Saturday we started with a walk in the old town area of Baden. One perk for tourists is a pass that gets you an admission to the museum of your choice, a free towel loan at the local spa, and a free pastry called a Spanisch Brödli at the Himmel (Heaven) Bakery. According to Wikipedia (and confirmed by the baker):
“Spanish rolls became popular in what was then Switzerland in the 17th and 18th centuries, when Baden was the seat of the Swiss Confederation's Diet [governing body], and leading politicians from the cantons and their entourages regularly came to Baden. They were particularly popular among wealthy Zurich residents, who often took spa treatments in Baden. In the Reformed Zurich, bakers were forbidden to produce such luxury pastries, so the servants of leading Zurich families had to walk the 25 km from Zurich to Baden at night to buy the pastries in the morning and serve them as fresh as possible to their masters for Sunday breakfast
When the Swiss Northern Railway from Zurich to Baden was inaugurated in 1847 as the first railway line within Switzerland, Spanish rolls could be transported from Baden to Zurich in 45 minutes. This use of the railway was so popular that the line was popularly known as the Spanisch-Brötli-Bahn (Spanish Brötli Railway)”
It’s a flaky layered puff-pastry affair with hazle nut paste filling. Chris and I liked it - Marg and Linda not so much
Our walk continued along old town streets and onto the Limmat River walk with views of the famous covered wooden bridge
When we reached the other side of the river, the bells in the church let loose
Many of the buildings date back to the 1600s. Obviously restored since then, but with an eye toward preserving the structure.
This one was particularly amazing - not surprisingly owned by an architectural firm
On the other side of the river is the Historical Museum of Baden that has artifacts from Roman times forward to today. A special exhibit was dedicated to the baths culture in Baden which dates back to the Celts and was developed more fully by the Romans. There was a half-scale mockup of the old baths hotels where you could come to “take the waters”
And a number of displays about the baths themselves over the centuries
Cupping was sometimes included - using “cupping horns” definitely not the Gwyneth Paltrow et al kind
After the history lesson we returned to the old town for outdoor lunch and happened on a festival of local Jägerhorn bands (hunting horns). These are round horns with few or no valves so they sound like trumpets in different ranges.
The outdoor restaurant was lovely with great pastas and salads under the trees and tents
As we left, we saw a traveling taxidermy display of woodland animals - part of the hunting theme
