Wednesday June 5, Kandern to Britzingen
The day began with a hike uphill to Schloss Buergeln, a Rococo castle built in the 1760s for the provost of Buergeln. Komoot reviews were enthusiastic about the views and gardens, so I decided to skip the local big mountain, the Blauen (1165m), and enjoying the castle grounds instead.
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| My camera is bad with slopes. Imagine a hillside here. |
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| Farm buildings in Sitzenkirch, in the foothills of the Blauen. |
Baden-Wuerttemberg is the fruit basket of Germany, and I passed many cherry and pear and apple trees on my way uphill. I didn't pick a single cherry...
As the trail wended higher, I entered the woods, continuing up. Lots of foxglove in bloom, mostly pink, with a lone white stalk.
Eventually I emerged at the top of the hill and entered the grounds of the castle, which were pretty, but a little disappointing given the rave reviews on Komoot. I mean, the views were nice, but why go for run down diminutive Rococo when you can get similar views at half-demolished big stone ruins instead?
As I continued hiking north, I caught a glimpse of the Blauen, no longer far off, and decided that the disappointment of Schloss Buergeln could only be remedied by climbing up a higher mountain.
A sign on the side of Kalte Kueche (Cold Kitchen), a D.A.V. hut in the woods, directed me to Blauen--just 3km away!
Another half kilometer up the trail, a sign aimed me at Blauen--still 3km away, thanks to the magic that is trail signage in Germany.
After another 2km or so of hiking, another set of trail signs pointed me to the peak, either 0.2 km away or 1.2 km away, depending on whether one wants to walk toward it or away from it. This suggests infinite other possibilities as well, if one prefers to walk back and forth on the trail for a few hours before deciding finally to arrive.
The acrophobe climbed halfway up this tower, which was good enough for some distance views.
The hike down to Badenweiler was lovely, with wide trails, lovely trees, easy switchbacks, and this shiny Carabus auronitens.
Next stop, Badenweiler, cuz ruins. And not just 12th-c.-Burg-destroyed-by-peasants/Swedes/French-in-the-Bauernkrieg/Thirty Years' War/Dutch War ruins, but Roman ruins as well, because the Romans knew a great spot for a dip in thermal springs when they saw one.
Clomping into town, I passed the Pauluskirche. The first mention of a church on this site was in 774 CE; when the current church replaced a Gothic version in the 1890s, builders found remains of multiple previous church iterations, and underneath them all, the walls of a Roman temple from ca. 145 CE.
Next stop: Burg Baden, atop the hill above the Kur- und Festspielhaus (a building erected in the 1970s with an architectural style reminiscent of The Jetsons. It makes quite the contrast with the Burgruinen).
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| Note the Ukraine flag |
...followed by a visit to the Roman bathhouse.
From the bathhouse ruins, it was a leisurely stroll through Badenweiler's "Park of the Senses," filled with hands-on exhibits with which to hear, see, touch, and smell...
...then through vinyards and woods...
...to small town Britzingen, my destination for the night.
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| Staufen in the distance! |
Ta da! ~16.5 miles, 3,350 ft elevation gain.
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