Our first day in Germany was one filled with lots of excitement!
See a mere 48 hours before, we weren’t even sure we’d be able to make it to Germany and after weeks of being stuck at home, unable to travel. As such an opportunity to get to travel (to places we were officially allowed to travel to by) was one we did not take lightly at all.
Our destination this time would be the Black Forest. We actually flew into Stuttgart but after this trip to Stuttgart (in this post here) – we decided to give Stuttgart a miss on this trip and go straight to the Black Forest.
Now, there’s one part of the Black Forest I’d always been intrigued – The Baumwipfelpfad Schwarzwald Tower.
It is essentially this huge incredible tower smack bang in the middle of the Black Forest and it’s nothing short of impressive. Better yet – you can actually walk to the very top of it so, within minutes of arriving in the Black Forest, we headed straight for the tower.
To get there you have to go through this incredible treetop walk (it’s like a ‘bridge path) which traverses through the forest. It’s really fun to walk through and is one of the best ways to take in the beauty that is Germany’s, Black Forest.
Not long after you start the treetop walk, you soon arrive at The Baumwipfelpfad Schwarzwald Tower.
Getting to the top is fairly easy. It’s a circular walk and the incline is not steep at all, making it pretty easy to make your way up top the top, with the forest revealing more of its grand beauty with each passing step.
You’ll notice as you make your way up, a huge slide spiralling through the middle of The Baumwipfelpfad Schwarzwald. Take note!
See, you can actually go on the slide – making it not just the fastest way to get back down but easily the most fun way too!
Eventually, we arrived at the top of The Baumwipfelpfad Schwarzwald and after taking some time to properly appreciate the amazing view from the top, we headed over to the slide.
By the way, you do have to pay to go down the slide (bring cash with you – they don’t take cards) but it’s only a small nominal amount and it’s just the best way to finish off a visit to the tower.
Leaving the tower we headed over to the Wildline Suspension Bridge. The bridge is actually just a short walk from the tower and it’s so worth a visit as it has one of the best views of the Black Forest.
Heads up though, if you are scared of heights this bridge is a bit of “legs tremble” as it is quite high and feels quite bouncy the more you head towards the middle.
It’s funny how time creeps up on you when you’re having fun!
We had only planned on staying here for a few hours in this part of the Black Forest but with seeming ceaseless “Oooh”ing and “Aaah”ing at the views, we soon realised that we’d pretty much spent our entire day just surrounding ourselves in nature.
It may have just been the whole “being stuck at home for weeks” thing but the opportunity to just go on an impromptu jaunt through the forest was one that felt like such an instant serotonin boost – making us giddy with excitement but also happy at relieved at being able to explore this beauty first-hand.
We did have plans to explore our next stop on the trip, Baden-Baden, which is also where we would be spending the evening but there was no way we would be able to make it there with enough time to explore it and make it for dinner plans we had that evening. I’d Been looking forward to that dinner all day! 😋
With that, we made our way back to our car (we got a gorgeous Mercedes Benz for this road trip – seemed apt as they’re from this part of Germany and we visited their museum last time we were in Stuttgart) and headed over to Baden-Baden.
Baden-Baden is another amazing place to visit in the Black Forest as it’s known as a spa town. The city has attracted Royal Families and celebrities for centuries and it’s just such a lovely place to kick back and relax.
On arriving at the Baden-Baden we decided to go straight to the hotel – The Aqua Aurelia Suitenhotel, to check in!
Seeing as we didn’t have nearly enough time (or daylight left)to explore Baden-Baden properly, we decided to kick back and relax for a bit of a little bit before heading into town for dinner.
To be fair, we were planning on going for a quick walk but the hotel had a proper welcome, with drinks and so it was a no brainer to leave the exploring till the next day.
Dinner for us was at a quite highly recommended place called Fritz and Felix. Spoiler alert – the place is worth the hype! Soooo much good food! 😋 😋 😋 😋
Now, remember how I said that Baden-Baden is a spa town?
Well, you’ll notice even as you walk through the town that the Fountains in Baden-Baden have geothermally heated spa water coming from their spouts, create a delightfully alluring steamy haze that makes you want to take a dip in the fountain (though, it’s not like you could actually fit into it).
We arrived at Fritz and Felix for dinner a tad early so we stopped off in the bar for a few drinks to kick off the evening.
The bar is one of the nicest in town (and also came highly recommended) so be sure to make some time to pop in, before or even after dinner.
Lloyd went for a Fizzy Italicus and I went for a Fritz + Felix Spritz… both of which went down a treat.
Before long, we were beckoned to our table where we commenced on what would be an epic feast!
We started with foie gras for Lloyd and plucked lobster for Yaya.
The main course came in the form of Charra Beef for Yaya and Iberico Pork for Lloyd – both cooked to perfection.
For dessert, we decided to go with a deconstructed cheesecake for Lloyd (can’t quite remember the exact name of it) and pavlova for Yaya.
Again, another perfect choice! It went down a treat! 😋
With that, we decided to call it a night, eager to get up early the next day to explore Baden-Baden and even more of Germany’s beautiful Black Forest.