Black Forest Germany Highlights

It's been a while since i updated the blog! Sorry if you've been waiting for the Germany posts. If you've missed the first one, here's our 10-day self-drive itinerary from Frankfurt to Munich. Now here's going a little more in depth on the highlights of the Black Forest.

The Black Forest region covers a number of cities and we stopped by a few of these cities when we drove through the Black Forest High Road (Schwarzwaldhochstrasse). This is a scenic route which runs from Baden-Baden to Freudenstadt through some gorgeous ridges and valleys, climbing through Bühlerhöhe, to finally arrive at the Hornisgrinde summit. There at its base, you could also visit the glacier lake Mummelsee. On a good day, i would think that the pedal boat would be fun for an all around view of the lake. This was closed when we visited because the lake was semi-frozen. 

Here are some of the cities we visited and reviews of them.

Baden-Baden is a high-end German spa town, with some casinos on site. We were looking forward to the Thermal Spa, which we thought would be kind of like the onsen towns of Japan (we couldn't be more wrong). We headed to the well-reviewed Caracalla Thermal Spa but it turned out to be more of a giant indoor public swimming pool with slightly heated water (boy was it cold). No pics here because we had to keep our stuff in the locker. Also, remember to bring your towels. There's another thermal bath- the Friedrichsbad, that was not open when we visited so you could check that out if you wish. As it was the off-peak season and we were kinda late for dinner, we just settled for some beer garden food at Löwenbräu. 

We didn't do much in Baden-Baden except to stroll along Lichtentaler Allee. Definitely have a giant slice of Blackforest cake (how could you not)! I highly recommend chilling in the pretty salon of Café König. The Germans are super generous with their slice and we love how light the layers of sponge and spiked cream were! I was never a fan of Blackforest cake because the SG ones are so dense but this is on a diff level. 

IF you have more time, take a short "hike" up to Hohenbaden Castle for a sweeping view of Baden -Baden. 

Mummelsee Lake

The Mummelsee is the largest of the several Karst lakes (formed by the collapse of underground caves) in the Black Forest region and was formed in the Ice Age. Surrounding the lake are tall forests and there's a trail that you can take around and up. For serious hikers, there are other trails leading up to the other peaks in the area. Also fun story, according to a legend, the Mummelsee inhabited by a Nix and the underwater king of the Mummelsee (who would kidnap women to his underwater kingdom). For us, this was just a stop because we wanted to experience the scenic drive through the Black Forest. 

Strasbourg, France

Obviously this is not part of the Black Forest but i'd definitely recommend a stop in France because the food is much better (seriously). Strasbourg is pretty much on the way to Triberg so it was a great spot for lunch for us. 

We mostly explored the Old Town where the Cathédrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg St Paul's Cathedral is and the nearby La Petit France area. 

For lunch we were extremely lucky to get a table without reservations at Le Tire-Bouchon. Their classic French set lunches are amazingly priced and super comforting and tasty. If you're early, they also have a degustation menu. For coffee, warm yourselves a little in the charming Café Bretelles Petite France! They have really good coffee. 

Freiburg

We stayed the night in Freiburg im Breisgau as it was cheaper than say Triberg. Freiburg is a vibrant university city with a reconstructed medieval old town. I can't tell you how pretty/cute it is as we didn't really visit the place. There is also a daily market which sounded quite interesting but we left for Titisee/Triberg early in the morning.

Titisee

Just another glacial lake really for boating, fishing, windsurfing and sailing IN GOOD WEATHER. It was crazy cold when we were there in fall but the lake wasn't frozen over yet for ice skating. You could stroll around the lake- there is an 8 km trail which leads up the Hochfirst Mountain.

Triberg

Do not go there expecting majestic waterfalls. You have to pay to enter and it's really quite small. I'd suggest go only if you have time to hike around a little (about an hour) and then see the falls, if not you'd find it a waste of time. The Black Forest cake at the so-called OG Black Forest cake cafe here can't compare with Cafe König. We should have waited for Restaurant & Café Bergseestüble to open for lunch really (it's very well-reviewed) but we were impatient and decided to continue on our road trip and we thought that we could get some nice food at Lake Constance i.e. Untersee, Obersee, and Bodensee (we couldn't be more wrong). Long story short, make sure you check if the restaurants are open, especially during off-peak seasons. 

That marks the highlights of the Black Forest in Germany. Let me know if there are other cities along the way that you enjoyed!

XOXO

Travelerintransit