August 2021
Germany ~ Kuckkuck schwarzwald
well hello there …
Even though Germany is one of our neighbouring countries, and German is our 3rd national language… It was never a destination that exited me. Unknown means unloved. But a few years ago, I started to see the beauty of it, when we were passing through, coming from Tuscany.
When we had 4 days of holiday in prospect we decided to give it a go and I started planning a small road trip to the Black Forest. Normally I start to plan our itinerary carefully long in advance, but now I had only 1 week to prepare, with little knowledge in my pocket. But I think I managed to create an itinerary that offers a nice mixture between city visits – nature – wellness and gastronomy.
Looking back I think our itinerary was nice, to get a global overview of what the region has to offer, although the period was too short to cover it all. But next time I would limit the number of km’s and make sure we have enough time to go hiking for a few hours and to enjoy a renowned spa. This destination is asking to tone it down a notch. Something me and my partner are not used to.
How to describe the black forest in a nutshell: wooded, green, vines, waterfalls, cuckoo clocks, black forest pie and ham, wellness, hiking, stubes, etc …
I am also curious what it looks like during winter time, so perhaps we will try it out within the next couple of years.
Day 1: Baden Baden – Mummelsee – Gengenbach
The Black Forest is more or less 500km / 5hrs drive from Belgium, so we arrived around noon in Baden Baden.
Baden-Baden is a spa town in the state of Baden-Württemberg, in south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range. In 2021, the town became part of the transnational UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name "Great Spas of Europe". The town has been a popular destination for so long that it's starting to show its age, but not to worry. It's still very classy, picturesque and well-maintained. I really enjoyed our short visit here.
We walked through the beautiful parc along the Oos river, along the Kurhauskolonnaden - an authentic open air shopping gallery, to the Kaiserallee with the Sanatorium & Casino and the Pump Room with it’s beautiful fresco’s. Normally you can receive a free glass of warm mineral water directly from the source here, but it was closed.
You wouldn't immediately think of it, but the city also offers beautiful hiking trails, their panorama route was even voted the most beautiful walking route in Germany in 2020. You can also take the funicular from 1913 at the Merkur Bergbahn. The cable car will take you from Baden-Baden onto the 670 m high mountain Merkur. As I read, that one of the tearooms here is offering the best “Kirschtorte” of the Black Forest, we decided to have lunch there. The place is called “Café König”, indeed a very charming and cosy spot in the historic village. After we ate a delicious salad, we went inside to choose a piece of cake in the bakery. But to my great disappointment that day the “Kirschtorte” was not one of the choices.
More info to find on Baden Baden: www.baden-baden.com
Next we drove on route B500, the Schwarzwald-Hochstrasse to the “Mummelsee”. It’s one of the most beautiful elevated sections of highway in the Black Forest region. A few stretches of the road take you through some fairly dense forestation, but the road always remains wide, sweeping and fantastic to drive. The only minus side is that route 500 is a pretty major road so it can be occasionally a little busier. There are many motorcyclists, who often tour the Black Forest in groups, cruising on this road. To be honest when reading about it, my expectations where pretty high. We only drove a part of it, but I was personnaly a bit disappointed. The trees and roadside vegetation came so high that I actually didn’t saw that many views to take in.
We stopped at the Mummel Lake one of the most visited Black Forest lakes nowadays, thanks to its location at the Schwarzwaldhochtstraße. It’s not only its nice scenery that attracts the visitors, but also a lot of myths and stories around it that fascinates the people. There is not only one legend about the lake, but multiple. Not sure which one might be true, but if I think away all the tourists here and only look at the natural beauty, then there is certainly a fairy-tale mystic atmosphere. For those who like to collect souvenirs, there is a very large gift shop on site, which offers local delicacies, cuckoo clocks, everything you can think of.
Our last stop for today, was Gengenbach. One of the most beautiful and charming villages that the Black Forest has to offer. You will find beautiful, colourful craftsman's houses here.
