This past weekend was FANTABULOUS! For the very first time I met “our” Jeannette, scrapper extraordinaire, Admin Team member, and long-time on-line friend. Jeannette, hubby Renee, and son Rick came to stay with us for a long weekend of happiness and fun. I’ve been quietly sulking since my best friend Sarah moved back to the states in July, having friends come & stay the weekend was just what the doctor ordered!
On Sunday we drove over the Bad Wildbad (bad = bath in German), a mere half hour from our home. We were blessed with a beautiful, cool but sunny day. My favorite kind of day. Our goal was to walk the Baumwimpfelpfad and see the very tippy-top of the Schwarzwald. Sadly, there was no parking up the mountain, other people had the same idea and filled the lot. Happily, there was lots of parking, albeit in a teeny-tiny German garage, at the bottom of the mountain.
That meant, darn, we had to ride the Sommerbergbahn (a cog wheel train) up the mountain, or hike. We decided to train it! I am so glad we did. It gave us a wonderful view of the small valley Bad Wildbad is snuggled in and it was a neat experience all by itself. Once at the top it was a short walk to the entrance of the Baumwimpfelpfad and we were on our adventure!
The Baumwimpfelpfad is filled with stations to explore the nature surrounding us, animal life, plant life and exercise stations for active little bodies (ahum, Dane). It winds through the trees for about a kilometer before actually reaching the tower that takes you round & round & round and up above the trees. Dave & I climbed all the way up, despite a fairly strong wind, and gazed for miles around. All the way to France, Stuttgart and Heidelberg (though honestly, all I saw was trees & sky LOL!).
Renee took the boys & Tess on the big slide down. The boys, Dane & Rick, were already queued up for a second ride before Dave & I made it down from the top for our ride down. That slide is very fast & very fun! It’s got little skylights all along the top so you can see the sky fly by. I briefly felt like I was in a spaceship going at warp speed.
After, we made our way to the little ski hut for fries & coffee, only to be stopped by a new addition to the park. Ziesels! As far as I can tell these are mini Panzers (a German armored vehicle, especially a tank used in World War II) that you control via a joystick. They are beyond fun! Once the Ziesels were discovered we had to stop and try them out before heading out for snacks & drinks. There was no stopping the kids… or Dave!
Sommerbergbahn – cog wheel train ride up the mountain in Bad Wildbad
Rick & Dane enjoying the “explore & do” stations on the Baumwimpfelpad”
The “wimpfel” part of the Baumwimpfelpad
The best part? Sight-seeing with a fellow photographer!
At the very top, looking out over the Black Forest. Peaceful. Beautiful. Windy. I almost blew off!
Going back down from the tippy-top, to the slide!
The slide is 10 seconds long! Super fast. Super fun!
Renee, Rick, Jeannette and Joep! We love Joep!
Officially called “Ziesels” these mini panzers made the day AWESOME!
Dane was too little for a Ziesel, but he was pretty happy pedaling through the forest!
Tess & Dave post Ziesel ride <3
In Germany, as in Holland, every activity is followed by a stop at a cafe for fries & drinks!
Walking back to the Sommerbergbahn under the Baumwimpfelpad it’s cool and beautiful.
Bad Wildbad is a beautiful little town filled with cafes, restaurants, art & spa’s. I could’ve stayed a week.
Goodby Bad Wildbad! Till next time.
I took a couple little movies of the Mini Panzers, smartphones are fantastic, this is Dave & Tess in a Mini Panzer ballet:
Awesome photo’s. It was a great day!! We definitely need to do it again sometime!!