Germany is a large country in Europe with 43 cultural and 3 natural UNESCO sites. I traveled by train to visit parts of Germany that I have never been before and revisit Berlin, Dresden, Hamburg and Dusseldorf. Before departure, I was delighted to learn the offering of a 9-euro ticket for travelling on all modes of local and regional transportation including the train, bus and tram for a month. I also bought a train pass for seven day (€280) for taking fast EC/ICE trains.
July 31: Mannheim
I flew from London after 11:30am and arrived in Frankfurt after 2pm. Owing to staff shortage problem, I had to wait my luggage for some 30 minutes. Frankfurt airport is generally efficient with an integrated transportation network. I purchased a 7-day train pass and a 9-euro pass at the Deutsche Bahn (DB) centre. By 4 pm, I was on my way to Mannheim where I would spend two nights.
It was boiling hot. Luckily, I stayed in an air-conditioned studio in a modern building close to the railway station. It was Sunday and everything was closed. After walking around the town centre for about two hours, I found nothing exciting and retired to my comfortable studio and had a good sleep.
August 1: Speyer & Worms
I took the train to visit two nearby historical cities. Speyer is an old city with a beautiful and well-preserved gate. Its Cathedral and the Jewish Courtyard – remnants of medieval synagogue and an intact mikvah (a bath used for ritual purpose) are both World Heritage properties. Construction of the cathedral began around 1000 years ago and become one of the most prominent Romanesque monuments from the time of the Roman Empire. It is the biggest Romanesque church in the world with unique architectural style, rich in details, colours and artwork. I paid to enter the crypt which is the burial site of eight Holy Roman Emperors and German kings. Impressive!
My mobile went dead and I spent considerable time to fix it to no avail. I had a wonderful time strolling in the old town, visiting the Memorial Church (built between 1893 and 1904 in memory of the protest taking place in the Diet of Speyer by the Protestant rulers of the Holy Roman Empire in 1529) and the Trinity Church a Protestant church built between 1701 and 1703 in late Baroque style.
Worms is one of the oldest cities in northern Europe. It was the capital of the Kingdom of the Burgundians in the early fifth century and has been a Roman Catholic bishopric since the seventh century. The cathedral with Romanesque architecture is one of the three imperial cathedrals on the Rhine. More than a hundred imperial Diets had been held in Worms and Martin Luther (1483-1546) was declared a heretic in the Diet of 1521. It is also one of the historical ShUM-cities as a cultural centre of Jewish life in European during the Middle Ages. Its Jewish sites (along with those in Speyer and Mainz) are UNESCO sites.
The old town is lovely with many old churches. The Luther Monument – a group of statues, stands solemnly in a park to commemorate the Protestant reformer Martin Luther. I visited the imposing St Peter’s Cathedral located at the highest point of the town. Constructions began in the seventh century and most of the cathedral was completed by 1181 by Bishop Burhard II. There are a few churches from the 13th century namely St Paul’s Church, St Andrew’s Collegiate Church and St Martin’s Church.
I walked along the city walls and wanted to visit three Jewish locations which are UNESCO properties. Unfortunately, the Jewish cemetery was closed when I got there. I strolled in the Jewish quarter and saw the synagogue from the outside.
July 2 – 9: Black Forest
I spent six days exploring the world famous Black Forest. Bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland, it has an area of about 6,000 km2 with 160km in length and up to 50km in breadth. It is the source of the Danube and Neckar rivers and its highest peak is the Feldberg (1,493m above sea level). I stayed in Freiburg im Breisgau from August 2 to 5 and Baden-Baden from August 6 to 9.
August 2: Freiburg & Titlisee
Incorporated in the early 12th century, Freiburg became a commercial, intellectual and ecclesiastical centre for the upper Rhine region. It is known for its medieval minster and Renaissance university. It has a small picturesque historical centre built around the dominating Münster.
I love medieval old towns, cobbled stone lanes and timber houses with irregular shapes. My favourite pastime is to stroll aimlessly. On my first day in Freiburg, I explored the old town before walking uphill to Schlossberg. I climbed up the Schlossberg tower for a 360-degree view of the surrounding area.
After having a big lunch, I decided to take the 4:10pm train to Titlisee, a lake with an area of 1.3km2. I must be tired: I missed the station and had to get off at Falhu. I had a beer before taking the 5:45pm train back to Titlisee. When I reached the lake, the crowd started to thin out. Anyway, I find the place too touristy and took the 7:38 pm train back to Freiburg.
August 3: Freiburg & Schauiasland
I had to buy a new phone to replace my dead one. As shops opened after 10 am, I spent two hours exploring the Münsterplatz, looking at the market in the square, visiting the Münster and St Martin Church. There were few tourists around.
I was lucky to find a O2 shop and met a young enthusiastic salesman, Chris. He is most helpful and professional. He found me a Redmi for 109 euro which would do. I paid him 30 euro for transferring data to the new phone. He took almost two hours to fix various problems! While he was fixing my phone, we talked about the COVID situation and impacts on the economy, politics and daily life. Chris suggested me go to Schauiasland in the afternoon.
I took Chris’s advice and had a wonderful afternoon. I find the public transportation in this area excellent. I took Tram 2 to Günterstal, then bus 21 to the cable car station at Horben. The Schauiasland mountain is 1284m high. The cable car ride costs 13 euro for a return ticket for seniors and takes 10 minutes (3,600m in length with a rise of 746m). From the summit I saw the Feldberg, the upper Black Forest and all the way to the Alps.
August 4: Colmar, France
I always wanted to visit Colmar. I started early and had a busy and most wonderful day. I took the 8:02am train to Breisach, then a bus to Colmar (the return bus ticket cost 9 euro) arriving at the Colmar train station before 10 am. I walked to the old town and passed by the famous House of Heads, built in 1609 with 106 heads or grotesque masks decorating a rich facade of a three-storey house. Attracted by the leafy garden, I immediately booked a table for lunch at 1pm.
