Freiburg and the Black Forest

In April this year, I visited Germany for the first time. I went to Freiburg Im Breisgau, the hometown of my roommate and fellow language assistant, Jenny. Freiburg is located in the Baden- Württemberg region of Germany, which is in the South-West and is the home of the Black Forest. Freiburg is one of my favorite cities that I’ve been to because it perfectly combines city vibes with natural beauty! It is the greenest city in Germany where everyone bikes. I went with my other language assistant roommates for our Spring Break and we had so much fun!

I stayed there for four days. On our first afternoon there, Jenny gave us a tour of the city. When my roommates and I were together we all spoke in French (our common language besides English) because that’s what we were all used to doing. Apparently some Germans are not that fond of the French and not even five minutes into our walk, an elderly couple who passed by used called us “Gauls” in German! Pretty ironic considering none of us are actually French. Sometimes we got weird looks from other people and sometimes when other Germans interacted with Jenny they complimented her German because they thought she was French!

Freiburg University Library – So many bikes!

When we got to the main city she showed us the sights, her university, and my favorite part, the old town. I think the old town parts of cities are always the most beautiful, they are full of charm and the style is much prettier than modern architecture. My other favorite part of the city is Scholossberg, which is a hill you can climb to see a beautiful view of the city. There is even a restaurant up there if you want to drink your beer with a view! For lunch we had some veggie burgers at a place called Freiburger. Germany had so many vegan options – it made me happy.

The second day of our trip we went to the Black Forest. Since Jenny wasn’t familiar with the hiking trails she took us to a small nature theme park in the Forest called “Steinwasen-Park.” It’s designed for families, but we still had fun as a group of twenty somethings. At the park we rode rides like a waterslide (where we didn’t get wet), a mini-roller coaster, and my favorite – the self-controlled bobsled. The bobsled was fun becuase you could control your speed and also enjoy the scenery of the black forest around you. We also walked around the park and saw woodland animals like chamois, mini-pigs, racoons (yes there were RACOONS in an enclosure), deer, and ibexes. We also had fun taking pictures on the largest adventure rope bridge in the world!

When we had enough fun at the park, we decided to check out a lake less than an hour away called “Schluchsee.” Unfortunately we could not rent a boat and go out on the water, but we had lovely walk and stopped at a café along the water for a drink. Germany is so beautiful. I hope to go back one day to have more nature adventures!

jenny french.jpg — Jenny spent so much time in France she seems more Parisian than German.

That evenings we hung out with some of Jenny’s friends from school and experienced Freiburg by night. There is so much to do in Freiburg; I would be happy to live there as a student or even for work.

The last day I was there, Jenny had a meeting in the Morning, so Michael and I had some breakfast at a café. After her meeting I got some souvenirs, then we walked to a nearby park and went on a little hike. We also saw another cute little lake nearby. Someday I’d like to live in a city like Freiburg that marries nature with urban life.