When we went to breakfast this morning we thought we were in the USA. Heidelberg has a very big US influence as it is a big military area – we drove past the “General Patton Base” at one stage.
So almost all the conversation at breakfast was american accents ! And the hotel catered to them as well with plenty of american style bacon – very crispy – and pancakes on the menu.
It was quite cold again today – 8 or 9 degrees but as we had quite a drive we were comfotable in the car. Our destination today was Freiberg and our route took us through the Black Forest.
The first part was mostly autobahn until we reached Baden-Baden. Our trip was fairly clear of traffic hassles – slowing down a couple of times for roadworks – however at one point the traffic going the opposite direction was stopped for miles and miles.
At Baden-Baden we turned off and headed to Freudenstadt and this took us through pine tree covered hills and many quaint villages. We got quite high at one point and there were patches of snow along the road in shady areas.
Valley view in the Black Forest
This was obviously a sking area as we came across a few ski runs cut into the pine covered hills and lifts heading up the side of the hill. One even had a big patch of ice still sitting in the middle of the run.
At a place called Mummelsee there was a big lake surrounded by the pine tree hills. The water was very dark and showed no reflection from the hills.
The Big Toilet !
We also have some “Big” things today to rival the Bigcaravanadventurers !
At a place called Hornberg we found the world’s biggest toilet – might be hard to see in the picture but a man was on/in it !
The Big Cuckoo Clock
A bit further on we were coming into Triberg and we had two places claiming the world’s biggest cuckoo clock. The second one (in the picture) claims to be “im Guiness-Buch der Rekorde” so we will go with that one.
And here’s a tongue twister for you – try saying “black forest clock” 3 times very fast !
We stopped in Triberg for lunch. We found a nice bakery selling made up bread rolls – meatloaf, cheese and salad and savoury flat pretzel type things (they taste nice anyway) and we sat on a bench at the top of a hill looking back down the town and into the distance of green hills dotted with farms houses.
What a perfect spot !
Triberg Falls
While we were in Triberg we also visited the “biggest waterfall in Germany” – paying 8 euro for the priviledge. Nothing is free in Germany – it even costs 40 cents to go to the loo in some places !
Niagara Falls it ain’t ! But it was quite a pretty spot.
After our late lunch we headed onto Freiberg arriving about 16:00.
Adrienne and I then went off for a walk around the town. First we visited the Munster which the guidebook describes as a “monster” sized munster. It was pretty big – with the mandatory scaffold around one section and vast numbers of gargoyls around the top. They apparently spray water – presumably only in the summer months.
At one point I was acosted by a German speaking gentleman who grabbed my arm and began pointing to his camera. I quickly mastered the language and realised he wanted me to take a picture of him and his wife.
I should have asked for a tip as I took one picture but he didn’t like that as there was a shed behind him so we moved around a bit to try again. Then there was a bunch of girls behind so we had to move again and finally secured the treasured shot for the family album!
In front of the Munster in Freiberg
He did repay us by taking our picture as well !
We then strolled around the cobblestones streets. In the “old town”, little streams – called barchles – run along the edge of the street. “In olden days” they were used as kind of an irrigation system and to water their animals or fight fires as the need arose. From what we saw they are now used to park bikes in or for little kids in gum boots to splash along in !
Bridge on the river at Freiberg
We went through the “Martins Tor” – one of the gates into the city – and then meandered down some lovely tree lined streets to the river.
We crossed one bridge, walked down a little way, then crossed back on another bridge and headed back to our hotel.
Tonight we are having our yodelling lessons as tomorrow we head to Switzerland. So until then…………