Kirschzaten to Freiberg

Friday 13 October 2023

Our time has flown in the Black Forest and today it’s a chance to experience the last vestiges of walking up and down hills to reach Freiburg. It’s supposedly the hottest place in Germany and todays 30 degree forecast might help cement that factor.

Breakfast over we headed up into town and came across the locals setting up the markets in a tiny town square, with a great selection of local fare. I am sure Jane would have stayed longer had we not still had 6 hours to go and we hadn’t snapped a shot with the odd town fountain.

After dropping into a cafe to stock up for the day, it was some lovely walking in farmlands and small hamlets. Ran into a group of little kits going to a nature farm which we passed with its herd of goats and their own fun park, including a trampoline.

It was a strong animal focus as we passed a big dog training school with all of the agility equipment.

The local apartments dwellers in a nearby town had about 500 metres of community gardens established along the side of a babbling brook. One had some weird paraphernalia on his wall and gate right next to his very neat wood pile.

The local farmers are nearing the season end harvesting, with only small paddocks of sunflowers and pumpkins left over. There was a huge co-op that looked like a rural Bunnings store.

The flat ground and soft tracks made it easy walking as we neared the first hilly bit- 2 kilometres up to 420 metres. Before reaching it we passed a sign on a fence which translated into ‘experiential learning’. A girl sitting on a timber plinth assisted little in what really went on behind fences topped with barbed wire in places.

After that we went passed a significant horse farm where most horses were stabled- one poked his head out to ssay hello.

Reached the turnoff into the forest and it was as some friends had described ‘a hard slog to the chapel at the top”.

About 40 minutes later we reached a clearing and the 12 seat chapel of St Gwendoline, who looked after shepherds. If the cobwebs around the door were any indication she had few people taking refuge or praying.

After a time to rest up and dry out we headed back into the forest with the usual collection of signs. Again the blue and yellow scallop sign for the Way of St James, which heads through Germany and France on its way to Spain , popped up.

St Ottien was our target so we struck off on a beautiful path with filtered sunlight to eventually came to the drop off track to the village.

One slight problem, the area was being logged and we had to find an alternate route. Thankfully the Map Me app worked and we took a long route around the mountain for a couple of kilometres before finding a track we wished we had not.

Because it was rarely used it was overgrown, narrow, steep with ball bearing like stones underfoot. Forward scout Jane who had been suffering a bit with dry eyes,which affected her vision, had a couple of mishaps. One was a rough landing on her backside and the other was a need to bum her way down the last 5 metres or so as it was so slippery. I only had to emulate the latter.

A bit dusty and scratched we were strangely relieved as the restaurant above us with all of the clinking glasses was at least on the trail notes.

We still had 4-5 kilometres to go depending on the signage or our notes, but Jane’s vision was not improving even when applying drops. Thankfully it was a fairly wide and smooth path we trod towards the end of the forest, with Jane tethered to my arm. Think some passers by might have thought I was the lead for a blind athlete, given the polite smiles.

For the last 2 kilometres of the walk, towards the path into town, we ignored the notes, as they bore little resemblance to the trail. We simply followed what was now a regular group of daywalkers going both ways.

We broke out of the forest for the last time and gazed upon Freiburg which was dominated by churches, the Munster (cathedral) and town gate towers.
After a slow descent on a winding cobble stone path we entered the gate known as the entrance to the Black Forest ( if you are going the other way).

What an amazing town packed with tourists and being a Univetsity town, droves of young people. We walked towards the gothic Munster , along streets whete mini canals served as watercourses, gutters, places for people to cool off their feet while having a drink and for kids to sail toy boats.

I still can’t get over the different variations of kid transport here and the size of little kids on cycles.

Reached our hotel and again not disappointed with a large third floor room and a lift.

After cleaning up we headed off on a walk around town, not as neat and tidy as many others , before we quickly found a bar next to the river .

We sat and watched the world pass by including students in great clumps carrying copious amounts of grog doing what looked like a welcome to Uni initiation.
Skulling drinks and jumping in the river were but two.

We were going to drink at the beer house opposite with a couple of hundred seats, but it was packed.

We wandered back into town to look at the Munster, nearly as impressive as the one it copied in Strasbourg, before finding an outdoor restaurant for dinner.

A bit more wandering the streets with more and more students in varying levels of sobriety, before dodging the roving musicians and beggars and heading home – might say with Black Forest done and dusted.