alexandrak

We are travelling to France, Germany and Belgium for our August honeymoon. We will be beginning in Paris, then Dijon, and plan to spend an afternoon/evening in Colmar before renting a car and heading into Germany (will arrive after dinner). We have 3 nights and would like to spend our 4th in Baden-Baden before flying out of Strasbourg, onwards to Belgium.

My questions are: where is the best place to base ourselves? This portion of our trip we would prefer to be about nature, visiting the mountain, maybe a lake (I read something about a glacial lake?), seeing some waterfalls. I may be getting my information mixed up, but I believe these are all things around the area. So what should our itinerary look like? We will be sick of museums by this point, but love food, drink and exploring. I am having a very challenging time getting a feel for the area through google.

Any suggestions?

Fussgaenger

So, Colmar - Baden-Baden - Strasbourg are the parameters with 4 nights...

Lindau on Bodensee (Lake Constance) is a lovely island town.
http://www.inselwache.de/assets/images/Bild_Lindau.jpg

The Black Forest includes Titisee, on a lake of the same name - very scenic but also pretty heavy with tourists:

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4153/5...d4de3e88_b.jpg

Feldberg (tallest mt. in the Black Forest) is in the background.

There is hiking everywhere. I've hiked from Neustadt over the Hochfirst peak into Titisee - nice hike with great scenery, an inn and a lookout tower at the top

Near Titisee is Hinterzarten, a hiking mecca with lots of trails.

Triberg is a touristy town at high elevation with a waterfall (Germany's highest?) and the interesting Black Forest Museum.

Fussgaenger

(cont.) There are other great towns too. One of my favorites is the old walled town of Gengenbach:

http://www.stadthotel-gengenbach.de/...innenstadt.jpg

Schiltach is outstanding: http://www.orte-bw.de/grafik/uploads..._2010_1040.JPG

laverendrye

Even though you have said you will be sick of museums, I would still recommend a visit to the Open Air Museum (Vogtsbauernhof) in Gutach.

https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attractio...Wurttembe.html

traveller1959

I partly live in the Black Forest (Schluchsee, to be exact) and so I might give you some insider information.

Given you interests, you should base yourself in the High Black Forest (Hochschwarzwald) and not in Gengenbach which is at the foot the Black Forest.

One of the most picturesque villages is Menzenschwand. It is in a rather narrow valley and still has many traditional houses. There is a most beautiful spa with saunas and thermal indoor-/outdoor-pool and a deer park. There are beautiful hiking trails to a waterfall and into a glacial valley with very impressive moraines and small lake (more like a pond) behind them. You may base yourself in Menzenschwand or nearby, but you should at least spend half a day for hiking (the hike may be shorter or longer) and soaking in the thermal pool after that.
http://www.radonrevitalbad.de/

Another glacial experience would be the Feldsee, a most beautiful glacier lake directly below the Feldberg. You can only reach it by hiking and there are two options: Either you drive up the Feldberg to the base of the lifts and hiking down from there (and back up again, which is not so bad as it sounds) or you park your car at a car park which is reachable from the road from Bärental to Titisee and hike from there (and back) on a low gradient. Near the lake is a traditional farmhouse - the Raimartihof - which serves excellent local fare (they raise their own cattle).

In any case, you should drive up the Feldberg and take the tramway to the summit.

For a waterfall, I recommend the falls of Todtnau (higher than Menzenschwand).

So, where to stay? - There is a multitude of options. I already mentioned Menzenschwand, which is a quiet village.

Schluchsee would be mid-sized town (pop. 1,000) on the largest lake of the Black Forest (boats, canoes, sailing) with some two dozen hotels and many restaurants, cafés, ice cream parlour etc.

Titisee is also on a lake, has beautiful hotels, many souvenir shops and is usually crowded with tourists from China and Arabia.

Bernau is a village in a scenic valley close to the Feldberg. There is also a traditional farmhouse which is now a museum.

Altglashütten is another small town with a traditional glassblower in town.

In Rothaus, there is a hotel that belongs to the beer brewery which one of the best in Germany. The brewery is in the middle of the forest, but there are hiking trails leading to two historical chapels, around a lake and a sculpture garden. There is a traditional Black Forest house which is now a museum, you can visit the brewery and the brewery has two restaurants, one of them with traditional wood-paneling.

http://www.brauereigasthof-rothaus.de/
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heimatmuseum_H%C3%BCsli

For an outstanding dining experience with a Michelin star, you may stay here (it is also a hotel):

http://www.adler-schwarzwald.de/

Direct below the Feldberg is Bärental, but I would not recommend staying there because of the highways that lead through this tiny hamlet and some ugly architecture.

The Vogtsbauernhof has been mentioned above. I think it is not worth driving there because you will have the option to visit traditional farmhouses in their natural settings in the High Black Forest, including several ones which have been turned into restaurants.

If you need more help with finding a base or hotel, ask here more specific questions.

This is the main website. Under "region" you find the several towns:

http://www.hochschwarzwald.de/

Fussgaenger

(con't.) Can't upload the rest of my suggestions for some reason. Check Black Forest trip reports at this site:
http://www.bensbauernhof.com/tripreports.html

alexandrak

Thank you, these are wonderful suggestions, and once I have time with a map and some research will likely help me make a plan. I notice Freiburg wasn't really mentioned, should we skip it for what we are looking for?

