To start 2017 off, my family came to visit me in the UK and we decided to spend a week visiting friends - Charlotte and Reinhardt in Waltershofen, which is a small village just 30 minutes outside the city of Freiburg. We stayed with our friends above their family run Pub 'Alder'. The original building dates back to 1653 and was originally the city hall of Waltershofen. It was bought by Charlotte's family in 1798 and has been in the family for six generations!. If you are ever in the area I definitely recommend stopping by as they are the most amazing, friendly couple and the food is beyond delicious :)
We were really lucky, been South African and all, we don't really see snow, and when he have its been a sparse sprinkle of snow more than anything! And the day we arrived just happened to be the day they got their first snow! So naturally we spent our first afternoon running around in the snow and of course having snow fights :)
Waltershofen is pretty much perfectly positioned in the world, not only is it a beautiful village 30 min from Freiburg, its also only an 1 hour away from France :) So off we went! We spent our first day perusing the quaint village of Colmar and Riquewihr. Both of which were absolutely beautiful and still had their Christmas decorations all around! Never have I seen such festive towns, each house had decorations out of every window and any possible place a decoration can go - there is one! And when in France, you cannot not eat traditional french cheese and bread, and of cause a glass of heart warming Gluehwein.
Our second day was spent exploring the near by villages, one of which was Staufen. It's quite a small village just at the bottom of the Black Forest and provides a great view of Hohenstaufen Castle, a castle rested on a vine covered ( well snow with us) hill overlooking the village.
Now been the snow enthusiasts that we are, one of the things we were dying to do was Ski! But sadly the black forest doesn't supply ski equipment and lessons ( which we most def would have needed!) but instead offered ' snow walking' to the top of Belchen - the third highest mountain in Germany at 1356m. We could not have been more blessed with the weather we had that day, the bluest skies you have ever seen - perfect day for the mountain. It took about 2 hours to walk to the top , following a beautiful snow covered path through the forest, my heart was so happy! Once at the top - although cold and probably about -15'C we were greeted by the most spectacular 360' views, and if your eye site was good - even the tips of the Alps! If it wasn't so cold, I would have stayed up there for ages! We warmed up inside the historic Belchenhaus before heading back down, and always down provides a lot of fun and speed, and of cause the occasional fall :)
On our final full day, we met up with another one of our friends - Julia who so kindly showed us around Freiburg. After a quick bus and tram ride we found ourselves in the heart of Freibrug. The city itself dates back to 1120, and is translated to mean 'free town'. It was originally quite a small city based around the Rhine and Danube Rivers. The original town was situated between the two Martinstor's ( gates of the city), but has since grown a but large and is well known as a university city. The city is also well known for the Freiburg Munster (Cathedral) situated in the heart of the city, and on a daily basis has a market which serves the best traditional bratwurst sausages!
The city has a lot of character, including several degrees of graffiti - some that blends in well and played a few tricks on my eyes, but unfortunately quite a lot of vandalism. We also took a walk up to Kanonenplatz which is a small hill that provides a great view of the city! Its a nice easy walk, although a bit more challenging covered in ice and snow!
Five days was definitely not enough time, but what is when your on holiday! But Freiburg is a must for your bucket list and I will be back fore sure!
Click here for more pictures from my trip to Germany!