Day 11: A Hike, Culinary Tour and Rest Day -(written on 9/12/14)

Today is a rest day and I am glad not to have to get back on the bike after the long day yesterday. We have an absolutely beautiful breakfast at our hotel! Wish I had brought my camera to take a picture. After breakfast, we meet in the hotel lobby for our culinary hike. Our guide is Hilda and since she doesn't speak English, Philipp is our translater. We start walking uphill with frequent stops for Hilda to tell us about the Black Forest. The Black Forest was deforested in the 1800s and then replanted with mostly fast growing fir and pine. They now are trying to diversify the plantings with deciduous trees. We keep walking uphill and eventually come to a culinary snack stop. A white coated server serves us slices of bread with different kinds of meats and toppings. As we continue on, we see piles of neatly stacked wood. People from the town can come and take what they need for the winter. It gets cold here in the winter though there has been less snow in recent years. The dense forest opens to wide open vistas where we can see the homes below. The hike ends with lunch at a restaurant on top.of the hill. We have hiked about six miles, a lot of it uphill. My legs are tired what with biking so far yesterday. "Rest" day may be a misnomer.

Some are going to the nice pool and spa at the hotel but I return to the room for a nap and some down time. Also, since we are up the hill from the hotel, it isn't as convenient to use the pool. 

Dinner is on our own tonight and we go with Sarah and Thomas, Linda and Chas, Kathy and John to a restaurant right across the street from our hotel. Other than the 2 star Michelin restaurant, this is the only choice. It is a typical German style restaurant and we have a table in the bar area. Thomas manages to translate the ten page menu in German the best he can. A gargantuan effort for sure! This performance will go down in the annals of our trip memories. The waitress tips over a glass of red wine all over Sarah with some on Kathy and me as well! Sarah runs across the street to change her clothes and try to get the wine out. Our food arrives just as she comes back and turns out to be quite delicious. Our conversation is lively and fun and we have a most enjoyable evening together.

                                          Philipp and our guide

                                       Hiking in the Black Forest

                                  A mid hike snack. How about that?

                                    A new building hand carved by a local wood carver

                                            Beautiful vistas

                   We had lunch at this restaurant at the top of the hill as part of the hike