Friday I got up and decided to go to a waterfall I had been researching for a while. It is in the Black Forest, the namesake of the cake. Home of the cuckoo clock, the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) gets its name from its dark, slightly sinister canopy of evergreens: this is where Hansel and Gretel encountered the wicked witch. Burgbach Wasserfall has a drop of 15 metres and a total height of 32 metres making it one of the highest free falling waterfalls in Germany. Friday morning had a light dusting of snow and overcast skies. Great conditions for getting creamy looking water from longer exposures.
The closer I drove to my destination the more the skies started to show some blue. Sunlight peaked through here and there. There was more snow layering trees and the landscape looked picture perfect. See the gallery here. I had to pull over a few times to create photos of the amazing scenery. It was straight out of a snow globe or a postcard.
I made it to where I was supposed to park the car and started to hike to the waterfall. Quick side note, I should learn a little more German if I am going to hike in the woods in case there are any issues, like reading a map. The snow was undisturbed because I was the first person to walk there since it had fallen. The sun and clouds were fully cooperating and it was a perfect -2ºC. It was exciting and exhilarating, when I finally made it to the waterfall it was under a the tree canopy and perfect for shooting. Before I got there I was a little concerned that there might not be enough flow or that it would be iced over, that was not an issue. After shooting a variety of angles and timed exposures, I explored the area and found more vistas overlooking the valley I had just hiked from. I am so happy I went out for the day. A quick glance at my watch and it was time to head back to France. As I could see the road that lead back to my car without me hiking out the same way I came in, I headed in that direction. The snow was a deeper here, sort of mid-thigh. It made for a bit of a workout. The drive home was pleasant I could have spent a couple more hours stopping and shooting but JBN has exams this week and next and needed me home to help with the kids.
Sunday we decided to go to see a castle that we had previously made plans to see but had been delayed. Hohenzollern Castle was roughly 2 hours away so we packed some cheese, bread and fruit and hit the road. We played car games on the road and eventually made our way to the castle. As it came into view it was astonishingly imposing. Sitting high atop a small mountain the castle dominated the landscape. We were diverted into a field and told to park, which left us puzzled why when we were still so far away. We then boarded a bus which took us up to the ticket booth, and then we boarded a second bus, smaller and went to the castle. It is then we found out that the castle was hosting a Christmas market. The place was jammed pack, this explained all the extra steps to get here. Wo wandered around and looked at the various booths and tried to see the castle itself. We felt that we missed out of seeing more of the castle because some areas may have been closed off for the weekend. As the kids got colder and more tired we decided to leave. We got back to our car and told the GPS to take us home.
As we set out it was 3:00 or 3:30pm and the skies were getting dark. After driving for a bit I started to recognize some of the landmarks along the road as I had just passed through this way on Friday. Difference now was it was getting darker and it had started to snow. We climbed higher into the mountains of the Black Forest and eventually we passed the spot were we had seen the paragliders. What lay ahead was twisty roads with steep drops and an 18% grade. There was other cars on the road as well so we pressed on. I soon discovered that our tires were not winter tires, or even all season tires. We were proceeding as slow as we could when a good samaritan stopped in the middle of the road to check on an another car that was off the road in a snow bank because it had not negotiated the corner. I was unable to stop our car in time and we hit the good samaritan’s car. Our impact speed was less than 20km/h, the air bags did not activate in either car. Everyone was uninjured but both cars had bumper damage. Now, I am an English speaking Canadian in Germany with my wife, who speaks functional French, and the other driver is from Czech Republic living in Germany with a few German friends who don’t speak French or English. Trying to exchange driver information and insurance was not going to be a successful endeavour. They were able to get a cell signal and call for the police. While we were waiting, most of the cars that passed us stopped first to see if everyone was okay or if we needed help. Eventually the police were able to to get to us and we started the process of exchanging information and the explanation of what happened. The German police were pleasant and took pictures of the cars and had us fill out a page with our information. They called the tow truck, because at this point, we cannot go down any further with those tires on that car. When the tow truck arrived we were told that we had too many people and only one could go in the tow truck. So, JBN and the kids were put in the back of the police car and followed us down to the closest town were the tow truck was taking our car.
I am so glad we had packed food earlier because that kept us going. After we arrived at the dealership that the tow service was based out of we went inside and started the process of calling the emergency roadside assistance for the rental car and our insurance provider. We were told a taxi would be coming from Strasbourg to pick us up, 40+ minutes away, and that up to a specific dollar amount was covered. The car dealership had a small play area for kids and offered E and M some gummy candies as well.
The taxi was finally able to get there, delayed because of the snow, and we were on our way home. JBN asked the taxi driver about the German road conditions and it was explained that the roads are not salted in Germany for ecological reasons and that French rental cars are not equipped with anything but summer tires. Those are two important facts to consider when driving through snow covered mountain roads.
We eventually rolled into our driveway shortly after 11:00 pm. We carried our two sleeping children up to their beds. I came down and poured my self a shot of The Balvenie Peated Triple Cask aged 14 years single malt scotch and finally let out the breath I had been holding. I don’t think I will be going back to the Black Forest on this trip anymore.
Don’t forget to check out the gallery here.