The writer was hosted.
A charming town in southwest Germany’s Black Forest, Freiburg (or more formally, Freiburg im Breisgau) offers a lot to travelers who love to wander, eat and drink hyperlocal foods and beverages, and explore history. My sister and I enjoyed several days here, and we wished we had booked a longer stay.
My all-time favorite from our entire trip through many cities in the region was spending an afternoon perusing the market surrounding the 13th-century Freiburger Münster, which operates daily.
Here, you can buy flowers, eat specialty foods, walk around with a glass of wine as you shop for artisanal goods, and go into the church to see incredible Gothic art—and maybe even climb to the top of the unusual see-through filigree spire.
Let’s start with the Münster!
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Do You Dare Climb to the Top?
Entry to the cathedral with its beautiful artwork, entombed knights, and statuary is free. For a small fee, you can ascend into the only intact Middle Ages church tower in Germany. It survived the November 1944 bombing raids that toppled the houses on two sides of the market square and is said to be the most beautiful tower on earth.
You begin your climb through the circular tower steps with a curving stone wall, which feels perfectly safe. But then you emerge into an area where you start climbing within a glassed-in modern staircase inside the cavernous space of the spire.
It’s a fantastic experience for those with nerves of steel. As for me, I tried for about 20 steps and turned around—but I do know that kindergarteners have successfully climbed this!
Care to Taste Wine in a Nun’s Outhouse?
Steps away from Münster is the Alte Wache winery, built in 1733 for the Austrian military and used for many other things over the years. My sister and I were amused to learn that the tasting room was once the outhouse for the convent next door; it’s said to be haunted.
Today the Alte Wache is the House of Baden Wines; Baden is Germany’s third largest and warmest wine-growing region. The upstairs tasting room lets you choose from 110 different wines by 35 local winemakers. The Grauburgunder wine that we tasted, among others, was a delicious, fresh Pinot Gris with notes of kumquat and pineapple.
Downstairs, there is a line out the door to get a beverage so popular it has its own Instagram identity with more than 1,000 followers: the Kalte Sophie. This translates to “cold Sophie” and is named for an ice saint whose feast day is May 15—farmers are instructed never to plant then.
The drink is a sweet, cold wine slushie that comes from a machine and is served in a branded vessel with a glass straw—it made for a beautiful sunset photo as I held my glass up for a photo outside.
More Thing to See in the Platz
Encircle the cathedral as you see artisanal goods for sale everywhere, bright and colorful. You can get a glass of wine to walk with (you are trusted to return later with the glass); we tried a very light white, only 11.5 alcohol by volume, for just 2 Euros.
A specialty food item here is the Freiburger Lange Rote (which means “long red one”) from Meier’s Wurststand, established in 1949. It is replete with a foot-pedal operated dispenser for ketchup, mustard and. . . curry! It was supremely delicious and walkable in its homemade crusty roll.
We followed up with miniature cheesecakes from Stefans Kasekuchen booth, perfect to hold in your hand and continue walking.
This is a great area to get souvenirs, including beautiful glass marbles handmade in a nearby glass factory and hand turned olive wood spoons and bowls made by Grünspecht which also makes glossy toys for kids.
We loved browsing through the stands with flower bouquets and fresh produce and cheeses.
Aromatic Chestnuts
To end the delightful afternoon, we feasted on aromatic roasted chestnuts that made my sister and I reminisce about our Nana who would bring these to our Vermont home each Christmas.
The makers are Toni Maroni (maroni is the German word for chestnuts) and they roast their maronis in a huge drum, protecting themselves from burns with thick gloves and leather aprons. They weigh the vegan nuts on a mammoth 120-year-old scale, decorated with early 20th-century scrollwork, and keep up a banter with their customers. It’s truly an experience.
And when we paused to eat the nuts from their sturdy paper wrapper, we closed our eyes to savor the soft (but with a bit of a give) buttery nutmeat. No wonder people sing carols about this!
The stand serves chestnuts during the cold season, from October to March, only.
Finally, if you’re ready for dinner, the restaurant inside the Hotel Oberkirch right on the square offers traditional German fare in a lovely setting.
Want to Stay Here and Get Married?
One of Freiburg’s quirky little qualities are the miniature canals that run throughout the town, called Bächle. These date to the 1200s and were meant to help with firefighting and provide water to livestock.
They were used as recently as during World War II to extinguish fires after a British raid. Kids can rent a tiny wooden boat, called a Bächleboote, to put into the canal.
