After a drive of about 4 hours, we were passing through areas of forest that frequently brought to mind the adventures of Hansel and Gretel. There were increasing amounts of snow as we drew closer, and many substantial clusters of tall, dark green firs or pines beside the road and on the surrounding hills and mountains. Unfortunately, I didn't really get any good photos of these gorgeous Schwartzwald scenes!
That evening we wandered around the peaceful streets of Tennenbronn in search of somewhere to eat, before deciding the restaurant in our guesthouse actually looked the most promising. Dinner was great – my meal was an unusual but tasty “Black Forest speciality” of pork with cherry cream sauce! Afterwards, to our surprise and delight, we were invited by our friendly server (the owner?) to join the group in the room next door!
From Ben's earlier enquiry as to what the gathering next door was about, we had learnt that they were a group that get together occasionally and wear traditional costumes, play music, recite poetry or stories, and learn various crafts. So, we were led to a table where, with a conversation consisting of follow-my-example gestures, laughter, and everything but a mutual language, a friendly bee keeper taught me how to make a candle using only a sheet of yellow beeswax, a piece of string, and my hands.
Along with the efforts of the few others who were likewise being taught this most precise art, mine was frequently unrolled and redone by the bee keeper with much patience and vigorous explanation, but when I had finally finished he seemed to approve. It was a lovely example of the spontaneous kindness of strangers, and the memory of that will last far longer than the very nice-smelling souvenir of the Black Forest we gained in the process. :)
(Insert overdue realisation of missing mobile phone here, and arrangements promptly made for its subsequent return to England via the backpacker who answered it, the hostel reception it was handed in to (after aforementioned backpacker apparently changed the ringtone but at least did not make any long calls to China), the small fee charged by said hostel, and the postal service.)
The next day we set off on a drive up into the mountains. On the way, we had a lot of fun choosing the “shortest route” rather than the “fastest route” on Tommy, our GPS. Each time, the selection of the shortest route was immediately followed by this warning:
"Please note: Research has shown that the 'Shortest' route is usually not as safe as the 'Quickest' route, as well as taking longer and being less fuel-efficient."
True indeed to this warning, we were led on quite an exciting wild goose chase through the middle of a snowy-floored forest of green-moss-trunked trees and piles of logs. We bumped around a maze of narrow dirt tracks covered in snow, churned up muddy patches too doubtful to drive through, and random piles of rocks strewn across the road. A great deal of reversing was done before we eventually found our way out and decided to stick to the fastest route, at least for the rest of the day!
The views up in the mountains were gorgeous - next after Liechtenstein on the "best scenery of the trip" list! Snow-covered hills, lots of trees, charming houses...
Once we reached our destination, Feldberg, we had a bit of a walk around the snowsports area, where it was snowing lightly. We had initially set off that day with the intention of going snowboarding, but unfortunately this did not eventuate – mainly due to the limited time left before the lifts closed by the time we got up there.
We then set off back down the mountain to one of the larger cities in the area, Freiburg im Breisgau. There, we happened across the town square containing the Freiburg Münster, a large medieval cathedral. We had a bit of a look around and then discovered you could climb the spiral staircase inside the clock tower, which, according to Wikipedia, has been standing there since 1330 and is 116m tall! So, we set off up the spiral metal staircase inside the tower, around and around and around, passing en route the evidence of ongoing restoration work.
After many steps, we reached a little shop near the top, where it was actually someone's job to sit far above the city all day and admit tourists! From there, it was just a few more steps until we reached a platform surrounding the tower's 16 bells, which range in weight from 80kg up to 7 tonnes - incredible!!
As you may well be able to imagine, I was extremely relaxed due to our extreme height above the city and the reassuring motion of the wind gently rocking the ancient tower, and I did not jump at all when the bells suddenly struck a quarter past as I was standing right beside them.
Once back on dear ground, we wandered further around the city and came across an exceptionally talented man playing lively, self-composed tunes on a piano accordion. He was absolutely brilliant and, after listening for a while and watching his total absorption in his music, we ended up buying one of his CDs. A bit of a look online indicates that this guy may be somewhat famous amongst people who follow piano accordion musicians. :)
After a pleasant interlude in a bookshop, where we bought a couple more German-language books (including another Tintin), we ate dinner in one of the restaurants lining the square containing the Münster, and then headed back to Tennenbronn for our second and final night at the guesthouse.
1 comment:
Yes the clock tower would be too high for me, and the gentle rocking from the wind would have just completed my jelly knee's reaction!!!!!!
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