My husband and I are in Bacharach today (Tuesday, June 14) and will go to Heidelburg (Wednesday, June 15) tomorrow. We are traveling by train. We then want to spend 3 or 4 days in the Black Forest. Rick Steves' book has an extensive section on Baden-Baden but I'm not certain I want to spend time there. I thought staying in Staufen sounded interesting, but should we stay a night or two someplace north of Freiburg and then go to Freiburg for a night or two? After the Black Forest we would like to take the train to a town along the Romantic Road. We need to be in Frankfurt on Tuesday, June 25. Any suggestions on towns and hotels or pensions in which to stay is greatly appreciated.
Posted by
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
2779 posts
Hi Mary,
it really all depends on what you're interested in. Personally I believe that after a day you've seen Baden-Baden. I strongly recommend dinner at Schneider's Weinstube, a small, family-run restaurant that serves exquisite Alsacian/Badian food - so exactly what Baden-Baden is actually famous for.
Staufen is an easy day-trip from Freiburg. If you don't enjoy packing and unpacking and hauling your luggage around every day you might just want to base yourselves in Freiburg for a few days. I'm sure you'll find a great deal on accommodation on trivago.com.
Trains journeys from the Rhine river side of the black- orrest to e.g. Rothenburg or Dinkelsbühl require several changes as you'll have to get around the black forrest to Stuttgart and then up to the Romantic Road. You will need about 6 hours to achieve this. If, however, your last stop in the black forrest was Freudenstadt (the market square is interesteing but really it's absolutely not a must-see) it would only be a 90 minutes train ride to Stuttgart and from there another 60 to 90 minutes to the Romantic road.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19099 posts
You can't get to Dinkelsbühl by train. You can get there by bus from either Nördlingen or Rothenburg.
Personally, I would go directly from Heidelburg to Staufen (or Freiburg). Then go north from Freiburg via Titisee (you might want to stop for a few hours in Titisee, but when I was there in 1988 it was very touristy. I doubt that it has become less so). Go on to Donaueschingen (headwaters of the Danube), then catch a train on the Schwarzwaldbahn (Black Forest Railway) to Hausach. Stay either in Hausach or go on to Gengenbach. Alpirsbach is also a pretty town to stay in. Continue via Alpirsbach to Stuttgart and from there to Nördlingen. If you want to see Dinkelsbühl, you can go by bus from Nördlingen, then on the Feuchtwangen and eventually Rothenburg. Otherwise, you can go by train from Nördlingen to Rothenburg.
Posted by
OP
Tomball Texas
2 posts
Thank you all for your helpful suggestions. This is our first visit to Germany so we are learning many tips as we go. We think now we will not go to the Romantic Road as it is time traveling that can be spent staying somewhere and just enjoying where we are. And we will stay in one hotel several nights and take day trips from there. Again, thank you for your valuable input as all of you are experienced travelers in Germany and we are not! Further suggestions are welcomed!
Posted by
Paradise
6653 posts
"...we will stay in one hotel several nights and take day trips from there."
The Black Forest covers a lot of territory. As a train traveler you'll want your outings to be as convenient as possible, which means a well-located base town. Of the towns mentioned, Baden-Baden and Staufen are not very well located for outings around the BF, in part because they require extra trips to access the main Black Forest train routes that Lee has described...
the "Schwarzwaldbahn" or Black Forest Railway between Donaueschingen and Offenburg, and...
the "Hoellentalbahn" or Hell's Valley Railway between Donaueschingen and Freiburg.
Obviously, DONAUESCHINGEN at the intersection of the two lines is a strategic option. I have stayed previously in LOEFFINGEN on the Hell's Valley Railway, not too far from Donaueschingen, and done day trips over several days; it's a good option too, not touristy at all like Titisee but not far from Titisee and Freiburg for a visit. Another good option is one Lee mentioned - GENGENBACH on the Black Forest Railway near Offenburg; it's an old-world town with half-timbered buildings and old town wall remnants and towers like you might find on the Romantic Road and it's only 1 hour from there to Freiburg; from there, the excellent Vogtsbauernhof Museum in Gutach and the other BF Railway towns (Haslach, Hausach, Triberg, and Villingen) as well as Alpirsbach (and Wolfach and Schiltach) on the Kinzig Valley Railway, are very easy to reach.
Innkeepers and hoteliers in the 3 base towns I suggested (bold, caps) offer the KONUS card, a guest card for free train travel all around the Black Forest region and for discounts at local attractions. Freiburg and Baden-Baden do not offer this card. Be sure to ask for it.