Three Mountains

Awoke to a wet morning having heard a significant thunderstorm overnight.

Our day trip into the forest today was to Triberg which got its name because it is surrounded by three peaks - Kapellenberg, Kroeck and Sterenberg. 

The drive out was not very pleasant as the rain pelted down and I wasn’t able to get the wipers moving quickly enough to move all the water which made driving on some of the narrow winding roads a tad butt clinching!

The weather cleared by the time we arrived and so our visit was in dry conditions but with temperatures well below what we have been used to.

The town sits low in the valley and I doubt whether from 1km out of Triberg there is a level street as at times the slopes approximate 30degrees. When we drove in there was an elderly person struggling up the main road and we commented rather him than us,  but later on it became us!

While not the most jaw dropping places to visit there were a couple of interesting things for tourists.

On the large tourist street map there was a delightful mistranslation 

In the Main Street there is a shop which among other souvenirs and the like sells cuckoo clocks, as Triberg is regarded as one of the homes of these clocks - it advertises as having 1000s of clocks on display and while I didn’t attempt to count them there certainly was a great number.

This one had a price tag of €14999!

There were also shelves of beer steins priced upwards of €185+

Perhaps the most eye catching attraction was the waterfalls of Gutach which are the highest waterfalls in German and the main entrance to them lies in the middle of town

The water tumbles over a granite bed, dropping 163 metres in seven steps. The walk/climb to the head of the falls is very picturesque with moss over huge granite boulders with vivid green trees rising up from the slopes

A pleasant visit with a better drive back in dry conditions until we got back down out of the hills approaching Freiburg where it was raining and gave the impression of having done so most of the day, though the weather cleared shortly after.

Kms driven to date 1003

Kms walked to date 157.6

Spent on diesel to date €65

Spent on tolls to date €0

A Big Mac combo

Today we combined a little bit of the city with a lot of the forest!

Starting off mid morning we caught the tram (very efficient service) into the city which allowed Sherry to have a poke around in a few of the shops she was interested in and after a different (but nice) lunch we stepped out the back door of the central city and took to the forest - I say back door as the Black Forest is literally across the road from a street no more than approximately 500m from The Munster.

Initially there was very steep climb until we reached the Schlossberg which afforded a nice view of the city below

Having regathered our breath we then “strode” out towards St Ottilien which, according to the signposts was a further 4.5kms in the forest

A typical signpost in the forest which everyone relies on for directions.

Thankfully the slope we traversed was no more than gradual for the majority 

and after around an hour we arrived at St Ottilien which turned out to be a restaurant & cafe surrounded by the trees in all directions.

We enjoyed a refreshing drink before starting the trip back down, this time we took a different route which got us down to the valley floor faster but was someway from the city and this allowed us to walk back into the city alongside the river.

The humidity was high and the river was too inviting not to dip our toes onto it to bring the body temperature down to something which felt a little more normal

and we then plodded off into the city for dinner which we enjoyed in a restaurant on the Marktplatz; what we didn’t enjoy that much was the ringing of the Munster’s bells twice, the second time for at least 12 minutes - if the bell ringers were playing a tune they failed miserably!!!

As we waited for a tram to return home around 7pm the number of people still in the street brought home to us how dead Auckland is at the same

Kms driven to date 875

Kms walked to date 148.5

Spend on diesel to date €65

Spent on tolls to date €0

A day at the see

Titisee to be precise, which is often called the king of the Black Forest lakes being the largest natural lake in the Forest and which was carved out by the Bären glacier and is fed by the Seebach.

It is 2kms long and 800 metres wide and takes around 90 minutes to walk around its 6km circumference and the deepest point is 40m and sits 850m above see level.

The lake was first mentioned in recorded history in 1111.

It is a popular place to visit, there being at least 15 buses plus when we left there after mid afternoon.

As a consequence of its popularity the locals go hard out to make a quid and there are the typical souvenir shops up both sides of the road leading to the lake to the point that it makes the shopping area feel tacky but once one sees past that the lake itself is quite stunning.

At a cafe Sherry ordered a coffee which was served very strong so we went to the counter to get some water to tone it down and were charged €1 for a cup – I did say the locals go hard to make a quid!

Kms driven to date 875

Kms walked to date 133.4

Spent in diesel to date €65

Spent on tolls to date €0

Going back…

.. to yesterday when I commented on the open drains in Gengenbach, it isn’t a surprise that they are also prolific in Freiburg.

Sherry reminded me that they were also in Freudenstadt and that she had explained their original purpose - fire fighting. Further research using Mr Wiki tells us that:

* they are called Bächle 

* were first documented in the 13th century

* they are supplied with water from the river Dreisam 

* there is approximately 15 kms of them in Freiburg, approximately 1/2 of which is on the surface.

Our day today was spent in the centre of Freiburg. The population of the metro area is around 650,000 (Auckland 1.695m) yet given how many folk were in the centre of Freiburg today one would think that the figures should be reversed.

We picked up a city guide at the ℹ️ and completed the walking tour of the old town passing such sites as:

The Munster (should be called the monster) built between 1200 & 1513, with its spire at 380m

The Historisches Kaufhaus built from 1520-1532

The Alte Wache being the house of wines

Martinstor being the oldest intact watchtower in the city

There were 43 sites listed in the guide and we got to 36 of them.

