The Capital of the Black Forest
After Bern leaving me absolutely amazed, I continue my route up the Rhine and enter Germany for the first time. Behind stay the green Swiss landscapes of valleys between mountains and suddenly the road finds itself in the middle of a large forest with extremely dark leaves: the Black Forest or Schwarzwald in German. I am very surprised that the motorway does not have any speed limit and even more that at petrol stations you have to pay to be able to go to the bathroom, then I discover that this is the case throughout the whole country and, in fact, in much of Europe.
Finally, I arrive in what is known as the capital of the Black Forest: Freiburg im Breisgau. In German, Freiburg means "free city" and since there are so many cities in the German-speaking world with this name, it is usually accompanied by the name of the region. Even on my way to this city, I read a sign that led to another Freiburg in Switzerland, so you have to be careful not to get confused as I did.
Once there, it was a radical change from what I had been visiting in Bern and Geneva, it seems that instead of a city more populated than Lleida itself, I’m in a small German town. But that's why I find it a super picturesque destination, thanks to the pastel-coloured houses and a much more relaxed lifestyle. For the first time on the tour, I don't follow any specific route and let myself get lost through the alleys of Fribourg. However, it’s very noteworthy visiting Freiburg's grand cathedral and the pretty red building on the same huge square, called the Historisches Kaufhaus, an old medieval warehouse for the merchants who used to pass through the city.
The Freiburg climate characterized by rain and the fact that it is located right on the side of a hill have caused the city to develop a vast network of small canals in most of its streets, which the locals call Bächle or literally streams in English, so that the water can be evacuated to the many canals that cross Freiburg. Water is always the protagonist on the streets, giving them a lot of life with children playing in them and according to a legend, singles who unintentionally set foot in one of these streams will have to marry a person from the city.
The university atmosphere of the city is also remarkable, given that it has one of the oldest and most renowned universities in Germany, so the streets are full of young people and a bit of urban art, especially in the university district where the theater and the modern library are located. However, Freiburg maintains at the same time a rather traditional character with numerous antique shops and homemade products, in addition to the numerous museums throughout the city such as the archaeology museum that I am lucky enough to visit.
After walking around the city, I stop near the Martinstor, an old medieval gate, as I see a café offering the typical Black Forest cake: the Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte. Honestly, I didn't like it at all because of how extremely sweet it was, but I couldn't leave the Baden region without tasting it. But there I can confirm that the German-speaking Swiss and German are not as alike as I thought though speaking the same language. There’s a huge and noticeable difference and it surprises me throughout my whole stay in the Germany. Then, I head towards the Schwabentor, another medieval gate of the city.
Later on, I start a route up the hill next to the city center, called Schlossberg ("palace mountain"), since there used to be an almost-thousand-year-old palace that was left in ruins after the First World War. In fact, along the way up I see some historical vestiges of what a great castle was once, and the names of the various viewpoints that I cross indicate what used to be in that place, such as the Kanonenplatz ("square of the cannons") or the Ludwigshöhe. On the other hand, the views from the hill are breathtaking and you can see the large and vast dark-leafed forest that makes up the Schwarzwald.
I would have liked to end my Freiburg day in the Schlossberg’s Biergarten, but it was closed due to heavy rain, so I simply stayed there to admire the sunset from the hill. Despite not being a very big city, Freiburg has a lot to offer for its small German village atmosphere that the other destinations on the route won't have, plus it's not as crowded and therefore represents the local lifestyle better and more authentically.
Comments