This week we explore the Black Forest or Schwarzwald. Starting at Freiburg we travel up to Baden-Baden passing through Feldberg, Tribergand Sasbachwalden along the way.
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The Detail:
Distance Covered: 365 miles
Financial: Fuel £180; Site Fees £50; Groceries £68; Alcohol £12; Zeus £4; Entrance Fees £27; Eating Out £111; Total £452
Stopovers: Herrischried; Freiburg; Triberg; Sasbachwalden [2 nights]; Wanderparkplatz Schelinger Hohe
Germany’s Black Forest is known for its dark pine forests, picturesque villages with half-timbered houses, spa towns, and rushing waterfalls.
It is home to the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tales, the world’s largest cuckoo clock, Germanys’ biggest loo, and the highest non-alpine mountains.
The Romans gave the mountain range the name “Black Forest” because of the densely packed conifer trees, which are very dark green, causing the area under the trees to be very dark indeed. Although deforestation has thinned the trees somewhat, the northern part of the Black Forest in particular is still densely wooded.
Southern Black forest to Freiburg
Not really having any special route through the Black Forest in mind and Google searches just throwing up the usual big tourist destinations we weren’t sure about where to start.
My brother, Chris, and his wife Meli, have written a series of ‘road trip Europe ‘ tours, and their latest is the Black Forest. Still unfinished and untested they asked if we could try it out for them and take pictures along the way. So that’s what we did.
The trip starts at Freiburg, so that’s where we headed today. Despite only being only 80 km or so to get there, it took us quite a while. Admittedly we were slow to get started, and we did stop for lunch and to buy groceries on the way. So by the time we arrived it was quite late in the day and we decided to leave the visit to the city centre until the following morning.
The drive through the southern part of the Black Forest was pretty easy. The roads are good, as you would expect in Germany. Nothing challenging. The scenery was good, if not as special as where we have been recently. The Black Forest Mountains are a much lower range than the Alps for instance, the highest peak being a little under 1500 m.
As the name implies the area is characterised by its forests, and the scenery in the south of the region is dominated by tree lined mountains and hills, dotted with meadows, villages and more than a few ski resorts. It is clear that the area relies heavily on tourism, with guest houses, hotels, cafes, restaurants and campsites around almost every corner.
The Stellplatz in Freiburg is situated on the outskirts of the city, close to a civil airport and what appears to be university accommodation blocks. If I’m honest it’s not the usual type of place for us to choose to stay, but it did have everything you need, the motorhomes were well spaced out and it is convenient for the getting into the city centre with a tram stop by the entrance.
Weirdly for a city location there isn’t anywhere close by to get something to eat and drink should you want to. It would either be a tram ride into town or a walk of around a kilometre to find somewhere.
Just around the corner from the Stellplatz you can find the West Side Gallery, a series of street art running along the roadside. Would I make a special trip to go and see it? No, but if you are in the area it is something different to look at.
Freiburg
Not being used to the noise of a city we didn’t have the best nights rest. On the flip side that did mean we were up and about earlier than usual for us.
We decided to take the tram to get into the city. It is about 3 km on foot so you could walk or cycle if you wished. The tram cost €7 for two adults and a child (Zeus counted as a child, smaller dogs are free), and the ride to the old town took about 10 minutes. Trams were running about every 6 minutes so you won’t have to wait long.
We arrived at the old town around 8.45 am. It was actually a good time to get there. It hadn’t got busy with tourists yet and avoided the middle of the day heat. The tram stops at Bertoldsbrunnen, just a short walk from the cathedral.
Almost immediately you get off of the tram you notice the Freiburger Bächle. These are open runnels of varying width and depth, with water running through them which has been diverted from the river Dreisam. Originally a means of supplying fresh water to the people of Freiburg, they are today a major tourist attraction, running all around the old town…and perfect to cool hot dogs down..Zeus really liked them.
A little further on is the cathedral, dominating the small square in which it sits. Entrance to the cathedral is free, but photos are not allowed. Inside the cathedral is an arial photo taken just after WW2, everything, except the cathedral had been flattened. For a fee (€5) it is possible to climb the tower for a view of the town.
Outside the cathedral, around the square in which it is sited, market traders were just preparing their stalls for the busy day ahead. Not a huge market, but a lovely selection of local wares, including a stall selling a whole range of mushrooms, sausage vendors fruit and vegetables, fishmongers, cheeses and local crafts. Well worth a browse.
There was of course the anticipated street food stalls selling wurst of all kinds, including the long red (Lange Rot). One of the most popular street foods in Germany is Currywurst. Sausage (long red in this instance) topped with curry ketchup and dusted with curry powder. Definitely a breakfast item right? You’ll have to trust me that it is so much better than it sounds. Carol rather copped out and went for a simple bratwurst with fried onions in a roll. Both were very tasty.