Everyday in the area around the Munster there is a market consisting of the usual stalls, fruit & vegetables, cheese, spices, bread and cakes, local artisan products etc. and though it is an ideal site for a market it does distract from the Aldstadt in that it obscures some of the historical buildings 

Overall we were very impressed with this thriving bustling city.

Kms driven to date 803

Kms walked to date 122.3

A jewel

There are many villages that claim to be the prettiest in a country and Gengenbach makes that claim which we don’t think is too much of an exaggeration.

It is south of Baden-Baden and about 75kms from Freiburg im Breisgau which is where we moved to today and so was a village that was ideal to stop at en route.

The Main Street is no more than 150m long but it houses buildings of all designs and colours and is a delight to walk.

Some of the “sightseeing” spots according to the Tourist information ℹ️ pamphlet we picked up were:

The Town Hall built in 1784

The Röhrbrunnen, a knight who has been guarding the town since 1582

The Kinzigtorturm, one of two gates at the city walls 

The Prelates Tower which is part of the towńs former fortifications

And there were many more!!!

One thing of intrigue that I noticed were some door surrounds had a “formula” chalked on the lintel 

and as I had seen it also in Baden-Baden it caused me to do some googling - if interested Google Chalking the Door

Also there are open drains with water flowing down the street which I assume had a purpose in years gone by I can’t find any reference to that - does allow young children something to play in however.

We had to move on and leave behind this delightful village which was well worth the stop and get to our accommodation for the next seven days in Freiburg, a city which has been described as the capital of the Black Forest area.

Arrived in Freiburg mid afternoon and were greeted by our host Hannelore. She is a very obliging person - when we said we were walking into the city she pointed out the way but as we were leaving said she would walk with us and we are glad she did as we would never have found our way.

She can’t speak English and we rely on Sherry’s very basic knowledge of German so there was great reliance on Google Translate as we walked with her.

Once there she gave us pointers to the main areas and took us to a shop so that we could buy some tram tickets to get in and out of the city as we realised that a walk of an hour each way in 30 degree temperatures wasn’t going to be that smart.

The uncovered flowing water channels as described above are in Freiburg central as well.

Had what was my birthday dinner in a traditional restaurant - perhaps not the best choice but it was our choice so can’t complain!

Home via tram and supermarket ended an enjoyable day.

Kms driven to date 803

Kms walked to date 111.6

Schwarzwaldhochstraße

A mouthful but a very nice drive from Baden-Baden to Freudenstadt along the Black Forest Highway (Schwarzwaldhochstraße) through an idyllic combination of pines, meadows, valleys and peaks.

This highway is the oldest German holiday highway and was completed in 1934 and gives views of the plateaus of the northern Black Forest.

Freudenstadt, despite a commentary we read saying that it “is not a place to make for deliberately, but you are likely to end up there if you are driving the Schwarzwaldhochstraße“, we found reasonably attractive.

Its marktplatz or town square is the largest in Germany but today the size of it was hidden by the many stalls that had been set for the African festival

On the return drive we stopped off at the very touristy Mummelsee which is a lake situated in a glacial trough

Its name is said to come from the legendary mummels or water-sprites and dotted along the 1.5km walkway around the lake are carved figures depicting the various myths of the mummels

I said touristy & it was - hundreds of cars parked along the street, motorcycles for Africa, a couple of souvenir shops and hundreds of people (including us) all stopped at a site situated 1048m above sea level and surrounded by the Forest.

The number of motorcycles out on the road today was very noticeable and while it is only a guesstimate it seemed like there was 1 bike for every 5 cars on the highway - it is superb weather for biking it has to be said.

Kms driven to date 673

Kms walked to date 101.5

A walk in the park

It having been just over a week since we left home this morning was set aside to give the clothing a new lease of life utilising the apartment owner’s washing machine (which when it was in its spin cycle sounded like an aeroplane winding up for lift off).

Having finished doing that we set off downtown to walk the length of the Lichtentaler Allee which has the Oos river running alongside the majority of it - it is called a river but in truth (at least at this time of the year) its depth would be no more than ankle height.

We started off going “that way” as I haven’t determined how the city aligns with the North and on the way we went into the Trinkhalle to have a look at the frescos that along with the colonnades are its feature

Continuing on we walked  along a tree lined path and we were taken by the trees as the topside of their leaves were green (as you would expect) but the underside was silver and yellow flowers hung from it

As we continued on we realised that this was the road we had driven on, in the opposite direction, when we drove into town so we continued until we came to the building that had a large mural painted on it before we turned to go “the other way”

In heat that we were now finding to be sapping we walked back to the city, stopped at our cafe (ours because some of the staff speak some English) for afternoon refreshments and then continued up, or is down, the Allee.

It is a walk that many Badeners enjoy as there were a steady steam of walkers and also cyclists doing exactly what we were doing. It is soon apparent why they enjoy it - tree lined walkways, plenty of seats to rest when required, the Oos flowing beside and safe enough for young ones, dogs and not so young ones to paddle in - as it is a very pleasant walk.

There are also some significant buildings along the way which suggest that there is some money in town

If I ever came here to work I would start an Arborist company as there are trees and shrubs everywhere and most properties have hedging which is well manicured

Having walked the full length we then returned to the city before making our way, wearily, back to our accommodation.

Kms driven so far 547

Kms walked 93.8

At the cafe you can buy alcohol and after a 🍾 of this Sherry was under the table!!