The Black Forest: Searching for Hansel & Gretel

We added another excursion to our ever-growing book of adventures! We spent last weekend exploring Schwarzwald (aka the Black Forest), breathing in the fresh mountain air, capturing countless stunning views, exploring another beautiful part of Germany, and sneaking over to France for a quick visit.

Jeff made a last-minute decision on Thursday evening to take Friday off, opening up the opportunity to make a day trip to Strasbourg, France.

So, on Friday morning, we found ourselves weaving through the forest, passing by countless lumber yards and several cherry orchards, making our way to Kehl, Germany. We stopped in Kehl, hopped on the local train, and crossed the border into France. Thanks to my discovery last Christmas, we saved some mula by not paying the cross-border fee, but still being able to travel to a different country. #sneakyus

We hopped off the train at the island of Grande Île and set off to explore the city’s old town. We stopped for coffee at an irresistible French café and sipped our drinks while watching the morning hustle and bustle of the neighborhood. 

We wandered through the narrow cobblestone streets, passing by countless half-timbered houses, and landing in La Petite France. This little neighborhood is detailed with colorful half-timbered houses, accented with blossoming flowers, and sits along the edge of the canal. It’s adorable! And, thanks to a family of swans gliding through the water, it made for an even cozier feel.

At the edge of La Petite France, we were greeted with a view of the Ponts Couverts and Barrage Vauban. The Ponts Couverts, which is made up of three bridges and four towers, was built in the 1300s and was part of the city’s original line of ramparts. From there, we took in the view of the covered bridge, Barrage Vauban, and decided it was worth walking through to see what the inside was like… it was not very exciting. It turns out, the bridge is now a storage area for old statues and possibly broken structures from the cathedral.

We continued our stroll through the town, stopping at the local farmer’s market, popping our heads into the local shops, and eventually making our way to the Strasbourg Cathedral. During our time in Europe, we’ve seen several churches and cathedrals, but each one is still unique. The noticeable pink sandstone of the Strasbourg Cathedral is what stands out as the “wow factor” for this church. The enormous spire, beautiful façade, and countless statues aren’t bad either.

As you enter into the cathedral, you’re greeted with more beauty. The inside is accented with striking stained-glass windows and a massive organ which, in and of itself, is a masterpiece worth admiring. But don’t stop there! If you head to the front of the church, you get an up-close view of a Renaissance astronomical clock that depicts the different stages of life and the last judgment. The clock dates back to 1842 and still functions, with the main attraction being a procession of Christ and the Apostles.

We ended our tour of Strasbourg in perfect French fashion, by dining on some delectable crepes before heading back to Germany to pick up the car. 

We followed our stop in France with another scenic drive to Renchtalhütte, a cozy mountain hut with a beautiful view. Per usual, we trusted Google maps and the route it said to take; however, we quickly realized that this was not the best route, but it was too late to turn back. The super tiny, windy road that was barely big enough for one car lead us up through the forest to the top of the mountain. Thank heavens Jeff was driving, because I’m pretty sure I forgot to breathe and nearly lost my socks when we turned a corner and sat face to face with a large tractor pulling a trailer… we inched as close as we could to the edge of the road, very aware of the vast descent next to us, while the tractor inched as close as he could to the dirt wall and mountainside. Thankfully, with a little shimmying, we made it by each other and avoided scraping the rental car or plummeting down the hill. Once we arrived at the top of the mountain, and were breathing again, we took in the view which made the whole scary ride up worth it.

