Travel report: The nature park cycle path in the northern Black Forest

We, Martina, Richard, Chris and Irmgard from South Tyrol, have been following your cycle tours for many years now. This year we went to the Black Forest, starting and finishing in Bad Wildbad. When we arrived there at the beginning of July, it was quite chilly and we were worried that we wouldn't have enough warm clothes in our suitcases. Fortunately, these worries were not confirmed! After the long drive, we loosened up our joints with a walk in the extensive spa gardens and got in the mood for the vacation with a leisurely dinner. The thermal baths were immediately the focus of our attention, as they were to be our reward at the end of the tour.

The next day, we could hardly wait to start cycling, we took the cable car up the Sommerberg and then cycled 30 kilometers through the beautiful Black Forest. We stopped at the Hohlohturm and we women still had plenty of energy for the climb. What a wonderful view over the treetops of the Black Forest. A local gentleman happened to be there and so we were able to enjoy lots of explanations about the local area and further afield.

We continued on to Besenfeld, where hunger reduced our attention so that we overlooked a turn-off and ended up in Röth. As so often on the tour, the extremely friendly locals helped us out and so we continued comfortably on the S-Bahn to Freudenstadt. What a huge market square! Hard to believe for us South Tyroleans from a steep mountain village.

The next day, our route took us through the natural Kinzig valley to Alpirsbach. There, of course, we had to sample a beer in the monastery complex before continuing through the idyllic villages to Hausach. We women kept insisting on stopping to admire and photograph the charming half-timbered houses.

The next day, the weather was perfect, everything had dried out and, inspired by our good mood, we once again managed to miss a turn-off and pedal a few extra kilometers. However, these didn't leave us with heavy legs, but rather a rucksack full of freshly harvested plums. A hard-working farmer put us on the right track with plenty of provisions.

After a delicious lunch in a typical beer garden, we continued on to Rastatt and before we knew it, the 60 kilometers were done. In the evening, they danced to oldies music on the square in the old town. A balmy summer evening can be so beautiful! 

On Friday, there was a bit of everything. First we cycled through the floodplains and enjoyed the nature, the peace and the wind blowing around our noses. Then we got closer to Karlsruhe. These big cities always cause a bit of excitement and thrills for us mountain people. But thanks to the good signposting, we mastered this part of the cycle tour without any major hurdles and arrived in Ettlingen in good spirits. This old town captured our hearts in no time, so we had ice cream and cake to our hearts' content. We bought souvenirs for the grandchildren and kept pulling out our cameras.

And our last stage began the next day. We had to overcome a few meters of altitude along the Alb and Martina said at some point: "An e-bike would be great now, I'd go full turbo!" But what the heck, we got the turbo out of our muscles and after a little refreshment in Neuenbürg, we headed into the beautiful Enz valley. The men were encouraged to push themselves harder, as we women were already dreaming of a dip in the thermal waters. This was pure relaxation and all the exertion was forgotten.