Drove for a short distance this morning then decided to do a walk through the forest called the Gertel Waterfall Loop.
We squeezed into a tiny parking area and set off in the midday heat. It was nice and cool walking, but very quickly we went down a steep boulder strewn path to a stream at the bottom. The whole area was teeming with families and hikers all following different trails.
We seemed to go downhill forever and then uphill steeply for even longer. Although only 8.5km long, it was really hard work for most of the way. Got lost a couple of times when the phone lost signal – not funny! There’s something to be said for a good old fashioned paper map!
Then we came across a member of the weirder side of society – a wood nymph maybe? She was in a stream, dressed in a very strange purple outfit and wearing ears! Perhaps it was a Vogue fashion shoot.
Stopped for a drink at a little cafe that was full of people who’d appeared out of nowhere. They didn’t take cards and we didn’t have enough euros – what a mare! Whilst we turned out our pockets, a very kind man stepped forward with 3 euros. Such a nice thing to do – we couldn’t believe it.
When we finally got back to the van, some kind soul had boxed us in at the front but luckily we were able to move some traffic cones from behind us to get out. No, I didn’t steal them, I put them back!
All in all, we decided it wasn’t the best walk ever as there were hardly any views, just thick forest. But then I suppose it is called the Black Forest after all.
