Freiburg, Germany
Posted by Cassie, November 11th, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Freiburg is a cool city on the edge of the Black Forest. I felt like I was walking around in a storybook. Grimms fairy tales, like Hansel and Gretel, were set in the Black Forest. Freiburg was completely destroyed by bombing in WWII. First, Germany accidentally bombed the city when they intended to bomb France. Then, the Allies finished it the job when they bombed the city later. Many of the buildings have two dates: the date it was originally built and the date it was rebuilt after the war. The city has been amazingly restored to look like it did before the war. It looked like medieval city, but the buildings lacked the signs of age.
Storybook street with vines hanging between buildings
While walking through the streets in the city center, you will hear the pleasant sound of running water. Freiburg has constantly flowing water in the street gutters called Bächle. The water is diverted from the Dreisam river. The water was used for fighting fires and for watering livestock. During the sumer, these Bächle naturally cool the air.
Running water on all the streets
Freiburg has a huge cathedral that was undergoing major renovation. There was a market set up outside the cathedral, and we knew we had arrived in Germany when we walked by an entire row of stands selling any type of bratwurst you would want.
Munster
Market by Munster
Freiburg was surrounded by the mountains of the Black Forest. It was a dramatic change for us after biking through the flat lowlands. We hiked up one of the hills next to the city, and we had great views of the city. Unfortunately, it was cloudy, so we were not be able see very far. They have an observation tower at the top of the hill, and it would have been an amazing view on a clear day.
Walking through Black Forest
Observation Tower
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