Heidelberg zum Schwarzwald

Heidelberg Schloss

Our family of four set out this past Thursday morning to explore regions of Germany we'd not previously seen! Just a two-hour drive south of us is a beautiful city by the name of Heidelberg. Heidelberg has an incredible red sandstone castle ruin built from the 14th to the 17th century. The River Neckar flows through Heidelberg's heavily wooded valley past ancient towers and bridges including the "Alte Brucke". Julia and Ellie enjoyed playing at a park right on the Neckar and also a visit to the Heidelberg Zoo!

On Saturday, we took a short drive down to Wolfach in the central Black Forest where we visited the Dorotheenhutte. There we enjoyed a demonstration on glass blowing, made a few vase purchases, and tried a genuine piece of Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte (a.k.a. Black Forest Cherry Cake). From there, we made the required cuckoo clock purchase at Haus der 1000 Uhren in Gremmelsbach nearTriberg. Although we didn't make the hike up to Triberg Falls (Germany's highest waterfall), we enjoyed the fresh air, forest scenery, and view of the falls from the bottom. Again, the girls enjoyed a great little playground there. We had a little car trouble during the trip (brake pads - too much autobahn driving!) and borrowed a Ford Fusion from the dealer for a day. We felt like true Europeans driving such a small car!