Does it make the most sense for us to fly to Belgium from Strasbourg at the end? It doesn't look like the Baden-Baden airport flies to Belgium, and the train ride is quite long.

traveller1959

Freiburg is, like Gengenbach, not in the Black Forest. It is a nice city with a nice cathedral, but the Black Forest is something different.

>>Does it make the most sense for us to fly to Belgium from Strasbourg at the end? It doesn't look like the Baden-Baden airport flies to Belgium, and the train ride is quite long.

alexandrak

I suppose it's not a must, but pictures look nice and a lot of people do seem to recommend it, however as I said we are really struggling with this area, so expertise from someone who knows will help guide us. I liked the idea of a spa day and a very aesthetically pleasing town to explore for an afternoon, but if it can be missed without regret, that's okay too.


It is a little out of the way, so I'm thinking if we travel through Gengenbach from Strasbourg, and then head south to one of the places you mentioned, we could later continue down by train and fly from Basel up to Brussels (where we would train to Bruges for a couple of days).

Our plan is essentially Paris-Dijon-Alsace (either Colmar or Strasbourg, leaning towards Strasbourg with a day trip to Colmar-Black Forest (where I am struggling)-Bruges and flying out of Brussels at the very end.

My concern is that we don't want too rural. In the evening we like to have a town/city "centre" to walk around in, and I'm not sure if Menzenschwand and some of the others you've mentioned have that. We like there to be a bit of a buzz in the town.

alexandrak

Lindau looks lovely but I think a bit too far east for our purposes on this particular trip, I'm afraid

traveller1959

>>We like there to be a bit of a buzz in the town.

alexandrak

I think we will rent a car for the Black Forest portion, but need to pick it up after crossing the French border and lose it before crossing the Swiss... ai yi yi.

Fussgaenger

"We like there to be a bit of a buzz in the town."

An evening buzz is mostly antithetical to the Black Forest. There just isn't much night life in the smaller towns.

The best advice I have is to book in Gengenbach, roughly in the geographic center for outings to livelier places and also well located for visits to other BF towns. Visit Freiburg (1 hour by train,) Baden-Baden (35 min. by train,) and Strasbourg (50 min. by train) on day trips and spend the evenings there. You can stay in these larger towns until 9:30-10:30 pm and still make it back to Gengenbach for the night.

Gengenbach-Schiltach 35 min.
Gengenbach-Gutach (Vogtsbauerhnhof) 30 min.
Gengenbach-Triberg (35 min.)

All the above trips use the Black Forest Railway, which next to the Rhine Valley route is Germany's most scenic railway.

Gengenbach-Titisee (2 hours) could be done in combo with a day trip to Freiburg (which you pass through on the way.)

You can do all these train trips for free when you stay in Gengenbach or certain other small towns.

http://www.dreisamtal.de/en/service/konus.php?lang=en

Fussgaenger

Correction: the trip to Strasbourg is not completely free since the free guest card only gets you to the French border. A day trip there WILL cost you a few Euros from the border town of Kehl.

http://www.black-forest-travel.com/p...t-railway.html

WeisserTee

"Baden-Baden certainly has an excellent spa, but otherwise the town is pretty boring."

Not true. The town has an excellent contemporary art museum with not only a very good permanent collection but also an outstanding roster of special exhibitions. The building itself is also notable.

The concert hall is wonderful and frequently hosts world-class performances (example of upcoming concert: Yo-Yo Ma and the Berlin Philharmonic).

traveller1959

Gengenbach is a lovely historic town, but within 60 minutes, you have seen everything (including the raftsmen museum). At night, there is nothing. And it is not even in the Black Forest, so you are missing the high altitude air and the scent of the firs. I would not stay in Gengenbach. It is good for a quick visit, a few dozen photographs, and that't it.

In Titisee, you have a plethora of restaurants, most of them serving traditional Black Forest cuisine: fir-smoked ham, fresh river trout, venison (when in season), excellent beef from cattle that has grazed mountain meadows with wildflowers and herbs, mountain cheese and the famous Black Forest Cake with rich, kirschwasser-infused cream, cherries and chocolate. You also find there entertainment, especially in the lobbies of the grand hotels, often a local zither player. You can walk through the illuminated pedestrian zone and along the boardwalk at the lake which is lined by restaurants and bars. You even find a nightclub there.

Freiburg is a city which is coined by some 50,000 students. You find typical students bars with live music and students restaurants there with a lot of ethnic cuisine, organic and vegetarian cuisine, but no Black Forest cuisine (remember, like Gengenbach, Freibug is in the plains, not in the Black Forest).

In Baden-Baden, you will find Grand Hotels in international style with Beef Stroganoff on the menu. And dance clubs with music of Helene Fischer and an average age of 80.

WeisserTee

"In Baden-Baden, you will find Grand Hotels in international style with Beef Stroganoff on the menu."

Yes, and many other types of hotels as well, including some that are very modern. Are you really that ignorant about Baden-Baden or are you just an arrogant twerp who wants to be the snarky know-it-all on every topic?