Doubilet-Benson Orient Express Bike Trip 2014: A Bad Place in Bavaria

We have spent the past three days in Bavaria, the largest of the German states by area and the second largest by population. It is located in the southeastern corner of the country and is proud of its unique local culture and traditions. Traditional costumes are worn on special occasions, including lederhosen (leather breeches) for men and dirndl (bodice, blouse, full skirt and apron) for women. Bavarians are among the highest beer-drinking people in the world, with an average annual consumption of 170 liters per person. At the Oktoberfest, the world's largest beer festival, which attracts around six million visitors every year, and in the numerous beer gardens (including the famous Hofbrauhaus in Munich), beer is traditionally served by the liter. Bavaria is also unique in Germany as the only state that is majority Catholic.

The capital of Bavaria is Munich, the third largest city in Germany with a population of 1.4 million and 2.65 million in its urban area. It was thronged with tourists when we were there yesterday. A major tourist attraction is the Rathaus-Glockenspiel, a display high on the town hall consisting of 43 musical bells and 32 life size figures that spring to life for 15 minutes every day at 11 am, as well as at noon and 5 pm in the summer. It chimes and re-enacts two stories from the 16th century, to the delight of huge crowds of people, many of whom (including us) stand with their cameras capturing video snippets of the show.

Our bicycle ride today (Wednesday 8/27) was a short trip to Bad Aibling, a spa town about 30 miles west of Munich. Germany has nearly 900 spa towns, which are resorts situated at the location of mineral springs that have purported health benefits. At least 2000 years ago, Romans appreciated the hot mineral springs at Baden-Baden, and beginning in the 18th and 19th centuries Europe's royalty and other aristocrats would meet at the great German spa resort towns.

Spa towns that meet special criteria receive the official designation of "Bad", which is used as the prefix for the town name. There are over 160 Bad towns in Germany. Bad Aibling is known for its "moor mud", also known as "therapeutic peat moss". There are several centers in town offering peat moss treatments, which they claim have beneficial effects for arthritis and rheumatic diseases as well as for hormonal imbalance and "female problems" (??). Also in town are the cancer treatment center Klinik St. Georg, which offers (according to its website) "both conventional and alternative cancer therapies, including heat treatment and herbal supplements, that are not sanctioned by the American medical establishment", and the Schön Klinik Bad Aibling for neurological disorders. [As an aside, some of the claims and treatment methods sound to us like quackery.]