We spent a long weekend in the Black Forest. At this
time of year especially, it should be called the Green Forest. We know why it
is so green – it rained all the time we were there. We took the (in)famous B500
Hochstrasse from Baden-Baden south. This road always features in lists of the
world’s best driving roads. It is 65 kms of fast smooth sweeping sections
interposed with hairpins through dense forests and elevated sections with
ridiculously panoramic views. Ideally, you don't want to be driving a puny Fiat Punto.
We stayed in the chocolate boxy village of
Simonswald, about 20 kms out of Freibourg. It was well endowed with typical
Gasthauses which reminded us of what we missed about living in Germany – cheap,
hearty evening meals accompanied by cheap reasonable wine and really good beer.
We lodged at a very affordable, traditional local
hotel, complete with the mandatory gargantuan breakfast. By necessity, we found
that we had, in fact, learned some German in our three years in Munich. There was a lovely little chapel situated on
the side of the mountain just above our hotel. Because of the rain, we never did
get to visit it.
Boris (our GPS) was being his usual berserk self, miffed
when with we programmed in “no highways”, he would send us down some apparently
remote but wonderfully picturesque goat tracks.
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