Adventures in Seebach and Sasbachwalden

I'd researched a lot of hikes close to our AirBnB so we set off on day 2 to check them out. First, a visit with the resident goats at the farm. There was also an old horse who resided below our apartment and a group of sheep. 

We stopped at the visitor center in our town to pick up an explorer backpack and scavenger hunt for the local hike. The kids were promised a treat from a treasure chest if they returned with the hunt completed. We did our darndest, but the hike was ambitious in length and it started to rain. Thankfully, the lady behind the desk still let them pick a prize and gave them a piece of local quartzite to boot. We picked up treats at the bakery across the street and took them to the playground in the next town over, Ottenhöfener. The marble run here was decent, but the famed black forest cake roll was not a hit. 

Sweet backpacks on loan filled with nature guides, binoculars, little fishing nets, etc. For free from the local tourist center.  

Shortly after our picnic lunch here, Pete was sent running back to retrieve the car and rescue us from the hike! 

There was another marble run and playground up amongst the vineyards in Kappelrodeck. The local wine has a witch logo, which was very fitting for the season. 

There was also a witches' hike here (hence the little Witch hut, but we were hiked out). 

There are worse places to drink wine (purchased on the roadside) from a tiny bottle while the kids fight at a playground.

Roadside wine is fine, but I wanted to try the real deal, so we headed back to the Alde Gott winery in Sasbachwalden and enjoyed tastings with local flammenkuchen. The Pinot Noir here was excellent so we stocked up (the beauty of road-tripping). 

The kids loving each other again.

We'd been economical and cooking a lot of our meals, but we got a recommendation from our hosts for a local dinner spot and got our fill of Wiener Schnitzel and sausages at Alde Brennkuch on a cute market square.

Exploring the Northern Black Forest

We had a clear, but brisk day for our first adventures in the Black Forest. Our AirBnB was near the main National Park visitor center, so we started there and went on the Wildseeblick Wanderung, a loop trail with a restaurant at the halfway point. To begin the hike, you can zig-zag up a short, but steep hill or spend a few euros to take the chair lift. Not wanting to suffer the fate of whiny children so soon into the trip, we opted for the chair lift. The kids were so great this whole hike so it was definitely the right move! 

There were a few viewpoints out to the West, where the Black Forest appears to go on indefinitely in its unspoiled beauty. Apparently, if you turned the city of Amsterdam upside down, it would resemble this dense forest as all of the trees that were used for the hundreds of thousands of pilings that hold up the city came from this forest (transported down the nearby Rhine river). 

The Black Forest gets its name from the dense evergreens which make the landscape appear very dark. Luckily, there were still some deciduous trees to give us that fall pop of color we were after. 

It would have been a lovely day to enjoy our lunch and beers outside on the terrace of the Darmstädter hut, but it was too cold! We retreated inside for some hearty fare and games. 

The trail back to the visitor's center gave views to the East and the valley where we were staying. 

We explored the very kid-friendly visitor center and all learned a lot about the region. 

Next, we drove the short distance to Mummelsee, which was billed as a super tourist attraction. The endless parking lot was our first indication that this moniker was correct! The gift shop was wonderful though. Lots of cuckoo clocks, a bakery for our daily soft pretzels, and silly hats. There was a nice lake-side playground for the kids as well and the first of the area's many "marble runs." We bought two large souvenir wooden marbles to use on these large-scale wooden runs. 

We took the long way home to drive through the wine region of Sasbachwalden. The kids did not appreciate the sweet roadside tourist attraction where you could sit on these large, rotating wooden benches and take in the beautiful view. 

We tried for a table at a rooftop wine bar with these views, but everyone had that idea on this sunny Sunday. So we continued on to our final stop of the busy day.... 

A wine festival in Kappelrodeck. We made it to the last day of their live music indoor event, ordering who knows what when Google Translate didn't cut it. The kids were happy with their activity books, there was wine, and the local German band played Africa by Toto. It was great. 

As we snaked up the mountain back to our AirBnB, the valley came into focus with the end of a bright sunset. From the backseat, Jude exclaimed, "Wow, what a beautiful view. Mom, stop and take a picture." My work here is done :) 

Herfstvakantie 2023: Road Trip to the Black Forest

We finally ticked the Black Forest off our travel bucket list. This trip always seemed too "easy," so we passed it over for more adventurous locales. We were excited for another dose of Fall + Nature and the region delivered! We had the full gamut of weather for the week, but things started off very sunny when we reached the spa resort town of Baden Baden at the northern end of the Black Forest region. We'd already had our requisite road-trip McDonalds for lunch but stopped to walk through town and have some desserts at a charming cafe. The highlight for me was the Trinkhalle, a fresco-lined arcade, which was hosting a lavish wedding. 

We got our first glimpse of the wine region as we headed out of town. Beautiful rolling hills of vines with little villages tucked in. I was excited about what else was in store! 

An hour later, we arrived in Seeback, our first stayover. We stocked up on goodies at ReWe. Love grocery stores in other countries! This one had knockoff peppermint patties! 

We stayed in a charming apartment at the back of this traditional German farmhouse, located at the very end of the Seebach valley. The Black Forest was practically in our backyard. The house has been in one family for generations. 

Black Forest (Schwarzwald) wheat beer. Proost!