Although some of them are no longer as deep (the bottoms have been raised to make them more shallow), keep an eye out especially if you are not steady on your feet. If you don’t watch out, you might stumble into one of them. That means, according to local tradition, that you will marry a Freiburger.
If you want to get married here, the Neues Rathaus (“new town hall,” which dates to 1539) is the place to go. It hosts multiple weddings per day. On our visit, we saw three brides outside the beautiful hall, either on their way in or out!
Spend an Afternoon Outdoors
The Stadtgarten (city park) is accessed by a beautiful curving bridge walkway and has playground areas, people sunning themselves on blankets, and tons of flowers. Seasonally, there are more than 250 varieties of roses in bloom.
In the center of a pond, we spotted a statue of a drake called the Erpel Denkmal. It commemorates the actual duck that, on Nov. 27, 1944, squawked so loudly that he warned Freiburgers of impending Allied bombers. According to legend, his alarm got many residents to air raid shelters just in time.
Much of the old town was demolished in that raid, and although this is truly a Nazi duck, we appreciate his emergency preparedness. The statue is captured in the moment of the duck looking upward and quacking. It was installed here in 1953 as a memorial for world peace.
Take the Funicular
From here, it’s an easy walk to catch the Schlossbergbahn, a funicular railway that brings you up to the top of the 860-foot peak. The ride is only a few minutes and costs five Euros. Or, if you want to stretch your legs, a hairpin walking trail takes you up for free.
The schloss (castle) no longer exists here, sadly. Have a regional treat at Dattler’s restaurant with outdoor dining with views of the city below and the Münster tower. We indulged in a slice of Black Forest cake.
Let Pavement Tiles Show You Where to Shop
Adorable medieval-style mosaics in the sidewalk show you where services are: a pair of scissors to denote a hair salon, a pretzel to bring you inside the bakery.
This is a reminder of the days when people couldn’t read and medieval tradespeople would hang signs with an image of what they sold.
We loved the Sammlermarkt (which means “collectors’ market”) antiques store at No. 3 Herrenstraße, and bought some charming souvenirs. Its window showed a pearl-looped chandelier, a detailed diorama of an opera house, and artwork and glasswork galore. The word “antiquitäten” means antique store.
SheBuysTravel Tip: Make sure to bring cash as some places won’t run a credit card (there’s a reliable ATM near the beginnings of the bridge over to the Stadtgarten—in general, use bank ATMs to avoid excessive fees).
Investigate the Ancient Past
My sister and I had a blast exploring the collections of the Archäologisches Museum Colombischlössle. The museum focuses on the Ice Age.
One exhibit shows a gorgeous bowl (dating to sometime between 1,200 and 600 B.C.E.) that was found 30 cm under the surface of a field that a farmer was about to plow. Since it is made of fragile glass, it is more valuable than if it was made of gold or silver.
When we visited, there was a fair on the grassy lawn with booths for kids to make ancient crafts and compete in medieval games.
Where to Stay: Park Hotel Post
We walked to the museum, set in a gorgeous manor house from the mid-1800s, through a miniature vineyard on its slopes, from the Park Hotel Post directly next door.
The hotel was once a post office; since I am a “Mailman” (my last name), our wonderful host, Historic Highlights of Germany, selected this hotel for us.
Literature lovers will be happy to see that there are books everywhere, and each room has its own “literary patron.” The hotel is a 10-minute walk to the Münster, the railway station, and the Augustiner Museum which we know must hold wonderful collections, but we got there just as they were closing the doors for the night.
And Finally, an Oddball Roundup!
You’ll want to look at the façade of the “whale house,” the Haus zum Walfisch. The philosopher Erasmus lived here in the 1500s after he fled Basel.
The orange-colored house is notable for a statue balancing on the wall of a woman whose neck goiter is so huge it is larger than her breasts. Her dog rests between her legs, forever suspended on the facade.
The Markthalle is a bustling indoor food palace with a wide variety of cuisines. My sister and I ordered from different stalls and then sat in the communal area to eat. There is live music on weekend nights.
We missed the Schauinslandbahn, said to be the world’s first cable car, dating to 1930 and covering a half-mile of elevation with about a two-mile ride. This is more of a traditional in-the-air gondola ride, as opposed to the funicular which follows ground-level rails. It’s always good to save something for next time!
We loved Germany so much, my sister and I are returning this summer–this time with our father and one of my children: three generations of travelers to see this wonderful region of the world.
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