Black Forest

Happy Birthday to me!
And Happy Birthday to Ron also, one of the two music group members with me on this musical pilgrimage.

Bernard, the other pilgrim, has been mentioning a place called Shauinsland each day we've been here. It's a mountain peak in the Black Forest which is accessed by a cable car from the valley below. Today was the first time the weather was good enough for this trip, so off we went immediately after breakfast, meeting up with Ron, our driver, at the place he's staying in. Shauinsland is quite close to Freiburg, so it only took about half an hour to get there. The cable car ride was spectacular and surprisingly long, climbing up and up to the high ground of the Black Forest. We began with a refreshing beer (for me) and traditional Black Forest ice cream concoctions for the other two, following which we set our sights on getting to the summit.

I was in two minds about the climb, but it actually turned out to be not all that difficult. Then when we got to 'the summit' there was a tower on top of that with steps up to the top. Of course, we had to tackle that also, ending up at 1302m above sea level with wonderful views all around. The blip was taken at the foot of the tower and shows the highest point in the Black Forest in the distance (the masts just visible to the left of the guy sitting on the bench). Back down at the cable car we had a lovely lunch and then continued the day's expedition by going on to a place called Titisee, about 35km east of Shauinsland. This is a picturesque lake, a very popular spot with day-trippers. We sat by the lakeshore and treated ourselves to coffee and Schwarzwalder Kirsch Torte (Black Forest Gateaux, in other words). Ths was the genuine article, deliciously light and delicate and quite high in alcohol, very unlike what we get at home masquerading under this name.

We left Titisee around 5:30 in order to get Ron back to his place in time to get changed and make his way to the National Theatre for a performance of Das Rheingold, the first of Wagner's Ring cycle of four operas, all of which he is going to. Bernard and I got the tram from Ron's place to our separate hotels, both intent on a bit of a refreshing nap before we head out later on for the Grand Gala Dinner which has become a traditional part of these trips. We'll meet at 10:30 pm or so after the opera and we're all looking forward to a great end to what's already been a great day.

Happy Birthday to me!