Travel Jots: a black forest road trip
a jump into the black forest, local food, scenic drives & more
travel jots— a space dedicated to my travel diaries, my adventures, what I’ve seen and tasted, and travel tips.
Hello friends, and welcome back to a new post! As I already mentioned, last week I went to Germany, specifically in the Black Forest. It was a true road trip through the german land!
Why a road trip? Easy: we thought it was the best way to fully enjoy the wooded landscape of the Black Forest, without time or movement restrictions.
It was an incredible 5 days, and being my first road trip, I had the chance to savor the beauty of traveling by car, with natural landscapes full of colors and scents, and the complete comfort and flexibility that only a car can offer.
We traveled across the Alps, lakes, countryside, and small towns. We did a circular route, staying overnight in different little spots each night.
If you're curious about this trip and want to know everything about the places we visited, keep reading (+ I’ll also tell you about the places we booked for the night because I think they’re absolutely worth it, and who knows: they might inspire you for a future trip of your own).
Day 1—Basel & Freiburg
—(august 19)
The first day began with our alarm set for 5:30 in the morning. We had everything ready (backpacks, bags, food, and water), and all we needed was to set off and start this exciting journey to the German land, which would last about 7 hours.
We grabbed all our bags + blankets and pillows because, yes— we spent the last night sleeping in the car in the Swiss woods, but we’ll get back to that later.
After a few pit stops along the way, we reached Basel, a city in Switzerland that we decided to visit since it was on our route. We had lunch there (strictly at McDonald's—you have no idea about Swiss prices, that’s insane!).
We took a short stroll around the city. Can you believe it was my first time on the Swiss land? It’s such a close country to Italy, but I never had the chance to visit it.
We then got back on the road to reach our next destination: Freiburg. It’s not enough to say that I fell in love. It took us about an hour to get there, and we immediately went to our hotel to drop off our bags. We stayed at the B&B Hotel Freiburg-Nord, which is 10 minutes from the center by car.
We reached the city center, and after visiting the cathedral square, we headed straight to a bar I had noted down beforehand—‘Hausbrauerei Feierling’—where we enjoyed what I like to call a 'German aperitivo' (a pretzel + two blond Lagers, typical beers of the area).
After this little beer break, we went up to ‘Schlosserberg’, where we could enjoy a panoramic view of the city at sunset. A magical moment.
For dinner, we went to a place called ‘Harmonie,’ famous for their Flammkuchen, a local dish similar to a thin flatbread with various toppings. Good, but nothing spectacular. After dinner, we went back to the hotel because we were exhausted.
Day 2—Schwarzwaldhochstraße & Baden-Baden
—(august 20)
Second day of this road trip. We woke up heading towards Gengenbach.
Gengenbach is a picturesque medieval town, small and cozy, located in the southwest of Germany, about a 50-minute drive from Freiburg. It sits on the edge of the Black Forest (Schwarzwald), near the border with France, and it was where we stopped for breakfast in the town's central square. We had some local pastries along with coffee, and after a while, we set off again.
In the morning, we ventured into the heart of the Black Forest, driving along the Schwarzwaldhochstraße— the scenic road that winds through the German woods, which eventually led us to Lake Mummelsee, a tiny glacial lake situated in the Black Forest.
I really liked this little lake, especially for its magical and simultaneously familiar atmosphere. One thing that struck me is that the lake is known for its crystal-clear waters and some local legends, including one about a mysterious mermaid that lives in its depths (there’s even a statue on the lake’s waters depicting a mermaid).
The lake can be circled on foot thanks to a walking path that surrounds its shores. We decided to have lunch there, and despite some challenges with the language (because you should know I don’t speak German at ALL!), we managed to get a sausage sandwich and, as dessert, we tried the cake inspired by the region: the Black Forest cake.
We set off again immediately, heading towards Baden-Baden, or rather, Ottersweier, where we would be staying overnight. We stayed in this lovely Airbnb in a small, quiet town, 20 minutes from Baden-Baden.
Once we arrived in Baden-Baden, we took a walk in the city park, the Lichtentaler Allee.
After that, we headed to the funicular, Merkurbergbahn, which took us up to Merkur Mountain, where we had the chance to enjoy a beautiful view of the Black Forest and a stunning sunset.
In the evening, we had dinner at a local restaurant, where I finally tasted the famous potato soup, which was super good.
Day 3—Sommerberg, Hohenzollern castle & Triberg
—(august 21)
The next morning, we woke up and, after a quick breakfast with some croissants from the supermarket, we hit the road again, heading to Sommerberg.
