore Dr.
