The Black Forest: A piece of cake!
Crossing the border from France to Germany is about an anticlimactic event as you can imagine. We crossed over the Rhine and the only sure sign that we had arrived in Germany had been a change in the road numbering on the sat nav app and the mobile phones vibrating as they switched to a German network.
By late morning we had arrived in Baden-Baden, a spa town, popular with European royalty and aristocracy in the 19th century and with the wealthy and well heeled today. In fact they must have liked it so much they named it twice! After checking into what turned out to be an enormous apartment (in a former cigarette factory) we spent the afternoon wandering around the town.
Everything about Baden-Baden spoke of opulence and luxury. Becoming fashionable with royalty in the 19th century because of the natural thermal pools. The fashion for 'taking the waters' had led to an explosion in bathing and spa treatments. This attracted more and more people and throughout the town today there is ample evidence of the wealth that has been maintained in the form of spas, elegant houses and expensive cars.
We had a quick look inside the entrance to the Opera House and also the Casino but to enter a shirt and tie is needed - something I'd neglected to pack! Then a steep uphill climb took us out of the town and the forested hills of the Black Forest revealed themselves. Although its very pretty, there's something slightly clinical about Baden-Baden, but for all this it is set in a beautiful landscape.
Returning to the town we walked a fair length of Lichtentaler Allee. This is a formal park that runs in a linear fashion through the town. It was very pleasant strolling in the afternoon sunshine through formal gardens by a stream and the pump room (Trinkhalle), completed in 1842, had some colourful murals that caught the eye.
It was a brief time in Baden-Baden but an enjoyable introduction to the Black Forest or the Schwarzwald in German. After breakfast the next morning we headed deeper into the forest. This is an area of densely forested mountains, folk legends abound and driving through the area it was easy to see how myths and legends could arise in this landscape.
Our first stop of the day was at the Alternative Wolf and Bear Park one of only two of its kind in Germany. Bears and wolves have been long hunted to extinction in Germany but this wonderful facility provides a home for bears that have been mistreated and would not be capable of surviving in the wild. In addition they have provided a home for a small wolf pack that a zoo no longer wanted. What's most impressive is the setting. The bears and wolves co-exist in a large securely fenced wooded area - that must be at least three quarters of a mile in length. We were fortunate to see some of the residents during a magical stop.
We stopped in a small town called Wolfach for lunch and a slice of Black Forest Gateau. Now if you've only ever eaten an Iceland Black Forest Gateau then you won't know how fabulous the real thing is. Layers of moist sponge, kirsch and cream make for a calorific delight.
Before reaching our intended destination for a couple of nights, Triberg, we stopped at a design centre that specialised in sanitary ware. I wouldn’t normally stop at this type of place but the Duravit design centre boasts the worlds largest toilet.
Obviously we had to have a look...from both the inside and outside. I think Mrs B thought I'd gone cuckoo - but that was still to come. Triberg is a quintessential black forest town and has two things of note. Firstly it is cuckoo clock central. If you find yourself in need of such a clock this is the place to come. We had a look in the House of a Thousand Clocks.
I am fairly ambivalent when it comes to cuckoo clocks, I'm not sure I'd ever actually want to own one but they clearly do a roaring trade although I wonder if any bought as gifts are really appreciated by their recipients.
Triberg also claims to have Germany' highest waterfall although in reality it is a series of falls that plunge 163 meters in a series of cascades. Our Triberg guest card, provided by our hotel, gave us free entrance and we entered the network of trails near the top of the falls and worked out way down admiring the crashing water and verdant light streaming through the trees.
I was particularly interested to see nutcrackers in the trees. A member of the crow family, these dark speckled birds were noisy - chattering away to each other making a distinct clacking call.
I had hoped to do some hiking in the Black Forest and a bit of research suggested that a tiny hamlet called Martinskapelle, located 1000 meters above sea level, and only a short drive from Triberg, offered lot of walking trails including an 'easy' 6 mile loop walk. We drove on narrow winding roads, climbing higher and higher until we reached Martinskapelle, parked the car and put on our hiking boots. There were multiple routes marked on a map by the car park and finger posts pointing in every direction.
I opted for a loop walk to a place called Brend that started off in a promising manner. We passed through dark woods, but on a way marked path, surrounded by birdsong. Detouring to look at a group of large moss and lichen clad boulders at a spooky location named Günterfelsen und Umgebung.
Eventually we reached Brend at 1150 meters above sea level and had far reaching views over to France and across the Black Forest. Despite the name the Black Forest was interwoven with large wild flower and hay meadows full of butterflies. It was simply glorious.
Now at this point we took a wrong turning and ended up getting temporarily lost. We descended 200 meters and after a while I realised things were not quite working out as planned. The folk tale of Hansel and Gretel was apparently inspired by the Black Forest but I'm pleased to report we didn't find any tempting confectionery houses or have to outwit any witches and after wandering around in a circle I finally managed to return us to Brend - but this involved a steep climb - so the easy walk I'd promised Mrs B turned out to be a bit longer and much harder work. At least we were burning off the calories of the Black Forest Gateau!
After getting back to the car I thought a trip to 'civiilisation' was in order so drove to the southern Black Forest city of Freiburg. It was lively as you might expect from a university city and had another charming old town with a historic gothic church. Its also one of the greenest cities in the world and a few years ago was generating almost as much solar energy as the whole of the UK.
Before leaving the Black Forest we had time to look around another charming old town, Villingen-Schwenningen. This was an old town with a beautiful Catholic church and lots of ornamental fountains as well as lots of clothes shops that caught Mrs B's attention.
