Fairytale forests and fruit chocolate cakes. Great rolling hills and grandfather clocks. I love talking about the different regions of Germany because we have an idea of what is Germany but we don’t know why. Yes pretzels are German, but that is Bavaria and so is Oktoberfest. Yes there are remnants of the Cold War, but that is Berlin and so is the wall. Then there is the things we think are German that are really just the Black Forest and that is what I am going to talk about!
You probably know what the Black Forest is without actually realizing it. It is the forested mountains of Southwest Germany. I always imagined it looking like Hoodwinked, as it is based loosely on the the tale of Little Red Riding Hood which is one of the Grimm Brother’s Fairytales. These fairytales take place here because of its deep dark woods that make them the perfect setting for a not so lighthearted fairytale. That is the vision I had for the Black Forest. I imagined it to be dark and full of cuckoo clocks, except that’s not all it turned out to be.
When I was visiting my friend in Stuttgart a couple years ago, one of the places we talked about going was to Freiburg. I had really been wanting to go to the Black Forest, but it was just a bit too far when I had visited Frankfurt years before. From Stuttgart it was only a couple hours to Freiburg, which is completely worth the drive considering it is just as much a part of the experience.
It was our last day trip during my time there. Well, that is until I came aback again that summer. We left late in the morning because our plans were a bit up in the air. Eventually we were on the road driving out of the city, where it felt like spring, into the mountains, where I felt like I was transported into winter. I was used to it being winter and snowy white in April back home in Minnesota, but I will admit, I was a bit taken aback by the snow there. It was supposed to be spring! Last time I was in Germany in April it was green, sunny, and warm.
Around 1pm I we stopped at a restaurant for lunch on the way. It was a small town. Titisee-Neustadt is the location on my photos, but I couldn’t tell you for sure that that was the place. It was a pretty typical German restaurant. Not typical in that was what every restaurant in Germany looks like, but typical in what you would expect from a traditional German restaurant. The tables were set nicely and the wooden walls were decorated with cuckoo clocks and murals. Now what does someone order in a traditional German restaurant other than schnitzel served with a side of fries? It was a true and authentic German experience. I didn’t need to eat for the rest of the day after than meal, but I did.
This was the kind of experience I was expecting from Germany. There was a certain coziness with the snow on the ground and I had just eaten in a cute authentic German restaurant. It really was starting to feel like the Black Forest, except there weren’t leaves on the trees so was it really a forest?
We continued our journey further south deeper into the forest. Eventually the snow disappearing once again and the sun came out. We arrived in Freiburg midafternoon. There aren’t a whole lot of attractions in Freiburg other than walking around and enjoying the city. With the being said after we found a parking garage where we could charge the car we headed towards the cathedral which is the draw of the city. You know you are in Freiburg from this Gothic cathedral towering over the rest of the city.
Freiburg Cathedral is a catholic church so I immediately felt on home upon entering. I will say its a bit different visiting a catholic church with people who aren’t catholic. Some like to spend some time enjoying the architecture, but some come in, do the rounds, and then are ready to go. I tend to like to spend a bit of time in the beautiful European catholic cathedrals. I like to see the architecture, but then also spend sometime meditating which most tourists are not doing. Either way it still was beautiful and captured the dark nature of the Black Forest perfectly. I felt transported to centuries ago and I loved it.
Upon exiting we walked around the aldstadt a bit, exploring the old streets. We were no longer in winter, but once again in spring with people out and about enjoying the parks, making music, and sitting out on the terraces of the cafes. We ended up stopping at a cafe for a drink. I have talked about this before in a few of my other posts, but I love that in much of Europe it is common to just go to a cafe or restaurant and just order a soda or drink and just hang out on the patio. It is my favorite European activity. We did order a little something to go with our beverage break. I finally got to try Black Forest cake! It wasn’t exactly what I had envisioned, but it still was delicious. Just remember when trying such desserts that they are a bit less sweet in Europe, but I like it this way!
Once we left it was after 5pm and you could tell the sun was setting because the warmth was disappearing. We walked around the streets a bit more popping into shops for my friend and her mom who looked for some new things for around the house, and for me into the gift shops to get a postcard or two to take home. We were running out of ideas of stuff to do, so we decided to take the funicular up Schlossberg, the mountain that Freiburg is built next to. Well actually I don’t know if you can really call it a mountain. Hill might be a better description, but either way it had a great view of the city.
We walked some of the trails around the mountain. There were parks to walk around as well as play grounds for kids. It was a bit more forested than the park that laid at the bottom of the mountain where families and students were lounging around taking in the last little bit of sun.
We took in the amazing views on our walk. You could see the town and then the hills surrounding it. Its a small city. I think the best way to describe it is as a university town. As for the mountains there was not much beyond Freiburg. I really like that about this town. It felt like you were in the middle of nowhere yet you had everything you could need.
We found our way to a beirgarten. I wasn’t really in the mood for a beer, especially because we had a long drive ahead of us, so instead I got sparkling water, which is my go to in Europe because it feels nicer than water, but is still water. Honestly I will usually order a water anywhere unless I am going out for a specific drink, but in Europe you have to pay for a water, so I might as well get something a bit nicer. We also got some fries to share, but sadly my clumsiness got the better of me and I spilt it all of the fries. We acted quick though and they ended up being ok!
It was a little after 7pm when we left Freiburg. It was a short day in the city, but thats ok, because it really is just the kind of city you walk around and hang out in. I really enjoyed it. I loved the scenery around me and taking in the sun. It was the perfect way to end this trip as it wasn’t too stressed of a day. It did make leaving harder the next day because I felt like I was finally starting to understand Germany and what makes it what it is. The Black Forest really isn’t that dark. Perhaps deep in the woods where there is still winter, but in the town I only experienced light and happiness.
I would highly recommend this stop to anyone wanting to visit the Black Forest. There are obviously lots of other places you can visit as well like Baden-Baden which is renowned for its spas. I think it would be fun to really spend time here and experience the depth of the Black Forest and its contribution to German culture.
To see more Germany content please visit my Germany page where you will see many more of my adventures from around the country.
The Journal of Wanderlust 