Sommerberg is a small mountain located in the northern Black Forest in Germany. We specifically visited the "Baumwipfelpfad," which is an elevated walkway among the trees that allowed us to walk at treetop level, offering a spectacular view of the forest and the surrounding area. At the end of this nature trail, we were delighted by a huge wooden structure that rose up in the middle of the forest around us.
It was a super interesting visit, and that’s not all! Just a few minutes' walk away, there is a suspension bridge called "Wildline," which LITERALLY allows you to cross completely suspended meters and meters above the ground. As someone who is a bit afraid of heights, I admit I was a little scared, especially during those moments when the wind picked up, and the bridge started to sway a lot. But it was a truly unique experience that I would absolutely do again.
After a quick lunch, we headed towards Hohenzollern Castle, a 1 hour and 30-minute drive from Sommerberg. The trip was worth it because the vibes of this castle were incredible; it felt like being at Hogwarts, and with September 1st approaching, the excitement was stronger than ever!
It’s definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area.
Our next stops, in order, were: Schiltach (a very cute little village with many typical houses of the area) and Triberg, another town famous for its waterfalls.
We stayed overnight in Triberg in a super cute place where, instead of bedrooms, there are actual themed caravans! I'll leave the link to the place because it’s really worth it.
In the evening, we took a quick stroll and had dinner at a typical restaurant.
Tips for the future: make sure to always have cash with you because in many cities in southern Germany, they often do not accept card payments. This happened to us quite a few times.
Day 4—Triberg Waterfalls, Rottweil & Reno Waterfalls
—(august 22)
Day four was all about waterfalls! Early in the morning, we decided to visit the Triberg waterfalls, small but very charming, completely surrounded by greenery, where cute squirrels would occasionally pop out (bring some peanuts to make friends with these little squirrels).
Right after, we headed to Rottweil, where we specifically visited the panoramic elevator known as the "Testturm" by Thyssenkrupp—a 246-meter high test tower used to test innovative elevators, including cable-free and high-speed ones.
A quick lunch in Villingen-Schwenningen, then we headed to the final stop of the day: the Rhine Falls.
Having seen Niagara Falls a few years ago, these were less WOW, but still impressive waterfalls. To access the panoramic terraces, you need to buy a ticket for 5 CHF, and once inside, there is the option to take boat tours to see the falls up close. We did the 15-minute one, which cost 8 CHF.
It was amazing to see how powerful nature can be, and I had a lot of fun, especially getting refreshed!
In the evening, we went to Jettesten, where we booked an Airbnb for the night, super cute. We spent the evening in the room drinking wine and playing silly ‘guess the song’ games.
Day 5—Schaffhausen & Lucerne
—(august 23)
This second-to-last/last day of our trip was spent in complete relaxation. In the morning, we visited Schaffhausen, a Swiss town near the waterfalls, and after lunch, we headed towards Lucerne.
I have to say, Switzerland is not cheap at all, so if you ever want to travel to this country, be prepared for Swiss prices.
Lucerne is bathed by the waters of Lake Lucerne. It’s very charming and crossed by two beautiful wooden bridges.
We didn't visit a lot; we just enjoyed this last day strolling through the city's little alleys until sunset.
Before leaving, we quickly stopped by the supermarket to grab some dinner and a few beers because we were going to spend the night in a small forest near the city.
That's right: we slept in the car in the middle of the woods, and although I was scared of a possible close encounter with a bear, it wasn’t bad at all. Uncomfortable, yes, but it was an adventure I wanted to experience. As I mentioned before, we brought pillows, blankets, and some fairy lights to create a little nest in the back of the car.
Day 6— Back Home
—(august 24)
The next morning, having survived the night, we set off towards home.
It was a wonderful road trip, and we made the most of everything we had planned. Before leaving, we made a list of things to see and do, but the beauty of traveling is that there is a lot of improvisation; in fact, we removed and added things that we later visited.
I had so much fun and had the opportunity to experience a different kind of trip than usual.
I hope I haven't gone on too long, but as you’ve seen, I had to summarize 6 days of travel in just one post (different from what I initially thought).
Let me know in the comments if you have ever gone on a road trip, where you went, and if you haven't, where you would like to go <3.
See you in the next post!
Love,
—Michela.
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going on a road trip to Germany is CRAZY when the only place I have ever road tripped to is Quebec
oh, the dream to travel and be spontaneous; i'm glad to see you are living your life with such ease and pleasure, what a beautiful description to the various parts that make up the destination. germany is said to be gorgeous with amazing culture, love love love