The Black Forest

Gengenbach is ideal if you think you might be using trains around the Black Forest (which are free, by the way, for visitors who stay in any of about 140 villages that like G'bach participate in the KONUS guest card plan.) Gengenbach is a very attractive old walled town on the edge of the Black Forest, just a few minutes from Offenburg. Your husband (with you or without you) might take a train into Freiburg on one day, or a ride along the scenic Black Forest Railway line from G'bach to other villages (besides the villages named on the page that follows, Villingen and Haslach are on the same rail line and excellent as well; Schiltach is on a different line but is reached by direct train from G'bach as well and is also wonderful.) BLACK FOREST RAILWAY HERE is a map of the BF railway (in red.) SCHILTACH GENGENBACH VILLINGEN THIS TRIP REPORT makes for good reading on other options near Gengenbach. KONUS card info. Daytrips to Baden-Baden or Bad Griesbach (spa towns) are possible from Gengenbach as well. www.badgriesbach.de/eingang.html?sprachauswahl=2

Thank you Russ...great information. I will do the research today and look into your suggestions. They sound wonderful and practical for us. Any other ideas from those of you who know this area? Basically we will make our way down from the Black Forest area to Zurich...not sure whether we will fly or drive. I want to be in Berner Oberland but haven't researched the distance etc yet. Thx for all contributions!
Carol

I agree with Russ that Gengenbach is a great place to base yourself. I just spent 5 days there and think is perhaps my favorite place in Germany. I also stayed in Neustadt (by Titisee) which is a nice location for those wanting to hike.

We like Gengenbach very much. I don't know why you would fly from the northern Black Forest to Zurich. You'd have to get to Baden Baden or Strasbourg and by the time you got up in the air you'd be back down again. There are plenty of direct fast trains to Basel and onwards to Zurich. Although, if you want to go to the Berner Oberland, Zurich is the completely wrong direction. Bern (from which the Canton is named and the Berner Oberland is in English the Bernese mountains) is the nearest city, and Interlaken is the nearest lowland town. As we help you with your itinerary we will help you with places to go. I take it you don't have the Rick Steves Switzerland guidebook? Or other decent Swiss guidebook? I'd suggest that they are full of value and would help you save time and money. Is this your first trip to Europe?

Hi Nigel
Lol! I meant to say that from Zurich we might go to Venice and I don't know if we will fly or drive or take a train. Sorry! I did not re-read my post before sending, I guess. I think we'll get a car in Frankfurt and driveseems the most practical, since the driving (side of the road) is the same as US. That won't pose a problem. Thx for the clarification re: Bernese Oberland. You're right I do not have the RS Switzerland book but will go to the library and see if they have it. If they don't, I will buy it. And thank you for the offer to help me clarify the trip as I go along creating it. I only decided yesterday that we should head straight from Frankfurt to southern Germany and then into Switzerland. I had been concerned about mid June being too cold to head toward the Alps but a friend said it is just fine, weather wise in mid-June. Carol

Second trip to Europe...last time was over 30 years ago.

Carol: It sounds like you need to do a little more research on your itinerary. I prefer to take the avenue of least resistance. When I go to Venice from the north, it's through Munich and Innsbruck, thru the Brenner Pass into Italy. I've also gone over the Grossglockner High Alpine Highway, South of Zell-am-See to Venice. It's the second highest mountain in Western Europe. Switzerland is very expensive and the Austrian Alps are just more "user friendly". And the scenery in Tirol is absolutely breathtaking, as is the hiking. There are just other places I'd rather see than The Black Forest and Zurich.
I especially like Salzburg and Hallstadt in Austria.

Hi David Well that is good information about the way you prefer to go to Venice.
I will take a look at that route. I have personal reasons for wanting to go to the Black Forest (my grandmother was born in the area) and also for going to Zurich. That said, nothing is in stone yet! Thx for the comments. I will be asking more questions as I get clearer about how the trip will lay out. Carol

Thank you so much for your extra information, Carol. It helps. There is no one-size-fits-all travel. It all boils down to your needs, wants, and desires. Where in the Black Forest are you going for your roots? The quite large area is somewhat different from north to south, and different east to west. There is easy to use, free if you stay in the smaller villages and towns, comprehensive train and bus service throughout the Black Forest. If your hubby would like healing waters there are many choices. He could do much worse than going to Freiburg im Breisgau. The baths are in the woods, very good for recreation in both the pool areas and the saunas, the water is very good, and there are all sorts of jets at various levels to treat different ailments and parts of the body. Have a look at http://www.keidel-bad.de/ and click either the GB in the upper right corner or the UK flag to get the English language pages. Mid June is fine in Switzerland and Austria. I drive most years from my home in England, and if you want to drive you can. Trains are so easy to use in Switzerland and having a car in Zurich will be difficult, and you can't drive in the car-free villages of the Berner Oberland. If you plan to drive to Italy you will need to deal with several other requirements, inattention to any which may well cost you big money. Happy planning....