The Black Forest

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Geo: 47.8721, 7.73554

Yesterday (Monday) was cool and overcast so we did not do a great deal. We took a stroll into Staufen from the site to have a look around and get our bearings, then some grocery shopping It's a charming little place - very clean and tidy with some stylish shops. None of the Rudesheim 'tat' here!

We also had a drive out to the car wash to clean the BMW after all the falling debris from the trees in Rudesheim. It was quite a challenge to interpret how the machine operates given the language barrier, but David sorted it out thanks to a mechanic who spoke very good English.

This morning dawned bright and sunny, full of promise, so we set out early by our standards for Cafe Decker in Staufen for a coffee and Black Forest Gateau which was highly recommended in reviews. They do far more than just cake with a fab array of chocolates, cakes and pastries on offer both in the shop and restaurant. Spotlessly clean too, with excellent service. Might return to try something else before we leave.

Afterwards we drove into Freiburg which was on the list to visit. It is a bustling university city with traffic to match, involving vehicles and trams to look out for.

We made for the cathedral - the first so far for this holiday but no doubt there will be many more given our never ending wonder as to how on earth did they build it?! This one has some beautiful stained glass and an impressive bronze featuring the Last Supper with all the apostles around the table.

It was market day in the surrounding square so we browsed the stalls and produce, with David opting for a sausage bap from a mobile stall for lunch on the hoof. Jolly tasty it was too with fried onions and tomato ketchup.

After mooching around some of the side streets, our two and a half hours parking time was up - we had had enough by then anyway - so we decided to drive out to the nearby Schauinsland cable car base station to take the ride to the top. After hiking onwards and upwards, we climbed the look out tower to be rewarded by some fine views over the Black Forest with France and Switzerland in the far distance since it was gloriously clear and sunny.

From the site itself looking westwards, we have seen pockets of snow on the mountains in France which bears out what a Dutch guy told us back in Rudesheim that snow has fallen unexpectedly resulting in the French re-opening the pistes for skiing! Funny old weather we are having this year.

As you can deduce from the pics, food features highly in our holidays!

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Comments

[Barbara]

That looks yummy!