Had breakfast from an extensive selection! Made our picnic – sometimes we had to pay for this sometimes not, on this occasion 2 euros each.
Left the hotel went slightly wrong and then retraced our route from the evening. Headed into Netto for nuts and sweets. Then across the wooden covered bridge in Forbach. Forbach was a centre for timber felling and then the timber being rafted down the river. (The previous evening we had passed some tyrolean style wooden huts which were built by tyrolean forest workers.) Much to our surprise this bridge was also used by cars.
The covered wooden bridge in Forbach.
As we began to climb out of Forbach we passed a hotel with a large group of UK motorbikes parked outside. We are near a well known touring road through the black Forest.
We reached a hut with a sleeping platform where two young girls and the couple we saw at coffee yesterday pass by whilst we have a break. Then we descend to a reservoir and then climb again to reach Badener Hohe at 1002m.
Kay adding stones on an ascending track.
The Friedrichsturm coming into view.
Hut at Badener Hohe.
A bit chilly here so we decide to go into the hut for our lunch – the two girls seen earlier are there already talking and eating. Suddenly one says to Kay in perfect English “I really like your accent” – they can both speak perfect English. They tell us that they are about to start their last year at school on Monday and are spending a few days hutting in the Black Forest.
Then off past the tower. These are observation towers built by the Schwarzwaldverein. This one was built in 1890 and was open though we did not go up.
We then head towards the road B500 passing a closed bar on the way. This was to become a feature of the walk; you could not rely on places being open. Most of the hotels and bars in this region are family run and close for one or two days during the week. We also learn that often they struggle to get staff so family run with family working in them as well.
The road the Schwarzwaldhochstrasse is a touring road from the early days of cars. We saw many motorbikes and porsches on this road. It also features some rather dilapidated hotels such as the Hotel Sand – shades of The Shining!
Over Hochkopf at 1038m where we met these beasts:
And got some views over the Rhine valley:
To our hotel at Unterstmatt a rather small skiing area. Where we are told we need to have our evening meal at 1830 due to the kitchen closing – shades of Fawlty Towers.
It transpires that our fellow walkers are all staying at the only other hotel here as we meet one of the german lads as we look at bus times on a bus stop after our meal.
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