The Swartzwald

This past week-end, Theresa took a well-deserved trip to Barcelona with Gabi Vega. Most of the other expats went off to Torino, Italy for the XX Winter Olympics. I stayed home to watch the dog...which is o.k. with me.

On Saturday, I took a drive across the Rhine to do a little exploring in the Black Forest. (also called der Swartzwald or le Forêt Noire...depending on which side of the river you live on.) To call it a forest seems to be a bit of understatement. Yes, there are lots of trees. But the trees are generally at the bottom of, on the side of, or on top of some pretty big hills. It's kind of like Appalachia with better roads and no banjo music.

Quick geography reminder. The Rhine River runs from Switzerland to the North Sea. Over the years the river has cut a broad, flat valley between two mountain ranges - the Vosges mountains on the French side and the Black Forest on the German side. From Strasbourg, I think the Black Forest is actually closer than the Vosges. All you have to do is drive across the river to Offenburg, and then drive a little further and you are there.

The Black Forest, like the Vosges, has a mixture of farms, vineyards, forests, and ski-slopes. As you drive, you may travel almost as far vertically as you do horizontally. The following two photos were taken within about 10 km of each other.

If you look closely at the second picture, with the snow, you can make out what looks like a tower in the center of the photo. This is actually a large windmill that is part of a larger windmill farm. This particular shot was near the ski resort just past Triberg. This area, especially around Freiburg, is the political stronghold of the German Green Party - the ecology folks.

The Black Forest has a fairy tale connection to wood-cutters and wood-carvers. Deservedly so. Every little town seems to have a lumber yard with piles of logs and finished lumber. Firewood is everywhere - stacked in big heaps by the houses and the roadsides. It seems that everyone there burns wood for heat. The air in the villages is strong with wood smoke.

Also, as you enter the Black Forest region you almost immediately notice that the building style changes. The houses are no longer the stone or half-timber structures that you might see in the valley. Instead, the houses look more like chalets from the Swiss Alps. Sloped roofs. Wood siding. And balconies with carved wood balustrades and such.

The earlier wise-crack about the good roads was no lie. These little villages are very accessible, and it seems they must do a cracking pace of tourism. Every town has a parking area for tourist buses. Of course, the main attractions are the famous Black Forest Cuckoo Clocks, carved by hand by elves that live in this romantic little cottage.

Seriously, it was a beautiful day for a drive on Saturday. In the course of four hours I was snowed on, rained on, and sunshined upon. You can drive from Offenburg to Frieburg by the old roads (e.g. off the Autobahn) and pass through some stunning scenery and charming villages.

Most of the villages were decorated with the banners and stuffed witches of Fasent, the German Carnival. In the village of Elzach the children were dressed up in the costumes and wooden witch-masks....playing soccer and hide and seek in the village center. Those who weren't in costume were smearing each other with shaving cream and throwing water balloons and playing other pranks. The parents were hanging out on the sidewalks, drinking beer sold through window of the local Gasthaus. I suppose they were talking about their children and the weather and the kind of stuff parents everywhere talk about. Life is good in any language, on a Saturday when you know that Spring is coming soon.