The Black Forest (der Schwarzwald auf Deutsch) is the largest nature park in Germany and has been promoting hiking since 1864! It is in the Bundesland of Baden-Wuerttemberg in southwestern Germany, sharing a border with France and Switzerland. The highest mountain in the Schwarzwald is called Feldberg and stands at almost 5,000 feet.
This past weekend, I visited a friend from Susquehanna University who is studying in Freiburg, Germany. Freiburg is only about an hour away from the bottom of the Feldberg, so on Saturday we decided to hike the highest difficulty trail.
the freiburg baechle- little streams of water running through town 
freiburg historical department store 
the church in the center of freiburg
We started at around 11:15am and finished a little after 5:30pm. It. was. amazing.
The mountain was covered in snow and we saw so many trees, little waterfalls, lakes and cabin-esque buildings that are good for hikers who need to take a rest. After almost 4 hours of hiking, we stopped in the Zastler Huette and had hot chocolate and a delicious slice of cherry crumble cake.
hut on the mountain 
our mid-hike treat!
We finished our hike literally moments before the sun fully set on the mountain, which was honestly pretty scary. We for sure thought we were gonna be in that forest in the dark, but fortunately not.
We were definitely not fully prepared for such a long hike or how much snow there was, but we both had a really amazing time. Aside from taking a few photos (of course) being off of our phones and just talking all day was really refreshing. Nature and exercise are always good ways to de-stress and recognize the beauty of your surroundings. When I suggested going to see the Black Forest, I assumed we would kind of walk up to some trees and look around for maybe an hour and then be on our way. What actually happened was so much better! I will never forget this crazy, cold day. Needless to say, we slept GOOD that night.
near the start of the hike
Til next time!
The Story of A Girl 