Exploring the streets around the cathedral reveals a wealth of lovely old buildings, Medieval towers and other interesting architecture.
As the day started to warm up and it started to get busier we decided to make our way back, but not before stopping by Cafe Schmidt to try the Black Forest Gateaux, apparently one of the best in Freiburg. It tastes just like I remember from my younger days – now I’m showing my age.
Feldberg
From Freiburg we travelled to Feldberg, which is known for its ski resorts and Feldberg peak (1493 m), with its Feldbergbahn cable car.
At the summit, Feldberg Tower offers panoramic mountain and valley views. Feldsee is a circular glacial lake surrounded by dense forest. The House of Nature Feldberg museum features interactive displays on conservation.
In the winter it’s a busy skiing destination, and in the summer it’s popular with tourists and walkers. You would think it might be the kind of place we would like to visit, take Zeus for a nice walk to the peak (about 40 minutes). We drove up to the car park, took one look and thought no, not for us. Far too busy, people and dogs everywhere, no chance of a peaceful stroll. So we took a few photos and moved on.
Triberg
A brief detour into Altglashuetten to check the Stellplatz there. It is a lovely small village know for its wooden buildings hung with flowers. The parking actually looked quite nice, with services and a small restaurant nearby. Had it been later in the day we probably would have stayed there.
Next we travelled to Titisee to check another possible stopover. Titisee is a popular tourist destination because of the large lake where a range of watersports are available. The designated parking here is along the road adjacent to a leisure centre. Free, but no facilities and likely to be noisy. OK if you want to visit the nearby Badeparadies Schwarzwald, but we decided against stopping there.
From there we continued to Triberg. The Cuckoo clock town. There is a free Stellplatz a little bit out of town, again without services, but set a little back and down from the road so reasonably quiet. There is a dog friendly restaurant about 100 m away, Gasthaus s`Felix.
We settled in and decided to take a walk into town. You can either go back along the road or cut through the forest. Either way it’s a fair distance to walk.
Triberg is most known for its association with the Cuckoo clock The world’s largest cuckoo clock can be found between Triberg and the nearby Hornberg, and the house of 1000 clocks in the main street attracts many visitors, with small crowds gathering to watch clocks call out the hour.
Triberg is also home to Germany’s highest waterfall at 163 m which again attracts thousands of people year round, but particularly from 25.12 – 30.12, the Triberg winter magic. With 1 million Christmas lights, the area is transformed into a unique winter fairy tale.
Entry to see the waterfall is charged and includes entry to Triberg-Land, with its impressive replicas and interactive models.
In Triberg you can also visit the Black Forest Museum whose exhibits include a model of the Black Forest railway, a replica mining tunnel with mineral collection, a wood carving workshop, Black Forest clocks, barrel organs and traditional costumes among other things.
As we left Triberg we passed a couple more places offering traditional cuckoo clocks, including the House of Black Forest Clocks situated right next to the world’s largest cuckoo clock. Of course we had to stop, but we had missed the chimes by a couple of minutes.
A little further along the road is the Duravit design centre, where you can see the largest loo in Germany.
Black Forest Open Air Museum
This museum is a similar concept to the open air museum that we visited in Romania. The exhibits are traditional buildings from the Black Forest, divided into three groups, southern, central and northern. All the buildings have been sympathetically restored to an excellent standard, and each has been furnished with traditional furniture. You can walk around every building to see what life was like. There are also videos (in German) giving further information and folklore.
It is extremely well laid out with good information, you are given a leaflet at the ticket office too. Cost was €12 per person, €0.50 for Zeus and €4 to park, so for us a total of €28.50
Mummelsee Lake
Continuing on to Mummelsee. This is a small, fairly deep lake located on the Black Forest High Road. Ideal for a short stroll around the shaded shore. There is a large hotel and various tourist shops there, but despite that it still felt fairly quiet as we walked around it.
Because it was once very isolated many legends surround the lake…..
The Mummelsee in the dark fir grounds has its mysterious name from the lake maidens or Mümmlein (mermaids). They live in its unfathomable depths in a magnificent crystal castle. It is surrounded by lush gardens where blood-red coral grows alongside fragrant water lilies.
The little mummels are lovely, charming figures of delicate, slender growth and rosy beauty. Every night they rise to the surface of the dark waters, perform a lovely dance to the sound of the instruments, or hasten to the nearest houses in the valley with the spindle.
