I have to write a disclaimer about the title of this series. With that explained, on with the tale of our trip. We planned to leave Wiesbaden on July 22nd. I had noticed our older dog, Arran, was having some dental issues. He yawned and I saw a black spot. I asked Bill to take him to the vet to have him checked and schedule a dental cleaning. Bill took him in and got some antibiotics, which Arran will start tonight, and an appointment for this Thursday, the 29th, for a dental.
Then, on Thursday the 22nd, we packed everything up and headed south, stopping by the Birkenhof Tierpension on the way, to drop off Arran and Noyzi. All seemed fine as we handed them over. I promise, this part of the story is relevantโฆ. We headed down A5, which is also the route we now take when we want to go to France.
At lunchtime, we stopped in Baden-Baden for lunch. Regular readers might remember that Bill and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary in Baden-Baden back in It was a little weird to be stopping there just for lunch on the way to Switzerland.
Baden-Baden is a very beautiful town. I would have been happy to have just stayed there. But we were just there for a quick break. Baden-Baden is such a lovely city. We probably should go back for a short break sometime soon. Bill stopped near the border to pick up a Swiss vignette toll sticker. To use Swiss Autobahns, you have to have a special sticker, which costs 40 Swiss Francs. The sticker is good until January 31, The Swiss issue new ones every year, and you can get them at ADAC stores or online , at rest stops near the border, or at the border itself.
Most other countries that use the vignette system offer them for shorter stints and cheaper prices. Not the Swiss, thoughโฆ so it pays to make use of the sticker if you live close. The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful. Unbeknownst to us, our hotel was also near what would become a construction zone over the weekend. On the way to the B2 Boutique Hotel, we were able to drive straight through, although that took some time, thanks to all the traffic. But by Friday, the area we had come through to reach the hotel was completely blocked off.