From the tourist office, I picked up a useful tourist map listing some 40 attractions along 6 km trail. It was a very hot day with temperature soaring above 36oC. I tried to stay indoor and visited three museums namely the Unterlinden Museum (13 euro) with a vast collections of paintings and sculptures featuring the impressive Issenheim Altarpiece; the Bartholdi Museum (4 euro as a senior citizen), the birth place of creator of the world-famous statute of liberty with the richest collections of sculptures, drawings and paintings of Auguste Bartholdi (1834-1904) and the Dominican Church (2 euro) to see the masterpiece of Martin Schongauer “Madonna of the Rose Garden”.
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I had a most delicious 3-course lunch (25 euro) paired with lovely wine at the House of Heads. It was the best value-for-money lunch I have ever had! I love to return and stay in this boutique hotel one day.
I also visited a few old houses and churches – Saint-Martin Collegiate Church completed in the late 14th century, former guardhouse built in 1575, Pfister House built in 1537 by Louis Scherer, the KoÏfhus, fishmonger’s district, covered market and romantic Little Venice etc.
Colmar is enchanting and photogenic with remarkable history, townscape, water channels, old timbered houses, many half-timbered houses along the Launch River.
I took a bus after 7 pm from the Colmar train station to Breisach. Unfortunately, I had to wait half a hour for the train and got back to Freiburg after 9 pm.
July 5: Feldberg & St Blasien
Today, I set off to Feldberg, the highest point in the Black Forest. I took a train to Titlisee and the 7300 bus to Feldberg. I got off the bus around 9:30am. Instead of taking the cable car to the top I decided to walk. The 4-km walk is a relatively easy and enjoyable. I had great views of the whole area. I took a different path and walked three 3km to see a waterfall. I saw only three vehicles in an hour! Unfortunately there was hardly any water.
In the afternoon, I found my way to St Blasien, a small picturesque town with an prominent abbey that was first mentioned in 858. The history of the city is closely tied to the abbey which has a striking classicism-style dome built in 1771. Today, St Blasien is known as a health resort, one of Europe’s best-known medical institutes.
August 6: Baden Baden
I took a train from Freiburg and arrived in Baden-Baden before 11 am. It is one of the chic classy picturesque historical spa towns in Europe with World Heritage status. The town looks impressive and chic with baths, casinos, cafes, neo-classical buildings and modernist villas attracting the rich and famous from all over.
I spent the rest of the day strolling along the beautifully maintained Lichtendtaler Allee and Rose Garden before reaching the Lichtenthal Monastery run by Cistercian nuns. Founded in 1245 as the burial place of the Baden margraves, the nuns lead their lives today characterized by the spirituality of the Rule of Saint Benedict singing the praises of God to the old melodies of Gregorian chant during communal prayer times. I enjoyed a coffee and the famous black forest cake at the cafe. Excellent!
I next took a bus to Merkurturm where I took a mountain railway ride (1200m in length) to the top (6 euro). The Merkur Tower standing at the highest point of Mount Merkur (668m) offers a panoramic view of Baden-Baden and surrounding areas. I ended the day with a nice dinner in a restaurant next to my hotel.
August 7: Hohenbaden Castle
I had a lazy morning and did not have breakfast till 9:30 am. Then, I had a four-hour walk beginning at the Path of Sighs – a waterfall paradise before hiking to Hohenbaden Castle (Alte Schloss) through an expansive wood. Built around 1100 by Herman II, Margrave of Baden (1074-1130), it was the residence of the margraves of Baden for almost 400 years. At its peak, the castle had a hundred rooms. The old castle was destroyed by fire in 1599. The ruins spreading on different levels are very impressive with outstanding views of the surrounding areas (Rhine valley and the Vosges). The lower castle was built by the powerful Bernhard I in 14th – 15th century. Castle fell into ruin after a fire in end 16th century. The wind harp and masonry are most impressive and the views are spectacular. I was back in Baden-Baden around 3 pm.
In the afternoon, I went to the Frida Kahlo Museum (11 euro with reduction) near the Baden-Baden train station. As I arrived less than an hour before closing, I did not have enough time to appreciate all the paintings which are authorized replicas by four Chinese painters! I like Frida Kahlo after visiting her museum in Mexico and learn something more about her after this visit. In the evening, I spent two hours at the Caracalla Therme (15 euro with a discount as a hotel guest). An interesting experience of this spa town.
August 8: Schiltach & Gengenback
I got up late and took a train after 11:30 am and arrived at Schiltach just before 2 pm. Considered one of the most beautiful villages in the Black Forest, Schiltach is picturesque and famous for its well-preserved truss-structured buildings. The whole medieval inner city surrounding the marketplace is a gem comprising the town hall and many half-timber houses dating back to 16th and 19th centuries. I also walked up to the highest point of the village with traces of a ruined castle before taking a walk along the river.
My next destination is Gengenback. I first took a bus shortly after 4 pm to Hausach followed by a train at 4:48 pm. Founded in the 13th century, it is well known for its traditional Alemannic “Fasnacht”, a kind of historically influenced celebration of carnival from wearing costumes with carved wooden masks to clapping with a “Ratsche”. It also boasts a picturesque traditional town centre and owns the world’s biggest Advent calendar- the 24 windows of the 18th century town hall represent the 24 “windows” of an Advent calendar.
I walked to the top of a hill which has a picturesque church. I enjoyed wandering through the narrow alleys adorned by beautiful houses, flowers and plants. I had a lovely dinner in a local eatery before catching the 8:52 pm train and was back in Baden-Baden in 40 minutes. The train service in Germany is wonderful.