Visiting the Black Forest turned out to be the best idea -- we had some of the most memorable times of our 24-day journey in this fairytale landscape of idyllic small towns, colossal farmhouses and an endless ocean of shadowy dark woods. After visiting the raucous medieval festival at Gernsbach, a traditional working dairy farm at Gutach and the photogenic Schiltach, we saved the best for our last night in Germany's remote southwest corner.
Introducing Gengenbach. I don't say this lightly but it was our favorite town in the Black Forest. We're talking about beautiful 18th Century townscapes crowned with towering medieval spires, a bustling farmer's market in a cobblestone town square, a little chapel on a hill overlooking the town and surrounded with lush vineyards, and most amazingly ... a pair of giant white storks nesting on the chimney across from our hotel room! That's a potent combination difficult for any town to beat.
The largest of the small towns on our Black Forest itinerary, Gengenbach is arguably the most popular stop in the region among independent travelers. Part of this has to do with accessibility -- it's a major station on the Black Forest Railway -- but mostly visitors are coming for a historic town widely reputed as one of the most picturesque in the entire Baden-Wurttemberg.
IMHO the Black Forest remains quite underrated as a tourist destination, and while Gengenbach is purported to be relatively well-known, we arrived without encountering any tourist hordes or multi-national fleets of tour buses. Most visitors we met seemed to be independent travelers from within Germany or from the French region of Alsace, merely 20km away to the west. The Americans haven't yet discovered this place en masse, let alone the Russians or the Chinese. It's a good time to come.
We arrived on a drizzly Wednesday in mid September, late enough in the summer to avoid the crowds and early enough in the autumn for a warm afternoon hike among the vineyards. The town itself was a maze of cobblestone lanes lined with medieval half-timber houses, and a romantic place to get utterly lost amidst the blooming flowers and old earthen walls.
Portions of the town's old defensive walls remain intact to this date, though much has been absorbed into neighboring peasant houses over the past centuries. Still owned by the township are the medieval gates which continue to function as the main routes into town, as well as offering excellent vantage points for photos.
As a vestige of medieval city planning, the town's three main streets all converge at a main square known simply as the Markt. On the side stands the 18th Century town hall best known for hosting the world's largest Advent calendar, and at the heart of the square is the 16th Century fountain that has supplied residents with drinking water for centuries.
Everyone's favorite photospot in town is a famously curved back-alley known as Engelgasse, a neighborhood of old timberframe houses adorned with colorful hanging flower beds and whimsical ornaments. Hearing about its popularity I half-expected a whole street of tacky souvenir shops swarmed with tourists, and was surprised to find neither. Apparently this town is still under the radar of mass tourism for the most part.
Wednesday also happened to be the day for the weekly farmer's market when the town square was transformed into an open-air bazaar selling everything from local organic squashes to genuine smoked Black Forest Ham. Arrive early though, as most vendors start to dismantle their stalls by noon.
For a light lunch we visited the locally famous Bäckerei Dreher and ordered some soup and dessert, including this local interpretation of the famed Black Forest Cake, or Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte. I must say that we were quite disappointed, as this was nowhere close to the magically delicious version we had the previous day at Schiltach's Kaffeebohne.
Bill for Two Persons
| Black Forest Cake | 2.6 Euros |
| Large Pea Soup | 3.8 Euros |
| Kirschwasser | 3.2 Euros |
| Fruit Juice | 2.4 Euros |
| TOTAL before tips | 12 Euros (CAD$16.8) |
After days of overcast skies and enduring rain the sun decided to make a brief appearance, just in time for our early afternoon hike to the Jakobskapelle, a historic little chapel above the town. The 20 minute climb through local vineyards was rewarding enough, but even more breathtaking than the ascent itself was the gorgeous view at the top.
Stretching to the horizon is a magnificent landscape of Riesling vineyards, following the Kinzig Valley all the way to the French wine-producing region of Alsace. Alsace is of course world-famous for its Rieslings and Gewürztraminers, yet few know that you get a very similar terroir on this side of the German border, merely 30 km from the Alsacian capital of Strasbourg.
Here's the most reward part of the hike -- an unobstructed panorama of Gengenbach under the backdrop of the mystical Black Forest, surrounded by lush dairy pastures and frighteningly steep vineyards. Plus, we had this entire hilltop to ourselves during our visit! Apparently this hasn't become a popular attraction to most travelers yet, which was certainly fine with us.
Up here one also gains a better appreciation for the town's numerous medieval spires, perhaps not quite in the same league as Prague but at least approaching San Gimignano. Witnessing such stunning cultural landscapes, history and traditions, I fail to understand why these Black Forest towns aren't yet considered by UNESCO for World Heritage Site recognition.
It was only upon descending that we finally ran into other hikers. The unadorned chapel is actually a local stop on the German section of the Camino de Santiago, some 1500 km away from the ultimate destination of Santiago de Compostela. Though I really doubt that, in these modern times, pilgrims would walk all the way to Spain from here.
