Feldberg and Feldsee

Today we’ve had a wonderful 10 mile (16 kilometre) adventure, which has felt like a hike through all four seasons. We’ve had winter snow, spring green shoots, glorious summer sunshine and autumnal forests… All absolutely beautiful!

We left Bertie on the campsite and caught the 9.04 bus up to Feldberg. It’s fun getting public transport, now and again, when you don’t have too.

From the bus stop, we set off up the path to Feldberg, the highest mountain in the Black Forest (1494 metres). Most people got a cable car up, so I was feeling quite smug walking. I don’t know why… it’s been a while since I did any hiking in the mountains and my lungs were burning! More practice is needed before our trek in the Dolomites this summer!

That said, we soon reached the top of the first summit, Seebuck (1449 metres). There’s a tall tower with a plaque of Bismark on it, but I was more interested in the lovely view down to Feldsee, which we visited yesterday.

As we set off along the track to Feldberg we passed one radio mast on our left, crossing large patches of snow. We could also see a couple of radio masts on the peak ahead. It was still quite early and the mountain was quiet.

The peak was quite flat and rather unexciting so we didn’t linger for long. The path now led downhill to a mountain hut and I was hoping for hot chocolate and cake. Unfortunately, the first hut was closed!

We continued on the track and soon turned off onto a smaller path into the forest. This is where the adventure really began. There was more and more snow around, covering the track. Thank goodness we wore our boots, rather than trainers.

Our boots gripped the snow really well and we made good progress, feeling safe. That said, there were some really icy patches in the shade where we were slithering around, and gripping branches to steady ourselves. Everywhere was stunning, with the snow glistening under blue skies, and snow melt filling streams and creating waterfalls, cascading down the hillside through the forest.

Thankfully, the next mountain hut we reached was open and I got my coffee and cake. Suitably replenished, we set off again, meandering up and down through the forest.

At one open section, near yet another mountain hut, we came across a pretty pond. John was fascinated by the frogs and toads having an orgy in it!

The scenery was stunning and I loved the flowers lining the track. I’m not sure what they are but they’re very pretty, standing proud of the leaf litter, reaching for the sunlight.

By now, in the distance, we could see the hut we visited yesterday that had a self service kiosk. While I went to the loo, John bought two cold beers (alcohol free for me). We sat at a sheltered spot, soaking up the sun, while we drank them. Oh… I almost forgot to say, I was very brave and took a short cut through a field of cows to get there!

From the hut, it wasn’t far to Feldsee, the gorgeous lake we visited yesterday on bikes. I was ready with my camera but, unfortunately, it was windier today, and the reflections in the lake weren’t as clear. That said, it’s still beautiful and we enjoyed walking round the far side, looking at the view and watching the ducks.

By now, our walk was nearly over. I have to say, I was glad. I’ve mainly been cycling recently and found hiking quite tiring, especially after two days cycling. The last part of the walk was through beech trees and the path was lined with their autumnal orange leaves. So pretty!

When we got to the bus stop, of course, we’d just missed one. Fortunately, the 45 minutes to the next one passed quite quickly. Now we’re showered and John has made linguine while I edited photos. Tomorrow, sadly, we begin to head home. On the plus side, we still have three days to explore Germany a bit more.