Black Forest Area
 

First off, I thank all of you for all the great advice; I've learned so much here. We're arriving in Zurich from US on 6/23. We have one night free, then will be in Freidshafen for a convention and will be tied up with that thru 6/26. After that, we're have booked an additional 3 nights at Hotel City Krone to spend time touring the area around Lake Constance. We fly out of Stuttgart on Wed. 7/7. So, what to do the rest of the time? I've read good things about Lindau, Pfaander, Freiburg, and Baden-Baden. My thought is to end up in B-B before moving last night to Stuttgart. Just not sure where our base should be and for how long each. We prefer to travel by train, but car rental is a possibility. We're both 60+, active, like outdoor stuff. Short bike rides would be good, plus hiking, wine tasting, etc. We've probably already seen enough castles/churches. Should we go to St. Goar for a river cruise? What could/should we do upon arrival in ZRH? Thanks!!!

"I've read good things about Lindau, Pfaander, Freiburg, and Baden-Baden."

I don't know Pfaander. Lindau is very attractive. See it as a daytrip from Friedrichshafen. Neither Freiburg nor Baden-Baden are really in the Black Forest - they're cities on the fringe. For outdoorsy activities, many Germans head to Hinterzarten, Titisee, or Neustadt. There's lots of excellent walking and hiking and some mountain biking in the region. I've used attractive Löffingen as a base for hiking and sightseeing in these areas, but the towns themselves make for good bases as well. All are connected by train. the Wutachschlucht (gorge) is popular with hikers and lies near Löffingen and accessible by local bus service.

My B&B in Löffingen:

http://www.bensbauernhof.com/hauslie...oeffingen.html

(see Ben's pages for other places to stay in the region.)

This B&B and many hotels and B&B's within the Black Forest (but not those in Freiburg and Baden-Baden) offer free train travel on the "Konus Karte" that you get for free from your hosts.

Another area that's easy for train travel and good for outdoor stuff is the Hausach-Triberg-Schiltach triangle in the highest part of the Black Forest. Schiltach is an especially gorgeous town.

http://www.bensbauernhof.com/gasthof...schiltach.html

http://www.bensbauernhof.com/pension...schiltach.html

With the additional week or so that you have, yes, I could see a 3-4 day stay in the BF and a 3-4 day stay on the Rhine. A cruise from Bacharach to Braubach is about 2 hours (about the right length of time) through the most scenic area of the gorge and lets you off at the site of Marksburg Castle:

www.marksburg.de

Pfänder is a mountain near Bregenz, Austria. You will find about those in Fodor´s Austria, Region Vorarlberg (Bregenz is the capital of this small but great Austrian coutry).
You can hike from Bregenz to its top, but you don´t have to, as a funicular (Pfänderbahn) brings you there and back te Bregenz again. On the top, you enjoy a great panorama and an excellent view over ther lake on a clear day - but only then.

Friedrichshafen makes an excellent hub to discover Lake Constance or Bodensee. The best means of transportation is by passenger ship, Bodensee Schiffahrtsbetriebe offer a line service between the lakeside locations. From Friedrichshafen, Lindau is about 20k to the East, Bregenz another 20 km east of Lindau.

From Friedrichshafen, there also is a car ferry to Romanshorn (Switzerland) and a catamaran speedboat to Konstanz (Constance), also a nice day trip; another one would be to Meersburg (Fodorites´favourite) and Insel Mainau (Mainau island.

To the North, there is the railway line Friedrichshafen - Ravensburg - Biberach - Ulm, which brings you into the heart of Oberschwaben, still off the beaten track.

From Friedrichshafen to Black Forest or Schwarzwald, you follow the B 31 road via Donaueschingen (Danube source), Titisee-Neustadt, Hinterzarten, Freiburg/Breisgau (there is another one in Switzeland).

I agree with Russ to take a look at ben's website, especially his last two year's trip reports. Both times he tried to just get by using the KONUS card when in the BF.

Thanks for your input. I will check out Ben's reports. Any ideas on what we should do the day of arrival in Zurich? Should we stay there, and if so where. If not, where would be a good place to stop enroute to Freidrichshafen?

From Zürich Kloten (or Zürich Airport) you can go by car via Konstanz amd Meersburg within 2 hours - a distance of about 100 km - Google map told me. There is also a train from Zürich-Kloten to Konstanz, about one an half hour.

So it is up to yours - either you decide to stay in Zürich.

Winterthur is a choice for art lovers - do a research for Museum Oskar Reinhardt and Sammlung Oskar Reinhardt.

When you are jet lagged, you will be happy, when you are in Konstanz ans you see the lake right before you, so Konstanz makes a nice stop between Zürich and Friedrichshafen.

(Count Zeppelin was a native Constancer, after his time as a career officer - he was an observer in the Civil war, later, 1870, in the French - German war, as a light cavallerist or uhlan, he led a reconnaissance ride behind the French lines - the king of Württemberg gave him the chance and possibility to realize his airship, first on a floating hall at Manzell near Friedrichshafen, later in Friedrichshafen - just visit the Zeppelin Museum there, they tell the story about the Count, his airships and Friedrichshafen better than I do here).

Konstanz is mentioned at Fodor´s Germany, Lake Constance region. They have a nice lakeside promenade there and also a nice Altstadt or city with old times charme, just the right place to recover from jet lag.