An equally solemn and much grander place of worship is housed inside Kloster Gengenbach, a Benedictine monastery established way back around the time of Charlemagne. Even after 1200 years the abbey still asserts influence on the everyday lives of the townspeople, on an hourly basis as the beloved bell tower rings its trusty chime through the valley.
Aside from the Jakobskapelle on the hilltop, another spot for excellent panoramas is the medieval tower of Niggelturm, located near the southwestern corner of the old defensive walls. It may take a bit of luck though, as it's currently operated as a museum and is open only on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
The museum itself is an intriguing exhibition of the elaborate costumes and masks used in Gengenbach's own version of Fasnacht, an annual springtime carnival amalgamating ancient pagan practices with Christian beliefs. A spiral staircase gradually scales multiple levels of the tower, until the top level where a heavy door with a caution sign leads to the exterior ...
Here it is, a splendid vista of town's 18th Century timberframe houses and their ochre rooftops, along with the Jakobskapelle and its lovingly cultivated vineyards. The picture at the top of the article is also taken from this same spot, just to illustrate the beauty of this town even on a rainy day.
For dinner we consulted local advice as usual, and picked an authentic neighborhood tavern under the shadow of Niggelturm tower, aptly named Zum Turm.
The Black Forest is much better known for its hearty peasant fare than haute cuisine, and that's exactly what's served at this informal little eatery/watering hole. The ambience harks back at least a few decades ... as does the substantial portions ... and the prices have remained affordable enough for all the neighbors. We're talking 1.2 Euros for a Kölsch on Mondays, 1.7 Euros a bottled beer on Thursdays and 2.4 Euros the rest of the week. That is cheap.
What keeps the regulars coming is a small repertoire of simple and mouth-watering comfort dishes, namely Bratkartoffeln and the regional favorite of Flammkuchen. We followed the neighboring tables in ordering this crispily skillet-fried Bratkartoffeln with Speck, large enough as a light meal or just for nibbling with a beer in hand, for the unbelievably cheap price of 3 Euros. Adding a heaping plate of Bauernwursts and potatoes for 6.9 Euros would serve the two of us adequately for dinner.
But the best and most popular dish here was the oven-fired Flammkuchen, or Tarte Flambée if you're from the opposite side of the Rhine. Italians may even mistake it as their own until they taste the sour cream in the savory version and, even more strangely, the classic dessert version with apples and Calvados.
The last Flammkuche we had was a savory one with Speck and onions, and this time we opted for a sweet one with raisins, pineapple and spiced with cinnamon. What an excellent combination of flavors ... and a scrumptious crust as well! Overall we've eaten very well the past several days in the Black Forest, and this Flammkuche served us the perfect finale.
Bill for Two Persons
| Bratkartoffeln with Speck | 3 Euros |
| Creme of Salmon Soup | 2.7 Euros |
| Bauernwurst Sausages | 6.9 Euros |
| Flammkuche with Raisins, Pineapple and Cinnamon | 5.6 Euros |
| Alpirsbacher Export (Small Bottle) | 2.4 Euros |
| Alpirsbacher Weissbier (Large Bottle) | 3.2 Euros |
| TOTAL before tips | 23.8 Euros (CAD$33.3) |
Here's another advantage of visiting on Wednesdays or Saturdays, at least from May till October: the town offers a free tour led by a nightwatchman in full medieval regalia, making stops around the old town and teaching everyone a traditional nightwatch carol. Our tour started in front of the Rathaus at 21:00, and it wasn't until almost another hour when we finally retired to our hotel room.
We stumbled upon a great little hotel in town, a family-run gasthof that has served visitors for generations at the heart of the old town. This gasthof was so enjoyable that, if we ever return to Gengenbach, I would book this same hotel and ask for the exact same room. And here's why ...
There's hardly a better location in town than the historic Hotel Sonne, housed in an 18th Century character building right next to the town square. Our double room on the top floor already took the title of the most spacious room in our 24-day trip, but there's more to it outside the front window.
This has got to be one of the best views from any hotel room in town, overlooking the 16th Century fountain in the town square, the stately Rathaus, and the hallowed Jakobskapelle in the morning mist. But there's more ...
What is this ginormous nest right outside our window, at the top of the chimney across the street? I could hardly contain my excitement as I zoomed in with my camera lens ... this can't be ... a pair of the locally fabled white stocks!
This was my first time observing storks in their habitat, and I must have spent at least 15 minutes spying on these majestic birds, which were busy manicuring their velvety plumage and occasionally stretching their elegant wings. Then at the striking of the 07:00 church bells, the pair suddenly spread their gigantic wingspans, swooped across the air to the left of our window and disappeared in the direction of the wilderness. Just like watching National Geographic videos!
What a lovely little town Gengenbach is ... and what a fascinating region the Black Forest turned out to be! And did I mention that trains and buses within the entire Black Forest, all the way to the borders of France and Switzerland, are totally FREE for overnight guests (see KONUS Gästekarte)? As we checked out of Hotel Sonne in the morning, we would make good use of our free train ride to the Swiss city of Basel, to start the next segment of our long journey across 6 countries.