In the past, the little mummels often came down into the valley to the farmers and woodcutters, helped in the house and yard or looked after the children when the women had work to do in the fields. They were there early in the morning. But as soon as it was night and the stars were in the sky, they all had to be back in the crystal castle at the bottom of the lake. So it was commanded them by their king.
One of the beautiful lake maidens fell in love with a young farmer’s son from Seebach. When the fair was again in the valley, the mermaids came down to the inn where the dance was. Mummlein, who was fond of the farmer’s son, danced one dance after the other with his beloved. Far and wide there was no girl as beautiful as the little mummel, and no one could dance so gracefully and easily.
When it started to get dark, all the damsels from the lake returned to their crystal castle. Only the one mermaid who had her lover in the village could not part with him. She only wanted to do one more dance. She thought it was just earlier night down there in the valley than up in the forest. But she danced another dance and another. And time passed, and she didn’t notice.
Suddenly ten o’clock struck on the tower. Now the mermaid became aware of her carelessness. Her heart trembled. And she pulled her lover out of the room. She hurried up the mountain forest with him in silence.
When they came to the lake, she said in a sad voice: “Now we will probably never see each other, because I will have to die. Wait a while longer on the shore. If blood rises from the depths, I have lost my life; if not, I’ll be with you again soon.” She took a willow rod and struck the water three times with it. Then it parted, and a marble-white staircase appeared, leading down into the crystal castle. The water closed again behind the Mümmlein.
It was dark night and not a wave stirred. Then a small dark wave rose up from the depths of the lake. It was poor Mummlein’s blood.
Sasbachwalden
Sasbachwalden is a small village, on the western edge of the Black Forest. Surrounded by vineyards, meadows and forest covered mountains, its traditional half-timbered houses with colourful window boxes full of flowers, it is considered one of Germany’s prettiest villages.
The Stellplatz was, as you would expect, very busy, but we managed to find a place.
Apart from the beautiful village with its flower bedecked traditional half-timbered houses, three wineries and excellent cafes and restaurants there is another reason to visit Sasbachwalden. The schnapsbrunnen, or schnapps fountains. Who knew that schnapps was a suitable refresher while hiking?
These are refreshment stations offering drinks for the weary hiker. The drinks are placed in a stone trough of fresh running water to keep them cool. There is usually beer, wine, soft drinks and of course the schnapps from which they get their name. Payment is usually made by putting cash into an honesty box.
The region around Baden Baden is particularly suited to fruit farming and of course wine. As a result of the abundance of fruit there are literally thousands of distilleries producing high quality schnapps.
Baden-Baden
Last stop on Chris and Meli’s Black Forest Road Trip was Baden-Baden. Best known as a spa city with its original Roman and more modern Caracalla Baths.
The city is spread out along the River Oos. The Lichtentaler Allee runs for about 2.5 km along the banks of the river, right through the middle of it. A park and arboretum, it’s possibly the prettiest area in this very pretty city. As you stroll through the park you can also see the Casino and Trinkhalle (pump room), both impressive buildings.
The city holds many festivals and events in the Kurgarten (spa garden) in front of the Casino throughout spring, summer, and into autumn.
In the baroque old town, there is some wonderful architecture, and you can also see the Paradies, an attractive complex of fountains and cascades.
The city is home to several museums, including Museum Frieder Burda, an art museum dedicated to twentieth and twenty-first century Art, and the Fabergé Museum.
It’s a thriving, beautiful city in its own right. But it’s also an ideal base from which to explore the Black Forest. Palaces, castles, hiking trails, waterfalls, and the Schwarzwald-Hochstrasse are all within easy reach.
We visited on a hot Sunday afternoon in June and wandered around just long enough to get a taste of what the city has to offer. It’s definitely a place where you could spend a good deal of time and not run out of things to see and do.
From Baden-Baden we made our way back down the western side of the Black Forest, ready to cross to the Alsace region of France in the morning. It took us a while to find a parking space we liked. Having spent the last few days in busy Stellplatz we wanted somewhere a bit more peaceful.
We tried several places, but being a weekend everywhere was busy. Eventually, we found a hidden forest parking lot surrounded by trees and set back from a quiet country road. The base for many hiking trails. Perfect for us.
Some menu highlights from this week
Click on the picture for further information. If you would like recipes or further information let me know in the comments
And that was week 4 of our current adventure. We’ve had some very memorable times already, sometimes for the wrong reasons. We have seen some beautiful places, despite the ice and snow, and cold temperatures.
As before, There is so much more we saw and did that I haven’t included here – you’ll just have to go see it for yourself!
I haven’t gone into great detail about anything in particular in this post, so if you would like me to expand on anything please leave a comment and I will endeavor to write another separate post on the topic.
Happy Motorhoming.
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