black forest, germany

The Black Forest is a large mountain chain that runs north to south from around Karlsruhe down to the Swiss border, so it will take as long as you want to continue exploring. The northern portion isn't much different from any of the 50 or so other low mountain ranges that criss-cross southern and central Germany, but the mountains rise pretty high in the south around Freiburg. Only the Bavarian Alps are taller in Germany. You would probably want to start off around there. Trains are a great conveyance for moving from city to city, but much les so exploring rural areas. I would recommend renting.

"Three of us traveling and so many questions. One traveler is in a wheelchair.. where's the best place to start to tour the Black Forest. Should be rent a car? How long does it take to go through the B.F.?" The BF is a large area; best place to start depends a lot on which towns you plan to visit and how you intend to get around. You could spend 3 days there, or 3 weeks, depending on your interests. I've driven the region and also used trains there a lot. Getting around the BF by train is easy, and service is both extensive and efficient. Just check out THIS PAGE to see all the lines that criss-cross the area. And amazingly, it's completely free of charge if you stay in any of 140 villages which participate in the KONUS program: www.dreisamtal.de/en/service/konus.php?lang=en I am not sure whether wheelchair access to the trains is possible at all stations. I do know that wheelchairs will have trouble with the topography in some of the Black Forest villages. On the well-known Black Forest Railway line (#4 on map) Gengenbach, Hausach, and Haslach, and Villingen are all pretty flat, while Triberg, Hornberg, and St. Georgen, for example, all have very steep hills to climb. But that's a problem you'll have with the car as well.

Gengenbach is a great place to stay in the Black Forest. Lots of small train stations require going down/up stairs to get to the tracks. Some have elevators but certainly not all. Some have a level grade where you actually cross the tracks, like Gengenbach. If you can rent a car that does what you need, I would do that.