We took the Flixbus from Aachen into Freiburg, which is a long trip but definitely worth it for the comfortable bus with wifi and only one transfer - and it's definitely the least expensive way to go!
If you're in Europe and there's a Flixbus that can get you where you want to go, I highly recommend it.
We arrived in Freiburg in the evening, and it was a perfect Black Forest atmosphere (for the Grimm fairy tale lover in me at least): grey, wet, and foggy!
We stayed at the StayInn Hostel and Guesthouse which is just on the other side of the tracks from the old part of town. It was a great room (huge!) and it had a fridge. I think it was the cheapest place we've stayed but one of the cleanest and best kept.
It was a short walk into the old town, which was very pretty, especially with the sun going down and the lights coming on.
Unfortunately, in our opinion, Freiburg isn't a great city. Other than the very small old town, it's pretty commercial and boring. Would not stay in Freiburg if going to the Black Forest again, but the forest itself is definitely worth a visit!
We spent our first full day close to the city, taking a small walk through on the way to the closest part of the forest, the Schlossberg. This is a forested hill that's 456 meters high.
We stopped to admire this perfect fairy tale square on the way.
And then into the forest! The first part of the hill is very easy, concrete stairs and cobblestone paths. These lead to the Kanonenplatz, which is a square with lovely views over the city.
Then you can continue upwards to get some more rugged trails and feel a little deeper in the forest.
The travel buddies may have gotten a fairy tale makeover for this trip...
At the top there were, of course, amazing views, and also some old fort ruins.
The next day, our last day, was definitely the highlight of the trip. We took the train up into the Forest to Lake Titisee - a small town in the middle of the Forest that is perfect for a day trip. The Black Forest is so beautiful, the train ride itself is worth it. And as soon as you step out of the the train station at Lake Titisee, you've got beautiful forest views.
If we ever visit the Black Forest again, we will be staying in the smaller towns deeper in the woods, not a city on the edge. There are lots of trains so it's very convenient to stay in multiple small towns throughout a visit. Next time.
Lake Titisee is very small, but just beautiful. There are lots of little shops on the short walk to the lake. We only stopped in one, to have a look at the cuckoo clocks. The shop we stopped in also had a whole Christmas section (my favourite!) and tons of delicious smelling cured meats. It was very difficult not to buy things!
Then, the lake - the main attraction.
There is a walking/cycling path around the entire lake, which was our main goal for the day of course. It starts right in town so it's easy to find.
The walk itself is nice, some spots are not very close to the lake but others have little paths right onto the little beach.
And, of course, lots of chances to spot little, little red riding hood and the little wolf!
There is a campground just before the halfway point, and just past that is the only restaurant on the trail. It was a hot day, so we of course stopped for a drink.
After this point, you walk through the rest of the campground and up a little hill. Don't forget to turn around, the views are great!
A little way down the road and a little further up, there are more gorgeous views, this time over the lake.
We stopped at a little bench here to have our picnic lunch.
At this point I would recommend turning around and walking back the way you came; the road is no longer scenic, with large trucks passing by, and then a fairly residential little area with no views of the lake. It ends at a nice little park just outside town, which is perfect for having a rest after the walk, but we both agreed if we had to do it again, we would turn around at the last hill.
Still, an amazing day in the Forest by the lake. It's still one of my favourite days on any trip.
Did I mention how beautiful the train ride was?
No comments:
Post a Comment