As my family originally came from Germany I had always wanted to visit the country, but never quite got around to it. So when the opportunity came up to visit the stunning Black Forest I grabbed it with both hands.
The Black Forest — or Schwarzwald in German — is a vast national park which sweeps across the south west corner of Germany in the Baden Wurttemberg region, dotted with picture postcard towns and villages.
And the mountain and woodland scenery is pretty stunning too.
Our base for the week was the village of Schonwald. The village is nestled on a plain high up in the heart of the forest, with a good selection of shops, cafes and several traditional German pubs. There are also a couple of good pizzarias and other restaurants.
Surrounded by fields, rivers and trees (of course) this was a place to enjoy some seriously clean air and great walking. A network of nature trails are situated around Schonwald, ideal for short or long distance walking.
But as we travelled in March it was still winter season and the village lay under a thick blanket of snow as we battled through towards our apartment. This unfortunately limited us to the shorter walks — although these were still memorable.
My girlfriend Vickie and I were staying at Ferienhaus Schonwald, booked through holiday lodge specialist Hoseasons.
The apartment was clean, comfortable and spacious, with its own kitchen. Heated floors also meant it was toasty warm despite the freezing temperatures outside.
And the view from our window of snow covered fields and roof-tops was a sight to behold.
After a two-hour drive from Friedrichshafen, on Lake Constance, we enjoyed a relaxing swim at the indoor swimming pool before getting some well-earned rest.
The next day we explored the village and took a stroll around the snow-covered park.
Throughout winter Schonwald is a great base for skiers and we could see families enjoying themselves on the surrounding slopes although I didn’t spot anyone attempting the terrifying looking ski jump which could be seen high on a hill above the village.
Over the next few days we toured around the area in our trusty Fiat hire car, which negotiated the icy roads surprisingly well.
First stop was Triberg, home to Germany’s highest waterall and the world’s biggest cuckoo clock.
With a host of souvenir shops and lots of cafes selling tasty, but huge, Black Forest cakes, Triberg is a popular tourist haunt in a breathtaking location.
Despite being March, visitors thronged through the town and in summer I’d imagine the tourist hordes may get too much for some people.
Next up on our regional tour was the university city of Freiburg, the gateway to the southern Black Forest. The munster (large church) in the centre was a great sight. I eventually talked Vickie into climbing its tower to enjoy panoramic views.
We had lunch in a renovated brewery, with a huge selection of German meals and snacks.
Despite very few menus being in English as well as German throughout the area, restaurant and bar staff were only too happy to help translate.
To get to Freiburg we drove through the Hollental (which translates as Hell’s Valley) a dramatic gorge on the B31 to the east of the city. With sharp switchbacks in the road, it was an exhilarating experience, surrounded by steep crags and near vertical jagged rock faces.
During our week-long holiday I was determined to visit Heilbronn in the north of Baden Wurttemberg, where my grandfather was born.
His Jewish family, who ran a brewery and restaurant there, fled in the 1930s after being forced to sell their business to a German firm under a Nazi law designed to strip Jews of their assets.
Most of the town was later destroyed in an Allied bombing raid during 1944, and I arrived in Heilbronn unsure of what I would find. But to my astonishment an English speaking historian at the town’s museum knew a lot about my family’s old brewery, Adlerbrau.
And after a hurried search of the archives by museum staff, photographs of the restaurant, family documents and even an old licensing application were unearthed.
It turned out we were staying on the street where the brewery used to be, just a stone’s throw from where my ancestors once lived.
After our extraordinary visit, we headed back down the autobahn in the Hertz hire car to Schonwald for the final part of our holiday.
The last of our stops was Schiltach, a perfectly preserved town in the Kinzig Valley. With dozens of half-timbered houses and a mountain backdrop, it could have been a film set and is well worth a stop-off for anyone travelling through the Black Forest.
All in all the Black Forest was everything I imagined and more and you just cannot do the region justice in one trip.
I’m sure I’ll be heading back there soon.
- A week for two people self-catering at Ferienhaus Schonwald costs from £255. All rooms come with colour TV, radio, kitchenette, a shower and a terrace or balcony. There is an indoor pool, sauna, Jacuzzi, open air chess and table tennis available.
- We flew to Friedrichshafen airport from London Stansted on Ryanair. The return tickets cost around £75 each, including taxes and fees. Other airports convenient for the Black Forest are Strasbourg, in France, and Basel in Switzerland.
- Friedrichshafen is especially good for travellers heading into the Swiss Alps or anyone wanting to visit Lake Constance. Alternatively Hoseasons provides detailed driving instructions to Ferienhaus Schonwald and all other resorts from French ferry ports or the Hook of Holland.
- Hertz cars are available to hire from Friedrichshafen airport. For more information, including prices, visit www.hertz.co.uk. Or you can ring the rental company on 08708 448844
- For more information about Hoseasons call 0870 9023120 or visit the website www.hoseasons.co.uk
By Tom Warren
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