We picked a seat out on the patio overlooking the beautiful country. We ordered two drinks and a slice of the highly anticipated “Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte” aka Black Forest cake, aka a delicious chocolate sponge cake filled with a delectable cherry filling and topped with whipped cream. #mouthwatering

While we were soaking in the view and delighting our taste buds, we were approached by a waitress carrying one of the giant Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte and a photographer who was taking her picture. The photographer came up to us and asked if we would mind having our photo taken with the lady and the cake, and of course, we said sure. After he left, his buddy came up and asked us if we were on holiday and if we would mind being interviewed for the German Bild newspaper. Feeling pretty good about ourselves, we said we would not mind and provided the journalist with our information. He asked several questions about our occupation and what we were doing in Germany, and when he asked why we decided to visit the Black Forest, we told him we were searching for Hansel and Gretel. He seemed to enjoy this answer, asking a couple follow up questions before letting us get back to our cake. Looking back at it, we decided that it’s either going to be a fun article about two young adults exploring the world or possibly a story about the crazy Americans searching for fairytale characters in the forest… hopefully, it’s the former! But regardless, we’re definitely keeping an eye out for the article.

Eventually, we decided to leave our peaceful perch and head back to our Airbnb. Thankfully Google took us down the opposite way we came, on a road that was significantly wider and less treacherous than the first one.

We ended the evening with a beautiful walk along a creek near our Airbnb and cozying up on a bench to listen to the birds chirping around us while watching the sun set behind the mountains.

We woke up early on Saturday and made our way to Triberg, beating the crowd to Germany’s highest waterfall. We took a short hike up to the falls and were greeted with a waterfall that looked like one of those old school backgrounds people had on their computer. Rocks hidden under moss and lush green ferns surrounded the waterfall and covered the ground around us. We started at the top of the waterfall and worked our way down to the bottom, pausing at each outlook to admire the different levels of the waterfall. It was beautiful!

As the crowds began to gather, we hiked back to the top of the falls and escaped to the safety and isolation of our car.

We stopped in Triberg to walk around the downtown, popping into the little shops to admire countless cuckoo clocks while learning more about the iconic Bollenhut (large hats covered with red Pom Poms and part of the traditional folk attire in the Black Forest).

On our way out of town, we stopped by Eble Uhren-Park to see the biggest cuckoo clock in the world. We watched giddily as the little door opened, and the cuckoo bird popped his head in and out, followed by the ladies and gentlemen “dancing” around at the top of the clock to non-other then Edelweiss. It was definitely worth the stop! 

From here, we hopped on the Schwarzwald Hochstrasse (B500 - the Black Forest Highway) and started our ascent to our first stop on the highway, Ellbachsee Aussichtsplattform. Not sure what to expect, we grabbed our backpack and set off on a “hike,” missing the trailhead, but finding and following the paved biker’s path, which lead us to where we needed to be. It didn’t take long to get to the Ellbachsee Aussichtsplattform, and the views were incredible. You could see for miles! Jeff and I joked that although the views were spectacular, they weren’t quite as good as if we’d hiked for miles and actually earned them as compared to a twenty-minute stroll. On the way back, we found the dirt trail, that we missed the first time, and took that back to our car, making it feel a bit more like a hike out. Along the way, we spotted two figures hidden in the trees and soon realized they were wooden cutouts of what we think were Hansel and Gretel. We’re not sure what the story is behind the cutouts, but now we can tell the Bild journalist that we actually found what we were looking for on our holiday, the children in the forest!

I spy with my little eye a boy named Hansel.

We stopped at Allerheiligen Monastery next, enjoying another short hike while following the beautiful Allerheiligen-Wasserfälle (All Saints Waterfall) up to the old monastery. Like most hikes over here, there was a café and little shop at our destination. So, of course, we took a break for a refreshing beverage before beginning the descent down, stopping on the way to stick our feet in the water, just like when we were kids.

We continued on the Schwarzwald Hochstrasse, winding our way up and down through the spectacular forest and pulled off at the top of one mountain to capture the view of the dark green rolling hills, backed by a painted sky complete with puffy white clouds and multiple hues of blue. Again, it was stunning!

We arrived at Mummelsee, our final destination for the day, and were greeted by a tiny lake and crowds of people. It was not at all what we expected, but we enjoyed the stroll around the lake nonetheless. We kept our eyes peeled for hints of mermaids, but as legend says, they only appear at night in the moonlight, hiding out of sight from the countless tourists and paddle boats during the day.