As we booked last minute, we didn’t find a lot of hotels that were still available. We stayed at the “Schwarzwald” hotel ****. The room was pretty standard, but we enjoyed the wellness facilities and the breakfast was pretty good. https://www.schwarzwaldhotel-gengenbach.de/
For diner we reserved at the “Ponyhof ”, recommended by Michelin. Family-run with a nice terrace and stunning views on the lower valley. We decided to go for a local classic dish, the Ponyhof style cordon bleu. The veal schnitzel was filled with local ham, cheese and cranberries. For me a bit too sweet and certainly too heavy. But after this trip I can conclude that the German cuisine in general is too Burgundian for me, certainly during Summertime with temperatures around 30°.
https://www.ponyhof.co/
Day 2: Freiburg im Breisgau – Titisee – Feldberg – Todtnauer Wasserfall
The second day, we went in town, to see Gengenbach in daylight. It’s such a charming and colourful village and as it was Saturday we had the chance to stroll along the local market with plenty of local products like jam, cheese, ham and schnapps. We bought a bottle with Mirabelle plum.
Next we set course towards Freiburg im Breisgau, this university city is the capital of the Black Forest. Despite the destructive bombing campaign of World War II, the city retains several notable historic buildings. The most impressive one is certainly the cathedral or Minster. The market place around the cathedral is also stunning, with all its colourful historical buildings. Unfortunately it was also market day here, in my opinion the splendour of the square and the cathedral disappeared a bit into the background due to the many stalls and people crowd. In the streets behind the “Münsterplatz”, you find plenty of shops and also the “Markthalle” the local foodmarket, where we had lunch and drunk a refreshing glass of “Crémant d’Alsace”. In general, the city didn't leave a big impression on us, so we decided to hit the road again to soak up a bit of nature.
First stop was “Titisee”, this lake is located at 30km from Freiburg, and was formed during the last ice age, by the Feldberg glacier. It is a large lake, 1.3 square kilometres, and on average 20m deep. When you walk along the boulevard with souvenir shops towards the Ferris wheel, you imagine yourself in an amusement park, but when you rent a boat to float on the water you just enjoy the natural beauty of this place. Afterwards we devoured a piece of “Kirschtorte” on a terrace with beautiful views on the lake.
It was already late in the afternoon, but as the Feldberg is located close by, we decided to pay the highest mountain of the Black Forest a short visit. We would have liked to have taken the cable car to the top, but the disappointment was great when the counter clerk told us that we could only buy an outward ticket and that it was already too late for a return by elevator. Since we did not know the duration and difficulty of the descent, we decided not to go for it.
So we set course for Kirchzarten, where we would stay that night. On our way back we saw numerous cars parked along the track and we decided to stop and take a look. All the hoopla was caused by the "Todtnauer Waterfalls". With only € 2 entrance fee per person and an easy hike of only 5 minutes to the waterfalls, we decided to take a closer look. And we did not regret at all, with a height of 97m this is one of the highest waterfalls in Baden-Würtemberg. In my opinion more worthwhile than Triberg. Todtnauer is less touristic and easier to admire in its entirety.
That night we stayed in Die Krone – Hotel Garni ***, where we had a nice comfortable modern room, close by a small town centre. Because of Corona, a personal service at breakfast seemed to them a good choice, but this caused a long queue and a bit of chaos and frustration to be honest.
https://www.krone-kirchzarten.de/
For diner we reserved at the nearby “Restaurant Sonne”, we had a nice 3-course dinner with a good service. Their wine list is highly regarded as far as local wines are concerned. However, both the prices of the wine and the taste did not appeal to us so much. But tastes differ!
