Monday June 26
Off to Freiburg today - we jumped on our train (re-rescheduled) which was running 10 minutes late - it was actually the train to Paris but we only needed to get to Karlsrhul some 40 minutes away - after a very chaotic boarding with no space for our luggage they announced the train would be delayed another 20 minutes due to a technical issue - then after 20 minutes they announced the issue was not fixed and they did not even know if the train would leave at all - some people disembarked - we figured there was another train to Karsruhl in about an hour so we waited on the train - it finally left about an hour late. Of course we missed our connection in Karsruhl but got another train and finally arrived in Freiburg just over an hour late. We took a taxi to Sixt (30 EUR) to collect our hire car - we had been upgraded to an Audi Quattro. We headed to our apartment and arrived right on 3pm - the official check-in time. The owner(s) whose office is in the same building were there to meet us and show us around - first negative surprise - it was not air-conditioned - but otherwise was pretty much as advertised - perhaps the “luxury” was a bit overstated but it was great with an amazing kitchen - 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms.
We then went and did some essential shopping for dinner (cold cuts and cheese), wine and beer and berries and yoghurt for breakfast.
We were totally pooped so it was an early night.
Tuesday June 27
We had a lazy start to the day - brekkie on the terrace - a monster fruit salad and yoghurt then we drove to the old-town center less than 10 minutes away - we checked out the shops and the daily market. We finished off the morning doing a big grocery shop then drove back to our apartment for a late lunch. I had a bit of an afternoon siesta while Dieter went for a walk - my back and knee have been giving me lots of grief so I decided to rest.
After showers and happy hour we had dinner at home - pasta and salad - excellent.
Wednesday June 28
It started as an overcast day - would be great if it stayed this way as more high temps are predicted. We did a self guided tour of the old town checking out points of interest and shops and restaurants. As it was approaching lunch time we drove to a country restaurant some 20 minutes (and 10 minute) walk away - we had a light lunch (pasta with Pfifferlingen for Dieter and a salad for me) then we drove back to town planning to stop at a butcher shop recommended by our landlord - alas it was Wednesday afternoon closing (an old custom) so we returned home empty handed with nothing much for dinner.
After showers we decided to walk (5 minutes up hill) to the hill top restaurant near us - to our surprise it was excellent - we shared an entree (buffalo mozzarella) and a main (fillet steak).
Thursday June 29
It was shaping up to be another hot day but hopefully cloudy - we planned a museum day. We drove to Mulhouse (in France) about 50 minutes away - Dieter did not tell me we would be driving into France so I had not brought our passports - fortunately there was no border control.
Our first stop was the car museum - which was totally amazing - literally a 1000 cars with a focus on Bugatti’s - all collected by one person. We then drove to the old town - always a challenge to navigate the small streets and find parking. We walked around a bit checking out the main sites then tried to find a restaurant for lunch - most were totally full so we opted to skip lunch and just have a drink. Our next stop was the train museum - the largest in Europe (maybe the world) - also very interesting. Finally we headed home stopping at the butcher to get something for dinner.
Dinner was a shared pork cutlet with mushroom sauce accompanied by green beans and spaetzle.
Friday June 30
The forecast was correct - we got up to a rainy day. We did some grocery shopping in the morning then walked back to town for some window shopping and lunch at an outdoor restaurnt - the rain had cleared. While walking around the old town after lunch the rain moved back in with a vengeance - we managed to get a taxi back home.
We stayed home for dinner of lamb etc.
Saturday July 1
The rain had cleared overnight and it started as a clear but cool day. We drove up to ’somewhere' (1200m) where we did a short walk then toured an old silver mine. We had a very light lunch then headed back ot our apartment as the clouds and drizzle move in. After a quiet afternoon we stayed home for pasta and salad as we felt it wasn’t the best evening, weather-wise, to walk into town for dinner as had been our plan.
Sunday July 2
BDO (Big Day Out) - off to Colmar in France for the day - high of 27C predicted even though the day started out cloudy. We walked around this lovely town (in fact considered the prettiest town in France) - we tried to follow the self-guided walking trail on the tourist map and made many mistakes but finally managed to see everything. We stopped for a quick lunch in the “Little Venice” part of town.
From here is wass off to Eguisheim (just 10k’s away) - another lovely town with many wineries. We did a lap of the tourist trail around town and finally headed back home.
We returned to the Schlossberg restaurant for dinner.
Monday July 3
We drove to (about 30k) Hofgut Sternen hotel im Hoellental - close to Titisee (the most visited town in Germany with 2,000,000 visitors per year). A nice walk starts at the hotel - in fact many walks - we did one of about 1.5 hours (steep in parts with many stairs) - then returned to the hotel for a quick lunch at their beer garden - excellent spaetzle to share. Right at the hotel are 2 shops - one with 100’s of cukoclocks and the other with beautiful hand blown glasswear, made on site.
From here we drove about 5 k’s further to Titisee for a quick look around then headed home.
Tuesday July 4
We drove to Feldberg, the highest mountain in the Black Forest. It started raining as we arrived so we waited around and shared a slice of Black Forest cake. It cleared to a fine day so we did a walk to the Feldsee and then took the gondola to the top of the mountain via a gondola (which is switched to 6-person chairlifts in winter). We drove home and had dinner at home.
Wednesday July 5
It was a bit of a rainy morning so we drove into town for some shopping and lunch. I spent the afternoon doing some pre-preparation and packing for our planned early departure the following day.
Thursday July 6
We left early (8:30am) for the 4+ hour drive to St Anton.