While we were staying with Lee and Lizzie in Monchengladbach, I had my first sighting of a daddy long legs this year. For me, this is the first sure fire sign of autumn and was enough for a weather cooldown panic to set into my head. The evenings had become noticeably chillier and so after saying our farewells we shot straight down south to the Black Forest. We spent a few weeks in this area last summer, based on a single line of advice from a local,
'Freiburg is the sunniest place in Germany.'
This advice had played well last June and the forecast looked good, the Autobahn was clear and so we just drove here in a day and so far so good.
If you were with us on the Blog last year, you may remember one of my first posts, 'I've lost my best bucket'. This occurred just up the road in Oppenau. A lovely free Stellplatz, a great location with challenging walks, an excellent Italian restaurant and a water supply from a freshwater spring. Expecting it to be heaving at this time of year we were surprised to find just 3 other motorhomes parked, and no German registered vans. As we know, places never stay the same and an idyllic repeat of last year was not to be, as we only stayed one night. Chiefly, because we felt rather cheated by the €5 parking charge that has come in since last summer. I do appreciate that isn't a lot of money but all we were getting was a car park and when the Italian restaurant served us pizzas on a pre cooked base the fate of Oppenau was sealed and we backtracked the 11km back to Oberkirch. €32 for the week here, lots of German motorhomes and access to the fabulous Black Forest guest card. Just providing proof that we paid to stay with the parking ticket from the Stellplatz and we are entitled to use of the public transport network throughout the whole Black Forest region for the duration of our stay– completely free. There are other special offers around the town including free use of the local open air swimming pool thrown in for good measure.
On Monday we travelled to Freiburg by train. The journey took about an hour, and we changed once. Clean, quiet, and absolutely running to time. The larger, regional train consisted of a double-decker, upper deck for seated passengers and downstairs for standing with bicycles. Freiburg provided a pleasant wander , complete with an old Minster undergoing renovation, a traditional market in the main square. The restored cobblestones were lethally slippery after a passing shower, there were tram lines to negotiate and an open channel with water running along each one. Loss of concentration or disorientation could result in serious injury and as a University town, surely the students must regularly take a tumble whilst under the influence?
The market stalls closest to the Cathedral provided a 'Wurst Walk' with stalls cooking row upon row of sizzling German sausage. The greasy smell that infused my nostrils did nothing for my appetite. There were plenty of takers for one of these phallic lunches, each sausage in excess of a foot long, the central third encased in a bun, served with lashings of mustard. During a heavy shower we dived into the 'Uni Kebab' The kebab may not seem like typical German fare, but as the Turkish people provided a substantial proportion of the workforce required to rebuild postwar Germany, there is a sizeable Turkish population and the result is plenty of kebab shops. This one must be the most genuine article this side of the Black Sea. The chef took a fresh ball of dough, rolled it into a flatbread, cooked fresh on a flat circular hotplate for each of our wraps. They provided the most pleasurable chewy consistency, The filling was equally fresh and delicious, REAL meat rotated on the skewer, not that awful pre-formed doner meat. The place was packed full with Turkish people. And so, the highlight of my visit to the historic city of Freiburg was provided by the kebab.
'Freiburg is the sunniest place in Germany.'
This advice had played well last June and the forecast looked good, the Autobahn was clear and so we just drove here in a day and so far so good.
If you were with us on the Blog last year, you may remember one of my first posts, 'I've lost my best bucket'. This occurred just up the road in Oppenau. A lovely free Stellplatz, a great location with challenging walks, an excellent Italian restaurant and a water supply from a freshwater spring. Expecting it to be heaving at this time of year we were surprised to find just 3 other motorhomes parked, and no German registered vans. As we know, places never stay the same and an idyllic repeat of last year was not to be, as we only stayed one night. Chiefly, because we felt rather cheated by the €5 parking charge that has come in since last summer. I do appreciate that isn't a lot of money but all we were getting was a car park and when the Italian restaurant served us pizzas on a pre cooked base the fate of Oppenau was sealed and we backtracked the 11km back to Oberkirch. €32 for the week here, lots of German motorhomes and access to the fabulous Black Forest guest card. Just providing proof that we paid to stay with the parking ticket from the Stellplatz and we are entitled to use of the public transport network throughout the whole Black Forest region for the duration of our stay– completely free. There are other special offers around the town including free use of the local open air swimming pool thrown in for good measure.
On Monday we travelled to Freiburg by train. The journey took about an hour, and we changed once. Clean, quiet, and absolutely running to time. The larger, regional train consisted of a double-decker, upper deck for seated passengers and downstairs for standing with bicycles. Freiburg provided a pleasant wander , complete with an old Minster undergoing renovation, a traditional market in the main square. The restored cobblestones were lethally slippery after a passing shower, there were tram lines to negotiate and an open channel with water running along each one. Loss of concentration or disorientation could result in serious injury and as a University town, surely the students must regularly take a tumble whilst under the influence?
The market stalls closest to the Cathedral provided a 'Wurst Walk' with stalls cooking row upon row of sizzling German sausage. The greasy smell that infused my nostrils did nothing for my appetite. There were plenty of takers for one of these phallic lunches, each sausage in excess of a foot long, the central third encased in a bun, served with lashings of mustard. During a heavy shower we dived into the 'Uni Kebab' The kebab may not seem like typical German fare, but as the Turkish people provided a substantial proportion of the workforce required to rebuild postwar Germany, there is a sizeable Turkish population and the result is plenty of kebab shops. This one must be the most genuine article this side of the Black Sea. The chef took a fresh ball of dough, rolled it into a flatbread, cooked fresh on a flat circular hotplate for each of our wraps. They provided the most pleasurable chewy consistency, The filling was equally fresh and delicious, REAL meat rotated on the skewer, not that awful pre-formed doner meat. The place was packed full with Turkish people. And so, the highlight of my visit to the historic city of Freiburg was provided by the kebab.
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