Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [378]
Hotel Adler ( 915 20; www.adler-fds.de; Forststrasse 15-17; s €42-49, d €68-86; ) The Gaiser family extend a warm welcome at this guesthouse with large, comfy rooms, a lounge with free tea and a terrace. The bistro (mains €8 to €17) downstairs serves Swabian faves like Spätzle (egg noodles).
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FREUDENSTADT’S FULL MONTY
You can leave your hat on and guard your towel like a hygiene hawk, but otherwise it’s birthday suits only at Freudenstadt’s soon-to-be naturist hotel, a first in Germany. To the delight of some and disgust of others, Hotel Rosengarten (www.naturisten-hotel.de, in German), a former walking hotel, is set to be born again as the stark-naked Black Forest capital of Freikörperkultur (FKK; free body culture), with a balmy year-round temperature of 26°C. After stripping gleefully at the reception, guests must obey strict house rules, namely no dangly bits on lounges, sneaky snapshots or public displays of sleaziness. For the last, the punishment is being made to don clothes – oh the shame! – and leave the hotel.
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Hotel Schwanen ( 915 50; www.schwanen-freudenstadt.de, in German; Forststrasse 6; s €35-49, d €84-106; ) Don’t judge this place by its 1970s-style reception, as the rooms are modern with wi-fi. The restaurant (mains €8.50 to €15.50) is famous for its Riesenpfannkuchen (giant pancakes).
Turmbräu ( 905 121; Marktplatz 64; mains €7-16; 10am-1am, to 3am Fri & Sat) Stop by this barn-style microbrewery and beer garden for a party vibe, Turmbräu brews (a 5L barrel costs €12.50) and filling grub like pork knuckles and Maultaschen.
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Getting There & Away
Trains on the Ortenau rail line, serving Offenburg and Strasbourg, depart hourly from the Hauptbahnhof and are covered by the 24-hour Europass. The pass represents excellent value, costing €9.70 for individuals and €15.40 for families. The hourly Murgtalbahn goes to Karlsruhe (€15.20, 1½ hours) from the Stadtbahnhof and Hauptbahnhof.
Freudenstadt marks the southern end of the Schwarzwald-Hochstrasse and is a terminus of the gorgeous Schwarzwald-Tälerstrasse (see boxed text, Click here), which runs from Rastatt via Alpirsbach.
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KINZIGTAL
The horseshoe-shaped Kinzigtal (Kinzig Valley) begins south of Freudenstadt and shadows the burbling Kinzig River south to Schiltach, west to Haslach and north to Offenburg. Near Strasbourg, 95km downriver, the Kinzig is eventually swallowed up by the mighty Rhine. The valley’s inhabitants survived for centuries on mining and shipping goods by raft.
Lush hills and woodlands that tumble artistically down to half-timbered villages stir the soul in this beautiful valley. The orchards are awash with almond and cherry blossom in spring, while the terraced vineyards flush crimson and gold in autumn.
GETTING THERE & AWAY
The B294 follows the Kinzig from Freudenstadt to Haslach, from where the B33 leads north to Offenburg. If you’re going south, pick up the B33 to Triberg and beyond in Hausach.
The hourly Kinzigtal rail line links Freudenstadt’s Hauptbahnhof with Offenburg (€13.30, 1¼ hours), stopping in Alpirsbach (€2.85, 16 minutes), Schiltach (€5.10, 27 minutes), Hausach (€6.90, 46 minutes), Haslach (€8.40, 52 minutes), and Gengenbach (€11.30, 65 minutes). From Hausach, trains run roughly hourly southeast to Triberg (€5.10, 22 minutes), Villingen (€10.30, 47 minutes) and Konstanz (€25, two hours).
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Alpirsbach
07444 / pop 7000
Lore has it that Alpirsbach is named after a quaffing cleric who, when a glass of beer slipped clumsily from his hand and rolled into the river, exclaimed: All Bier ist in den Bach! (All the beer is in the stream!). A prophecy, it seems, as today Alpirsbacher Klosterbräu is brewed from pure spring water. Brewery tours ( 671 49; Marktplatz 1; tours €6.50; 2.30pm daily) are in German, though guides may speak English. Two beers are thrown in for the price of a ticket.
A few paces north, you can watch chocolate being