Trip Report - Germany's Black Forest

You have been warned – after you visit the Black Forest in Germany, you will want all your holiday spots to be like that. I am telling you from experience – I went there 6 months back (September 2015) and I am looking to go someplace similar for my next vacation; I just can’t get over it!

I don’t remember what was it that made us want to go to the Black Forest. We had no friends who have been there, and absolutely no idea of the region. However, we had a fair idea of the type of places we like – picturesque small towns where you can walk and walk and take in the culture. Black Forest suited the description perfectly.

I took a lot of time deciding where should we base ourselves. Forums online advised against staying in bigger towns. But we needed a city with good connections to Amsterdam and Wurzberg (our entry and exit points). We needed a town where we would get good dinners ‘cause after a day in the villages we would be starving and we like to have more options. So it was down to 3 cities – Baden Baden, Offenberg and Freiburg im Breisgau (Frei in the following paragraphs!).

It was easy to choose Frei because it had a direct flight from Amsterdam. Euro Airport serves Basel-Mullhouse-Freiburg im Breisgau for three different countries. Frei is also a university town, that made our choice simpler.

Our hotel was very close to the train station. Since we had to take a number of day trips, it was ideal. Frei has an amazing network of trams, buses and rail. Our hotel gave us a card that made our transport free within a certain region.

We even bought a 3-day Black Forest pass which was extremely cheap considering the amount of time we spent on buses and trains. Germany is the cheapest destination in terms of public transport. And the most efficient as well. I don't take Switzerland into account - that country leaves you with a hole in your pocket!

It was raining on our arrival day and so we decided to go to a near-by lake called Titisee. Travel days are exhausting and so we just wandered around aimlessly. The lake was beautiful and so was the area. We had minced pork and potatoes for lunch – that was a grand welcome to Germany! Needless to say, I just hogged on the potatoes!

 The next day it was raining again. We wanted to take a cable car ride but it wasn’t the right day. So we decided to go to Triberg. It is a small village with the largest cuckoo clock. The whole village had small shops with clocks all around. It was like a fairy land! We went to a waterfall and got drenched with our ponchos on. Rain bothered us quite a bit but we had no choice.

We had a funny experience thereafter! There was a bus standing waiting to go in our towns direction. I thought it would be fun to visit smaller towns and go through meandering roads. We hopped on to that bus. The driver told us it would take 2 hours by bus while it would just take an hour by train. We thought this would be a different experience and so we waited for the bus to move.

The bus went through all the Black Forest towns it seems! The driver picked children from one village and dropped them in another. We quickly realised it was school time and this was a bus for the kids!

Nevertheless, we witnessed a fun aspect and had a great time being on the roads! We reached Offenberg and took our train to Frei. In the evening we thought of going to an Indian restaurant and found an amazing one with ease.

Getting lost and doing random things makes vacations so much fun. Although I hate the scary parts, and GPS sometimes takes us through frightening, deserted routes. Anyway, you learn along the way so it’s not that big a deal.

On day 3 in Frei we took a tram across the city. We saw beyond touristy spots and observed how the city operated. We then took a cable car to Schauinsland and I found my peace in the hills.

It was a clear day with only light drizzle here and there. We trekked a little on the hills and found some beautiful spots to rest in. I wish I could trek more and get lost in those mountains. But I am grateful for the ability to atleast walk and see some of it. Schauinsland was a very simple place, yet it had the most calming air to it. I could go there every day if I lived anywhere near it. Ah the joy!

We did our laundry in the evening since we were half way through our vacation and were running out of clothes. We ate at the Indian restaurant again since our clothes had to be washed and dried before we could leave the area. The laundromat was obviously in German. But with the help of some kind people, we managed well. Also, my opinion of Germans being a rude community changed after the trip since we didn’t have a single harsh encounter!

We went to small villages the next day – Schiltach and Gengenbach. All these places looked quite similar to each other. Yet they were beautiful and had a typical Black Forest charm. We ate the famous Black Forest cake in supposedly the village which is most famous for it  – Schiltach. It was definitely over-rated! The locally brewed beer, however, was quite yum!

Our evening was spent in exploring Freiburg. Another funny incident happened which will forever be etched in my memory. It has to do with hot coffee and what sometimes happens next. Eww!

For some reason I had over-looked Baden-Baden. Most people on travel forums are fans of local things. They like what is authentic and traditional and talk against modern yet beautiful places. We just looked at google images of Baden-Baden the previous evening and thought we would like it.

We couldn’t have been more right. This town in the North of the Black Forest is a modern fairy land. It has cute cafes looking absolutely chic. It has pretty streets leading to plush hotels and restaurants. And the best of all, it has a cable car leading to a hill with amazing views of the area. You know how much I love tiny hills with small trekking areas!

We wished we had stayed the night in the city. But since we had a bus to Wurzberg the next day and we hadn’t planned this before, we went against it.

Nevertheless, each and every day in the Black Forest was amazing. I wish I could go there again sometime. But before that, I have many miles to cover, and cover I shall!

Tips for the area:
- If you are without a car, you would be doing a lot of train travel. We had to take a lot of connections at Offenberg. If you like the town, you can base yourself there.
- 5 days would do justice to the area.
- Small towns are what they are – small. You walk around a bit and they end. So be careful while choosing them as a base.
- Buy rail passes and use them. It cannot get more cheap.
-  Black Forest is the cheapest European destination we have been to. It has the charm of the Swiss hills and the cuteness of Austria. Get the best of all worlds and save your money!
- Eat the sandwich with Mango Curry sauce at the Frei station. If you like it, bring back some mango curry sauce from Germany. It was our one and only purchase and ...slurppp!
- If you want to explore more THIS blog is quite comprehensive. 


Coming up - Trip reports from Amsterdam, Munich and Cyprus! They are long over-due!