With a successful day of adventures behind us, we made our way back to the Airbnb, stopping along the way to sample the local Schwarzwälder Schinken (black forest ham, a little too salty for our taste buds). We ended the day with another stroll around our quiet neighborhood, stopping to watch the goats on the hillside, sneaking a peek at a “real” treehouse, and stumbling upon a “water-treading/cold arm bath basin”... we've never heard of that before! #random

So many trails, so many hikes! Which way should we go?

We woke early again on Sunday, with a couple plans in mind. We had one more waterfall to see in the Black Forest, a quick tour of Baden Baden, and, our most important stop of the day, Chipotle.

We set off on the Black Forest Highway for the last time and drove to Geroldsauer Wasserfall. We caught a quick glimpse of our first ever marten running alongside the road, large hawks circling in the sky, and deer spread out on the hillside.

When we arrived at the waterfall, we were rewarded for our early wake, because there were only two other cars in the parking lot. Once again, we had the place to ourselves. We set off down the trail and were quickly greeted with another beautiful “screen savor” view. The weather was perfect (again) with the crisp, yet slightly humid morning air filling our lungs. The beautiful emerald ground covering surrounded us in addition to trees covered in moss and climbing vines. The sound of the creek filled our ears, highlighted by the sing-song of countless birds, sharing about their morning adventures. It was spectacular! We followed the creek to the main waterfall, where a young boy and his grandpa were fishing. We captured a few photos and continued on a little further. We found another restaurant tucked away in the forest as well as a signpost with several additional hikes in the area. We saw one hike that had the viewpoint symbol and was only 1.2 kilometers away. Since we weren’t quite ready to leave the forest, we figured we could sneak in this little hike to Kreuzfelsen.

Shortly after we passed a field with two Highland cows, we began the ascent up, straight up… like they don’t know what switchbacks are up. We climbed steadily for what felt like ages, watching as the lush ground covering changed to the more familiar pine needles, leaves, and sticks that we’re used to. We finally reached “flatter ground” and soon popped out at a random hut. For a disappointing minute, we thought this was the endpoint, an old wooden shack with a semi view of the valley; however, after a little exploring and passing behind the hut, we found that our trail actually continued on. It led us a little further up to some boulders and provided the view we were hoping for. 

This time we earned the view, and it was stunning!

Being so close, we decided to make a quick stop in Baden Baden to see what this famous spa town had to offer. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to soak in the baths (not sure we really want to right now anyway, thank you covid…), but we did enjoy wandering through the town. We strolled around the old town and over to Friedrichsbad, hoping to see the Roman bath ruins; however, they were temporarily closed, so we continued on and found a cute biergarten where we stopped for a treat and a drink instead (we thought we ordered traditional brats, turns out we actually ordered boiled white brats... there's a first for everything!). We ended our time in Baden Baden with a jaunt over to the Trinkhalle. The stunning columns lining the front of this former pump room immediately caught our eye. They provided a covered walkway with paintings related to the region’s myths and legends lining the inner walls (including a scene of the mermaids at Mummelsee). In the 19th century, the Trinkhalle was established as a place where guests could drink the healing waters of the thermal springs, too bad it was also closed. 

On the way home, we made one final stop at the Chipotle in Frankfurt. We couldn’t just pass through without stopping, plus it was like our tribute to the 4th of July… a day late.

Our adventure to the Black Forest was another great success! The drive in the forest, passing through countless, adorable towns decorated with chalets complete with colorful shutters and flower boxes, as well as numerous lumber yards, will forever be imprinted in our memories.

We’re not exactly sure what our next adventure will be. We had a couple trips booked, but our flights were randomly canceled or rescheduled, so who knows what will happen with those... In the meantime, we’re looking for other road trips and unexpected areas to explore!