ooohhhh the Black Forest...

March 13, 2012 4:37 AM

Considering a weekend in Schwarzwald (The Black Forest) in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany; Is the Schwarzwald actually as picturesque / interesting as I've grown up to believe? (or is it more like Sherwood Forest in the UK; small, crappy, not much of a 'forest' and best avoided?)

I notice also that the Black Forest seems to cover a very large area, any tips on actual villages / walks / areas / places to stay for a weekend would be welcomed.

We are thinking of going for a few days at Easter this year as we will be in Aachen for a few weeks.

Also any general food tips for the region would be handy.

posted by mary8nne to travel & transportation around Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany (4 answers total)

It's picturesque in winter when it's all sparkly snow and icicles. And all year round the various castles and palaces are wonderful. I think in my head when I was a child I had conflated the black forest with Bavaria somehow and I was a little bit let down by the reality. Also that there were no gingerbread cottages. I was sad about that. But make your trip about visiting castles and I don't think you'll be disappointed. Even just seeing them from the outside for the ones you can't tour. And ruins are pretty too.
posted by lollusc at 5:03 AM on March 13, 2012

I spent a few weeks in Kandern back in high school and found it and its environs to be delightfully picturesque. Not a ton going on there, just a quiet, almost sleepy little hamlet.

The Black Forest isn't really a large chunk of impenetrable woods anymore, but it's still quite a bit more impressive than Sherwood. In addition to be several orders of magnitude larger than Sherwood, it's actually quite hilly. The highest peak is almost 5,000ft above sea level, and there are some waterfalls around. The E1 long distance path runs through the area too.
posted by valkyryn at 6:07 AM on March 13, 2012

If it's interesting that you're after, please go during carnival season. Some of the most wonderfully strange events I've ever seen.
posted by stephennelson at 9:55 AM on March 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

I also had a nice trip there (in early spring, if it matters), and it didn't strike me as fitting any of your concerns.
posted by lovingkindness at 10:10 AM on March 13, 2012