Saturday 7th October 2023

Altglashutten Round Trip via Feldsee

We woke to a 7 degree morning with crystal clear skies and a great forecast for our walk to the highest point in the Black Forest- Feldsee where you supposedly can see the Swiss Alps.

The quality of food for breakfast was as good as last night’s dinner , as was the service from staff, mainly family, dressed in traditional clothes.

Set off on the walk and ran into two English people on the same tour as us. He was a retired GP and she a retired Practice Nurse. Good insurance if we took a tumble- though he was blind in one eye as a result of a skiing accident.

All our worrying about trains yesterday could have been saved for today. With our walk supposedly starting with a short train trip we arrived at station to be told ‘ No trains today, there might be a bus”.

A walk up to town proved fruitless so we decided to walk an additional 4 kilometres to the start.

It was a wonderful stroll along a path hugging the mountain with views down the valley and up into the hills, where ski runs were cut into the forest.

Sighted our first cows for the day and they would have been fit living on this terrain.

The hills were dotted with lots of houses, all set up for winter with their inevitable tidy wood stocks. Seems there are still enough trees in those hills to sustain the usage.

With the little help of a local we got directed onto a mountain track that steepled upwards for about 2 hours. The only respite was a wetland crossed on a plank pathway. The ongoing conversation with our companions helped take the mind off the terrain.

We finally reached the bottom of the chairlift and after adding on the extra kilometres early in the day decided to ride it up to the top rather than walk up the steep track.

Up at the top was a monument and a lookout with amazing 360 degree views. It included seeing a huge mountain tarn (lake) that we would circle on the way down.

For those with a penchant for heights and the stamina left in the legs, the 11 storey observation tower enhanced the view even more.

On this relatively clear day you could make out the outline of the Eiger and other prominent peaks in the Swiss Alps.

With a few stops for a puff I eventually made the top. Jane was smart enough to use the lift and enjoy similar views, but like me had difficulty stepping to the edge and looking down.

Nearby on a slightly higher hill was telco infrastructure and a myriad of paths-what they were used for is a mystery.

Back on level ground it was off for a trip back down the cable car to the bottom to start our long haul down the hill.

The four of us suffered a bit of a direction finding problem that was solved after finding the right sign out of a myriad appearing on the posts around the place. This place must be a bunfight in ski season,as on a sunny day in Autumn it was packed.

It was a steep rocky downward trip with hordes of people coming up and a few eager beaver groups pushing passed from behind.

On these surfaces it’s difficult to maintain your balance at the best of times and urgers don’t help. Poor old Hal with his diminished sight had a few near misses from a tumble as people pressed him to go faster.

It was after about an hour that we reached the tarn. Hot and sweaty.
Unfortunately, the existence of rare plants in the lake stops swimming. It was a matter of doing a lap and taking in its beauty, along with 30 other people.

Jane and I set off separately and enjoyed a bit of flat forest walking, before ending up at a huge guesthouse where people were picnicking as well as enjoying a cart ride with a traditionally dressed driver. The old horses just plodded along doing something they must do a 100 times a weekend. They looked in good condition so it can’t be doing them any harm.

We meandered through more forest, up and down, with signage giving very confusing distances , it was like a barn dance 1 km forward and 2 back. At around 4pm we found the town where the train should have left. Buggered after 7 hours walking we took a punt that the train replacement bus was working.

Hallelujah !! There were some people at the stop. A kind soul directed us onto a crowded bus and we were off.

Only two slight problems it was headed in the wrong direction and getting there alive was doubtful with the ex rally car driver giving everyone heart palpitations with his driving antics – he was obviously behind schedule.

We finally arrived at the terminus and immediately grabbed a seat for a ride in the right direction. After 30 minutes of our life we won’t get back , we arrived in the home township about a kilometre from home.

Just off in the distance we saw a few familiar faces from our hotel, taking what hoped was a short cut home. It turned out not and it was more than faces we ended up seeing.

Being caught out peeing can have unforeseen circumstances – one lady let us see more moon than Neil Armstrong saw and the other was last seen towelling down her jeans. We crossed paths with a smile , which was replicated at dinner when they turned up for a 60th birthday celebration.

Some time after 5pm we slumped into our bedroom chairs and reflected on a very memorable days walking and gawking.

All spruced up we headed for our 5 course dinner with matching wines. Like last night the food was perfect in taste, presentation and portion size. The wines were a great complement to the meal and service was great.

The menus are below.