BLACK FOREST, GERMANY

This morning we head off to our next few nights at Lenzkirch in the Black Forest, Germany. We stop briefly at Lucerne, Switzerland as there is a very old bridge we wanted to see. Unfortunately it is raining and cold, always a good excuse the have a hot drink and watch all the different colored umbrellas pass by. Beautiful town that would have been nice to walk around if not so wet.
The drive starts to get more forested and there are small bits of snow here and there and as we drive further the forest is getting much thicker, very tall pine trees and alot more snow, much to my delight.
The unit we are staying in is right next to a little creek, very picturesque and the decor is very 60's lots of wood, but very homely and comfortable.

We stroll into town and see posters that there is a small festival in the village tonight so we check that out later, and its starts to snow just as we are listening to the local musicians outside a cafe. We find a little pub for some warmth and a very excited that there is a local German Oompah band playing so that keeps us entertained for a while.
We walk back to our unit with the snow still falling lightly and are glad it is lovely and warm inside.

November 26th 2017
This morning we wake to so much snow that has fallen in the night. It is a beautiful scene, reminds me of the overseas Xmas cards we get. The creek makes it look even more picturesque. The car is covered in snow and ice and we are glad that we bought that ice scraper earlier for the windows. Today we are off to Lake Titisee, a beautiful drive through the forest to see the lake that was made by a glazier and is so pretty. There are lots of places to stay here and it is very popular with locals in the Summer. We wander around the few small shops that are open and its starts to snow again, but it is the strangest little round balls of snow, not flakes but not like hail either.
It is a lovely setting with cafes around the lake and we find a nice cafe to enjoy a nice hot coffee and of course some Black Forest cake. no way I'm not having that while we are in the Black Forest. It was very delicious, sometimes I think it is that surrounds that makes it taste better!

November 27th 2017
After a good sleep and a nice hot breakfast we are heading to another town, Bad Wildbad, higher up in the Black forest for 2 nights.
We stop not far along to see the huge ski jump at Willingen, they are preparing for a big competition in 2 weeks time, that would have been great to see. We can't imagine why anyone would want to launch themselves of such a huge height. We continue on to the town of Schwarzwald where there is the largest cuckoo clock made and lots of shops selling the clocks and various other Black Forest souvenirs. There is also the Triberg waterfall to see here so after a quick look in a few shops we head out to see the waterfall.
There is a little office where you pay a fee to visit and they sell food for the squirrels, now I'm really excited. It isn't too far along the path that we see some of the little squirrels running about, they are so cute, quite small and more of a reddish colour. A few are brave enough to take it from my hand and I could stay for ages watching them. The waterfall isn't huge but again very picturesque and I can imagine it would be lovely to see at night when it is lit up, be very chilly though at this time of the year.
We keep going as we dont want to get to our next accomodation too late as its gets dark fairly early. It is a fairly large apartment and again nice and warm and cosy. It overlooks the park and has a good sized verandah to take in the views.

November 28th 2017
Today we are going for a drive through the forest and into Baden Baden to see if the Christmas markets are set up yet. They are supposed to be one of the largest markets in the area.
The road takes us through forests of huge pine trees covered thick in snow, its so beautiful. We come to a clearing where there are some shelters and having the cases in the car still I can't help but to want to put on my beautiful dress for a fews pics in such scenic spot, over my jeans and t shirts of course ! Far too cold for just a dress. It starts snowing very lightly and that just adds to the atmosphere, just wish we had a nice hot chocolate handy.
We hit the road and continue on to the markets. Not sure if they have just opened, but we are a bit disappointed at the size as we were expecting something much larger and a bit grander. Its still nice to wander around and get some hot food and drinks.

November 29th 2017
This morning we are leaving the Black Forest as our journey heads to Prague, which we are very excited about. We are just stopping overnight at a small Airbnb in Bayern, Germany as its too far to drive through.
As we are passing through Stuttgart, the Mercedes Museum is a must see and we have allowed plenty of time to have a good look around. Gary always loves seeing cars he hasn't seen before and there are so many to see.
We could have spent half a day at the museum looking at all the displays but we must continue on to our overnight stopover. The traffic is good on the freeways and it always helps having a good GPS to find our destinations. It has starting raining and is getting dark by the time we arrive. Its a typical, chalet style family home and although its just a small room, its fine for a nice warm stopover and as always, friendly hosts.