Black Forest

The Black Forest covers an area 160km long by 60km wide in south-west Germany. The area is densely wooded and was settled in the High Middle Ages. We camped just outside a small town called Herrenwies on the Black Forest High Road. The Westweg is the most famous trail through the Black Forest and runs right through the area where we were camping. It is 285km long, but we only explored a small section of this trail, following the white trail signs.

Herrenwies Cathedral

We followed white trail signs

We entered the Schwarzwald just north of Herrenwies and worked our way up to the highest point of the district where the Friedrich Tower stands. We climbed 168 steps up the spiral staircase of the tower and through the iron dome at the top. The views from the top were beautiful - forest stretching in every direction. We then worked our way back down through the forest to the picturesque Herrenwies Lake.

Leaving the campsite

Entering the Black Forest

Friedrich Tower

360° views over the forest from the top of the tower

A forest trail on the way down

Herrenwies Lake

After a very peaceful's night's sleep at the edge of the forest, we headed off to see the Gertelbach Falls. These are a continuous stretch of cascades and pools running down the western side of the Black Forest. We then drove round to the town of Forbach to walk another section along the Westweg, this time to Schwarzbach, a large hydroelectric dam.

The trail to the falls

Beautiful bridges and moss-covered rocks

Part of the Gertelbach Falls

Schwarzbach lake

A squirrel in the forest

Lots of forest

The Black Forest is a beautiful part of the world, full of interesting trails, lakes and waterfalls. Next time we might explore one of the Wine Routes which runs through the forest!

Germany

We drove up to Germany for our friend Annette's wedding in Lennestadt, stopping at the Black Forest along the way. The whole trip was excellent, but the highlight for Daniel was driving really fast on the Autobahn!

Our first stop was in the town of Freiburg, Germany's sunniest city. Freiburg is a medieval town with gabled houses, cobblestone lanes and cafe-rimmed plazas. The old part of the city is dominated by the Freiburger Münster, and the surrounding streets are lined with the famous system of canals. They say that a visitor who steps in these canals has not visited Freiburg for the last time!

Sunny Freiburg

Freiburger Münster

A plaza with a canal in the foreground

Yellow ducks enjoying a canal!

After our trip to the Black Forest we drove up to Lennestadt where we kicked off the wedding celebrations with a trip to the Krombacher Brewery. This was an excellent tour which ended with a superb feast of drink-as-much-beer-as-you-like!

Krombacher Brauerei

We stayed at the wedding venue which was a working farm called Quinkenhof. The ceremony was held in a small chapel on the farm and was conducted by the bride's father. It was lovely to catch up with some old friends and to enjoy the traditional German folk music at the reception!

Quinkenhof Farm

The small farm chapel

Santa Margherita Ligure

Santa Margherita is a charming seaside commune in the province of Genoa. It boasts a working port, a 16th-century castle and lots of European-style beaches (more deckchairs than sand). We enjoyed some quality pool time and some lovely dips in the warm Mediterranean Sea. We also had some delicious dinners on the waterfront with fresh seafood and good Italian prosecco. What a lovely way to end our Italian road trip!

The port in the late afternoon light

Recreational boats in the port

The rooftop pool deck

Our view from a restaurant

Italian road trip

Summer has finally arrived in Europe and with it the summer holidays! We started off our holiday with a great road trip south into northern Italy.

A map of our travels

The first stop on our trip was in Cortina, a beautiful village in the Dolomites where we had some amazing experiences.

A view over Cortina

The town square in Cortina

On our way further south, we stopped off in the historical city of Verona. Here we saw the Verona Arena, a Roman amphitheatre built in the 1st century CE. It is one of the best preserved ancient theatres and is still in use today for large-scale operatic performances. It could host 30,000 spectators in ancient times, but today holds half that number due to safety reasons.

The Piazza Bra in central Verona

Verona Arena built in 30 CE

We also visited the Casa di Giulietta, an early 14th century house in Via Capello, claiming to be the Capulets' house. It features a balcony which overlooks a statue of Juliet in the small courtyard. Many people write their names and the names of their loved ones on the walls of the entrance in a tradition which purports to make their love everlasting. Thousands of tourists each year also put small love letters on the walls, which are actually answered as in the movie Letters to Juliet.

Juliet's balcony

The statue of Juliet. It is believed that
if a person touches her right breast
s/he will receive good fortune and luck in love.

Our next stop on the journey was to Pisa, a city in Tuscany in central Italy, where we headed straight to the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. The Torre Pendente is actually the bell tower of the city's cathedral and is the third oldest structure in the Cathedral Square, after the Cathedral and the Baptistry. It was a beautiful sunny day and we enjoyed pulling some cheesy tourist poses with the tower.

Torre pendente di Pisa

The Baptistry, Cathedral and Bell Tower

The classic leaning-against-the-tower pose

The even more classic holding-up-the-tower pose!

Our final destination on our Italian road trip was in Santa Margherita, where we enjoyed a lovely seaside holiday.

The Santa Margherita port 

Huilo Huilo

On our return trip north we stopped off at the Reserva Biolóica Huilo-Huilo, which is run by a private foundation dedicated to sustainable tourism. It is, without doubt, the most random place we've ever visited! The park is home to Volcán Mocho-Choshuenco, which is actually two volcanos bridged by a large glacier.

Volcan Mocho-Choshuenco

The reserve was obviously designed by an eccentric genius (Victor Petermann), and construction in the park is a combination of ingenuity and malfunction. La Montaña Mágica (Magic Mountain), one of the top hotels in the reserve, is a fantasy castle with a waterfall plunging down its sides. The escape routes are fun wooden swing bridges into the forests. (We were staying in the campsite down the road...)

Montaña Mágica Lodge

Nothofagus Hotel

We explored the surrounding areas, including the Canopy Village, a boardwalk through a deer park. We saw some deer - including a bambi! - and some geese and llamas. At the far end of the trail was the Mirador de Jabalí, an interesting spot overlooking a compound of wild boar. Truly bizarre!

Huilo Huilo is also home to the Cervezería Petermann (brewery) which produces four types of Ales - blonde, golden, red and black. This was a most welcome stop for us after the Canopy Village. The beer has a distinctly artisanal flavour, and it is delicious and refreshing. We enjoyed some beer at the brewery and back at our campsite.

Cervezería Petermann

A 'rubia' and a 'dorada'

Attractions at the reserve include several waterfalls, and we visited the Salto La Leona. We also completed the Sendero de Los Espiritus, a boardwalk trail winding through the forest, past several Mapuche carvings. Unfortunately, everybody on the trail seemed to get lost, even though the guide insisted that it was a loop. We eventually doubled back on ourselves and managed to escape. Perhaps it was all part of an elaborate spiritual journey...

Salto La Leona

Sendero de Los Espiritus

A "dragon-worm" Mapuche carving

We enjoyed our time in the park, but it was a pity to see that so many of the attractions had fallen into disuse. Clearly a mega effort was put into creating some fun and alternative entertainment at the reserve, such as mini golf, water slides and cable cars, but in the 13 years this park has been open, these are no longer functioning. Perhaps the inspiriation behind the project ran out of money or eccentricity. We sure hope they get their groove back soon, as this could easily have been the best part of our road trip.