Day Trips with kids in the Black Forest area
The Black Forest is a great area to holiday with kids. Beautiful countryside and lots to do, whatever the interests. And entrances are usually very reasonable compared with other countries.
One of the most famous images of the Black Forest is of the farmhouse at Vogtsbauernhof open air museum at Wolfach , often with women in traditional costume with red bobbles on the hats (local costume in Wolfach). You wander round the complex of farm buildings, including a water-mill. look out for the enormous oven with a door, big enough for someone to be pushed inside (just like in "Hansel and Gretel"). In Wolfach there is a glassworks, the Dorotheenhütte with display of glassblowing at Dorotheenhütte. Older children have chance to have a go at glass-blowing for themselves.Wolfach is also famous to geologists because of the mines Grube Clara and Grube Grube Wenzel which it is possible to visit part of (on a guided toursI). There is also a M ining and Mineral Museum , relating to the local industry. www.wolfach.de
The Black Forest is also famous for its cuckoo clocks . A big display of them can be seen in the Schwarzwaldmuseum in Triberg. This museum also has sections dedicated to other local industries including mining and to local traditions (costumes, music, carnival). www.schwarzwaldmuseum.de . Triberg also boasts Germany's highest waterfall (163m). The largest collection of Black Forest clocks, including cuckoo clocks, is in the Deutsche Uhrenmuseum in Furtwangen www.deutsches.uhrenmuseum.de . More information on the whole area including Schonach and Sankt Georgen at: www.dasferienland.de
Another Local History museum dedicated to clocks, glass and furniture is the one in Schwenningen on the eastern edge of the Black Forest. The town also has a International Museum of Aviation which is especially intersting because it has several aircraft from USSR, Poland and Czechoslovakia . Villingen next-door is a very pretty medieval walled town (the walls are still intact). The city tourist website: www.tourismis-vs.de is an excellent introduction to the municipality of Villingen-Schwenningen itself but in addition it has a section on day-trips which gives lots of other suggestions for visits in the Black Forest and surrounding areas.
One such trip could be to Rottweil "the oldest town in Baden-Würrtemberg", pretty centre and interesting museum collections eg traditional carnival costumes in the Stadtmuseum; Roman mosaics in the Dominikanermuseum etc. www.rottweil.de
Freiburg, the university town on the western edge of the Black Forest has a beautiful centre, with streams running along the streets. You can climb up the tower of the Minster for wonderful views. Near Freiburg: Schauinsland with cablecar. www.freiburg.de
North of Freiburg, at Rust, is Germany's largest theme-park Europapark. "Discover the most beautiful European countries first hand. Here, Europe is not just a spot on the map, it comes alive in the hearts of the guests". www.europapark.de
Schwarzwaldpark (Wildlife park) at Löffingen on road between Freiburg and Donaueschingen. Animals plus adventure playground, boats etc www.schwarzwaldpark.de
Great steam train ride: Museumsbahn Wutachtal from Blumberg to Weizen (on the Swiss border). Called "Sauschwänzlebahn "=Sow's tail railway because it curves back on itself. Quite amazing (model in the museum makes it clearer). www.sauschwaenzlerbahn.de
Lake Constance (Bodensee) area is pretty and an easy drive from the southern Black Forest. Lots to see in the area eg reproductions of the settlement of Stone and Bronze-age lake-dwellings at Unteruhldinegen . Take a ferry across the lake from Meersburg to Konstan z (which has a Sea Life Centre ) . (For links to all these go to: www.tourismus-vs.de )
Just over the border in Switzerland, at Schaffhausen, are the Rhine Falls. Not as high as Niagara but still very imperessive when the water thunders past.
Day-trips to France : To Mulhouse in Alsace for French National Railway Museum , together with Fire Museum. Highly recommended if you've got little boys to entertain! www.ville-mulhouse.fr
Or to Colmar a pretty town with lots of half-timbered buildings; museum with very famous altar (the Isenheim Altar). www.ville-colmar.fr You can combine Colmar with a visit to the Badischer Winzerkeller ( wine cooperative ) at Breisach, on the Rhine. Very interesting tour ; try the local red wines; difficult to buy outside the area, but very good.