After a good walk around the cobbled streets we bought some food for a picnic lunch and reluctantly set off to drive further South, leaving the Black Forest behind, but with a host of memories in place.
By late morning we had arrived in Baden-Baden, a spa town, popular with European royalty and aristocracy in the 19th century and with the wealthy and well heeled today. In fact they must have liked it so much they named it twice! After checking into what turned out to be an enormous apartment (in a former cigarette factory) we spent the afternoon wandering around the town.
Everything about Baden-Baden spoke of opulence and luxury. Becoming fashionable with royalty in the 19th century because of the natural thermal pools. The fashion for 'taking the waters' had led to an explosion in bathing and spa treatments. This attracted more and more people and throughout the town today there is ample evidence of the wealth that has been maintained in the form of spas, elegant houses and expensive cars.
We had a quick look inside the entrance to the Opera House and also the Casino but to enter a shirt and tie is needed - something I'd neglected to pack! Then a steep uphill climb took us out of the town and the forested hills of the Black Forest revealed themselves. Although its very pretty, there's something slightly clinical about Baden-Baden, but for all this it is set in a beautiful landscape.
 |
| The Pump Room, Baden-Baden |
 |
| The Opera House |
Returning to the town we walked a fair length of Lichtentaler Allee. This is a formal park that runs in a linear fashion through the town. It was very pleasant strolling in the afternoon sunshine through formal gardens by a stream and the pump room (Trinkhalle), completed in 1842, had some colourful murals that caught the eye.
It was a brief time in Baden-Baden but an enjoyable introduction to the Black Forest or the Schwarzwald in German. After breakfast the next morning we headed deeper into the forest. This is an area of densely forested mountains, folk legends abound and driving through the area it was easy to see how myths and legends could arise in this landscape.
Our first stop of the day was at the Alternative Wolf and Bear Park one of only two of its kind in Germany. Bears and wolves have been long hunted to extinction in Germany but this wonderful facility provides a home for bears that have been mistreated and would not be capable of surviving in the wild. In addition they have provided a home for a small wolf pack that a zoo no longer wanted. What's most impressive is the setting. The bears and wolves co-exist in a large securely fenced wooded area - that must be at least three quarters of a mile in length. We were fortunate to see some of the residents during a magical stop.
 |
| The wolf and bear park in the Black Forest, Germany |
We stopped in a small town called Wolfach for lunch and a slice of Black Forest Gateau. Now if you've only ever eaten an Iceland Black Forest Gateau then you won't know how fabulous the real thing is. Layers of moist sponge, kirsch and cream make for a calorific delight.
 |
| 'proper' black forest gateau |
Before reaching our intended destination for a couple of nights, Triberg, we stopped at a design centre that specialised in sanitary ware. I wouldn’t normally stop at this type of place but the Duravit design centre boasts the worlds largest toilet.
 |
| Inside the world's largest toilet |
 |
| The world's largest loo! |
I am fairly ambivalent when it comes to cuckoo clocks, I'm not sure I'd ever actually want to own one but they clearly do a roaring trade although I wonder if any bought as gifts are really appreciated by their recipients.
Triberg also claims to have Germany' highest waterfall although in reality it is a series of falls that plunge 163 meters in a series of cascades. Our Triberg guest card, provided by our hotel, gave us free entrance and we entered the network of trails near the top of the falls and worked out way down admiring the crashing water and verdant light streaming through the trees.
I was particularly interested to see nutcrackers in the trees. A member of the crow family, these dark speckled birds were noisy - chattering away to each other making a distinct clacking call.
 |
| A Nutcracker |
I had hoped to do some hiking in the Black Forest and a bit of research suggested that a tiny hamlet called Martinskapelle, located 1000 meters above sea level, and only a short drive from Triberg, offered lot of walking trails including an 'easy' 6 mile loop walk. We drove on narrow winding roads, climbing higher and higher until we reached Martinskapelle, parked the car and put on our hiking boots. There were multiple routes marked on a map by the car park and finger posts pointing in every direction.
 |
| The walking path to Brend with the tint chapel at Martinskapelle |
Eventually we reached Brend at 1150 meters above sea level and had far reaching views over to France and across the Black Forest. Despite the name the Black Forest was interwoven with large wild flower and hay meadows full of butterflies. It was simply glorious.
Now at this point we took a wrong turning and ended up getting temporarily lost. We descended 200 meters and after a while I realised things were not quite working out as planned. The folk tale of Hansel and Gretel was apparently inspired by the Black Forest but I'm pleased to report we didn't find any tempting confectionery houses or have to outwit any witches and after wandering around in a circle I finally managed to return us to Brend - but this involved a steep climb - so the easy walk I'd promised Mrs B turned out to be a bit longer and much harder work. At least we were burning off the calories of the Black Forest Gateau!
After getting back to the car I thought a trip to 'civiilisation' was in order so drove to the southern Black Forest city of Freiburg. It was lively as you might expect from a university city and had another charming old town with a historic gothic church. Its also one of the greenest cities in the world and a few years ago was generating almost as much solar energy as the whole of the UK.
 |
| the 800 year old Freiburg Münster |
Before leaving the Black Forest we had time to look around another charming old town, Villingen-Schwenningen. This was an old town with a beautiful Catholic church and lots of ornamental fountains as well as lots of clothes shops that caught Mrs B's attention.
 |
| Villingen-Schwenningen |
After a good walk around the cobbled streets we bought some food for a picnic lunch and reluctantly set off to drive further South, leaving the Black Forest behind, but with a host of memories in place.
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