Back to the Thermen in Baden

The afternoon cleared to a perfect temperature for walking, so I hiked back to the staircase that descends from next door to Neues Schloss and walked over to Friedrichsbad.
The damned place was shut! According to the spa treatment woman at Caracella Spa next door, it was closed til Sunday. Now why the hell doesn't it have a big sign on the door saying "gerschlossen"? There's so much construction going on on town I assumed it didn't affect the spa.
Caracella was definitely my second choice. I had to look around town for a bathing suit as I'd left mine back at the hostel, and the hostel is a few km out of town. After trying on ugly and expensive bathing suits that i really didn't want to buy for basically a single use, seeing frumpy styles and nothing cheaper than 49,00 euro, I found something suitable at Tchibo, a sort of convenience store/cafe that sells quite decent travel clothes, like underwear and modest dressy TShirts, along with small appliances and cell phone cards.
It was 7pm when I made it back to the spa. I almost didn't want to go as this one is much less refined than Friedsrichbad, and I was so looking forward to the included brush massage. Goddammit that's why I'd hiked all day, so the massage would be worth it, but now I was skunked.
I had to visit a spa, this beings last night in Baden Baden, it was raining, so I paid for 2 hours and rented a towel for 8,00 euro.
I liked the outside pool shaped like a nautilus that had water jets in the sides of the pool creating a vortex effect, sort of like being caught in a rip in the surf in Australia. I also liked the aromatherapy wet sauna because when you went out of the misty room decorated with small Roman statues, you could douse yourself in. Vichy Shower. The scented sauna that pouring steam through a bunch of thorns was sort of disgusting, full of women picking at their toes, and I ignored the tanning beds because they can give you skin cancer. I tried all the progressively hotter pools, but none of them were hot enough for my taste, so, after one final whirl in the nautilus outside pool, in the rain, I showered and got dressed.
It's a damned shame I didn't get to try the signature experience of Baden Baden. By Sunday I'll benin Strasbourg. Oh well. The walk was more rewarding than I'd expected and I saw a total of 3 other hikers, so in my book, that's a perfect hike.