I have been in Freiburg for just over a week now, and I am loving the area. From where I live, I can see the hills outlining the city, and there are lots of trees and parks inside the city. A historically significant hill called the Schlossberg is about a fifteen-minute walk from my apartment. It is the former location of a fortress built in the Middle Ages to protect the city. Although no part of the fortress remains, there are many hiking paths and lookouts on the hill, as well as a tower at the top with an amazing view of the city.
The day after I hiked the Schlossberg, my group of study-abroad students took a bus to Schluchsee and Titisee. These are two beautiful lakes surrounded by the hills of the Black Forest (Schwarzwald). The bus dropped us off on one side of the Schluchsee.
After about an hour of hiking along the side of the lake, we stopped at a restaurant near the lake. This restaurant could only be reached by foot or bike, but it was still very popular. After lunch, we hiked another hour to where the bus picked us up on the other side of the lake. The path we walked was relatively flat, as it was right along the lake. To the left of the trail, the ground rose in a step incline, often covered with large mossy rocks. The forest consisted of dense rows of pine trees. On the right side of the path, the shoreline was rocky with spots of sandy beach. We crossed a large dam and a few small bridges on our hike.
The next stop was Titisee. This lake is a highlight tourist destination in the Black Forest, and the town on the lake was filled with gift shops and cafés. A popular activity on Titisee is paddle boating, and many boats were on the lake despite the fact that it rained intermittently the entire time we were there. The lake is surrounded by forested hills, and all the roads surrounding the town are on a much higher elevation, so you can see the lake and town in the valley as you drive by. A foot path also winds around the entire lake. After we explored the town on Titisee, we headed back to Freiburg.