http://www.sonne-kirchzarten.de/
Day 3: Bad Dürheim – Triberg Wasserfall – Baiersbronn
The setting of the Black Forest in Germany is ideal for refuelling and being pampered. Of the +/- 70 certified thermal baths and wellness hotels in the country of Baden-Württemberg, no fewer than 70% is located in the Black Forest. This morning we took some time to enjoy the thermal baths in “Bad Dürheim”. When we arrived at “Solemar” I immediately noticed that it was less fancy and luxurious then I had imagined. Observing the queue of people outside, made me despair that it was going to be some kind of “Center Parcs -like” experience … instead of a relaxing wellness. I noticed, a bunch of day-trippers had already nestled themselves on the beach chairs around the outdoor pools, with their crossword and drink in hand. The bathing area has 13 indoor and outdoor pools, whirlpools, massage jets, etc … with water temperatures from 28 ° to 37 ° C. Although it was much more crowded than I expected, the saltiness in the thermal water is so good for one body, mind and soul, that in the end we did enjoyed it. And it has to be said, the reception and the facilities were quite okay. But in the future we will gladly pay a bit more , to experience a slightly more intimate wellness experience. We only paid € 13pp for 3 hours wellness. They also host a big sauna complex, but this was closed because of Corona.
After a 40min drives, we arrived at our second stop, the “Triberg Watterfalls”. The Falls ( 163m high ), along with the historic Old Town and the world's largest Cuckoo Clock, are undoubtedly one of the most popular sights in the Black Forest and attract thousands of visitors every year. You can find both parking in the city of Triberg itself and more higher up the mountain. In the town it is paid parking, and places are limited, higher on the mountain ( like we did ) it is free. The entrée fee for the waterfalls is € 7,50 pp. It’s a beautiful waterfall with well-maintained paths, but very touristic. As I said earlier ,we preferred the less higher but less touristic Todtnauer Waterfalls.We did not visit the lower town, it did look nice though when driving through, and looking back I’m sorry we didn’t took the time.
On our way then to our last overnight stay. “Baiersbronn” is with a total of 8 Michelin stars, a real culinary mecca. The eight stars are divided between the following three chefs: Harald Wohlfahrt (voted the best German chef), Claus-Peter Lumpp and Jörg Sackmann. Hotel Traube Tonback, Hotel Bareiss and Hotel Sackmann are therefore well-attended by anyone who wants to be pampered for an evening.
We stayed at Hotel Lamm ****, pretty charming despite it’s classic, with beautiful spaces and a comfortable wellness. The room was in my opinion very outdated and certainly overpriced.
https://lamm-mitteltal.de/
We tried to book a table at the “Dorfstuben” in hotel Bareiss, but unfortunately their was no table available anymore. So we ate in the restaurant of our hotel “Wipfel”, where we ordered a 3-course dinner. It was nice and the service very friendly.
If we come-back to the Blackforest, I would skip Baiaersbronn, unless we are able to reserve one of the Michelin star restaurants and I would combine it with a bit of hiking, as the town is surrounded by mountains and valleys, providing magnificent views.
DAY 4: Baiersbronn – Wildbader Sommerberg – Keerbergen
Before returning home, I wanted to make 1 last stop. So after breakfast we drove to Bad WildBad. Also a well-known spa resort. The city itself didn't immediately appeal to me to parc the car and to go for a stroll, certainly because it was still a long way back, so we had no time to waste. It had an atmosphere of faded glory. So we decided to drive immediately up to the “Wildbader Sommerberg” which can also be reached by cable car from the city. The forests, valleys, hiking trails and cycling routes attract many tourists. Real hotspots are the “Baumwipfelpad” and the “Wildline Hängebrücke” because of the beautiful views that both offer on the surrounding area. The 1250 m long treetop path offers a spectacular 360 ° view over the Black Forest. The giant slide in the tower and the surrounding play garden attracts mainly families with small children. So we decided to go for the suspension bridge. 380 Meters of pure adrenaline at a height of 60 meters, with 300 meters deep views down into the Enz Valley and to Bad Wildbad. Since I have a fear of heights and the bridge wiggled quite a bit, it was for me personally quite an exciting experience. To enter the bridge we paid an entrée fee of € 9 pp. With 6 hours of driving time left, it was time to say goodbye.
We hope to come back here during the winter, this must undoubtedly offer a very different scenery.
“NO ONE WHO LOVES THE WOODS STAYS ON THE PATHS”
~ Millie Florence