Day #278 - Baden-Baden, Germany

Baden-Baden - Holiday Markets

Main Street

Concert near Holiday Markets

Bee Wax candles

Restaurants - decked out for holidays

Alot of snowfall

Friday, December 17th

Exceptional day today! Baden-Baden may be the most peaceful place I've ever been. It may have just topped my first plane ride and me sitting out by the pool in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I write this down tonight because I want to remember this feeling. No question that my current mindframe is helping with my peacful state. I'm at the end of my journey, it's Christmas time, I'm in the middle of this incredible town in Germany filled with special sites -- it truly doesn't get much better. I'm not exaggerating or making something out of nothing - this is very real to me. I realize I will soon need to flip the switch. I'm prepared to make this happen. When I do this, however, I want to have more of this in my life -- that's important. One thing I've been lucky with on this trip - I truly think that I get it. I am not taking things for granted or overlooking the significance of certain areas. I hope to make this continue in the future.

So, last night, I stayed up until about 2am watching some old movie that was in English. It was great - don't even know the name. It was some scary movie that could compete with Friday the 13th. Then, I fell asleep and awoke this morning at 11:45am. I had to do a double-take on my watch. I had not moved or regained consciousness for 10 hours. I should have gotten a standing ovation for this sleeping performance. I guess the combination of me running yesterday and sitting at the pool/sauna did me in.

Next, I walked the streets doing some Christmas shopping. It was snowing, Christmas songs playing ---- it could get worse. Then, I went back to the pool for a couple more hours. I followed this up with more walking at the holiday markets. I made it back to the hotel and grabbed a shower - preparing to meet up with my friends I had met during my last stay here.

Rick (friend of Jan from Minneapolis) and I went out for dinner. It was outstanding. His wife, Dagmar, couldn't join us -- but we still had a great time. I learned more about the country of Germany in 2 hours than I ever could have picked up on my own. Fascinating! I really enjoy learning about new countries and new areas. A 2-hour bit like this can put so many things into persepective. I had some unique German dish for dinner. A veal, pork, potatoe, vegetable combination -- it was outstanding.

The night ended and I said my farewells to Rick. "Thanks for your hospitality - it's greatly appreciated".

Another day of relaxation on the agenda tomorrow. I'm going to try and run for a couple hours sometime in there - and then, although unwillingly, I have to prepare to leave Germany for my final time of my journey early Sunday morning (19th).

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OK - this is a big one tonight. Coming in as my #7 most favorite country on my Gap Year 2010 is -------------- SPAIN

Israel (#12)
Iceland (#11)

Norway (#10)

Greece (#9)

Austria (#8)

Spain (#7)

SPAIN (#7)

This country offers so many things, it would be impossible for me to leave it out of the Top 10. I came upon many unique festivals and events during my time in Spain. There was the Feria in Seville (celebration of the end of Holy Week), St. Jorge Day in Barcelona (books and roses given out), the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona. Then you have the cities of Madrid and Barcelona. Exceptional. Both are very different, but offer some great nightlife and active scenery. I went to a Bull Fight in Madrid - is there a better place to go to a bullfight? I did the last part of the pilgrimage to the city of Santiago de Compostela. I attended a soccer match in Barcelona - and saw, arguably, the best team in the world play. I'll always remember the Guggenheim Museum in Bilboa - where they shot red wax balls against a white wall. How about the sunset in San Sebastian? Then there's the unique towns of Avila, Leon, Salamanca, and Segovia I visited. Man - after I read all these things - why didn't I rank Spain higher? Well, that must mean there's places out there that are even better. But, I can assure you of this, you can't go wrong with a visit to my 7th most favorite country in Europe - Spain.