Black forest - Germany

Sitting on the train once more to head into Germany - destined for the Black Forest. Train travel has been very enjoyable, a great way to see the countryside. The trains are fast, efficient and very comfortable. The German countryside we passed through was beautiful with green rolling hills, mountains covered in tall pine trees, and cute little villages of colorful cottages with sharp A frame roof-tops.

We arrived in a little town called ‘Triberg’ where we planned to stay for 2 nights. We had only just decided to stay here after we met a German on the train to Basel who mentioned it as a nice town in the Black Forest. Other than knowing it had a waterfall, we didn’t know much else about the town! We disembarked the train, and found out that the station was quite a distance from the town centre. Thankfully, up until now, I hadn’t had to carry my pack very far - so the long walk up hill to the town looked a little daunting. But I managed it, propelled by the excitement of being back in the country air and with the forest looming up ahead of us. The Black Forest isn’t really black, but this is actually where the black forest cake originates from. And, we discovered, is also the origins of the cuckcoo clock. I’m sure you can imagine what most shops sell here!



We went on a long walk into the thick pine forest, admiring a large very full waterfall along the way. We were a bit adventurous as the walks in the forest had all been closed for the winter, but we felt we were safe enough. The day was crisp, the air was cold and the sun was out . A gorgeous day. As we headed higher up the mountain, there was a light covering of snow. It was revitalizing to be hiking!

We found an old bell tower on top of a hill where we enjoyed our little picnic cheese and cracker lunch. The sun was on us, however not creating that much warmth. I was wearing quite a few layers - including thermals, shirt, jumper, vest and jacket, beanie, scarf and gloves - but still ended up frozen to the core. My fingers have not been functioning that well over the past few days - not happy to be out in the below zero temperatures! So we headed back soon, to thaw out in a cafe with a hot tea.
We had a German meal for dinner that evening at a very kitsch German restaurant. German food is quite hearty - sausages, bacon, sauerkraut, dumplings, potato, egg - and the servings were huge!