Our last full day in Horben began with another splendid breakfast. I think it was my favorite one of the four we had there. Once again, we were greeted by the same smiling waitress, who seated us at a table that overlooked the splendid open kitchen at Luisenhöhe. After what happened the night before, I was glad to see that no one would be seated near us. The tables around us were cleared of silverware. The lady brought us our coffee and bread, then the wonderful, innovative food we had come to expect. Feast your eyes…

After breakfast, we decided to drive to a town called Waldkirch. My German friend, Susanne, had recommended it. I had also seen some people posting about it in a Facebook group about the Schwarzwald. Waldkirch is maybe 35 minutes from Horben. It boasts castle ruins, a treetop trail, a silver mine, and a zoo. We decided to visit the zoo, since we both love to hang out with animals.

On our way to Waldkirch, Bill almost hit some woman who suddenly walked into the crosswalk with no warning. This is a phenomenon we’ve noticed a lot since moving to Germany… people not looking before they step into crosswalks, or before they make a turn. This particular crosswalk was not one with a “green man” to wait for. Germans will wait for the green man if there is one, but if there isn’t, people take their lives into their own hands all the time. Bill survived being run over by a car when he was 16 years old, so he is extra cautious about cars. As surprising as it was for me to see that woman step into traffic, I think it was especially scary for Bill.

When we got to Waldkirch, Bill was a bit confused as to where to park. He finally found a free spot near a sports club. To our great delight, the parking was “kostenlos”– free of charge. We walked around a bit until we found The Black Forest Zoo (Schwarzwaldzoo Waldkirch). Since it was Monday, the place wasn’t busy at all.

The very pleasant lady who gave us tickets and animal food said if we’d had a Schwarzwald card with a heart on it, we could have gotten in free of charge. We did have a card, but not one with a heart, and we left it in the car. Even if we’d brought it, I think we would have gotten a euro off of the 7,50 euro admission charge. We didn’t mind paying to get in, though. The zoo looks like it could use some funding.

The Schwarzwaldzoo is not very big and, in fact, reminded me more of a Tierpark for children. The exhibits are a bit run down and small. To see the whole thing, you have to walk up a hillside, which is a good exercise. The whole thing takes maybe an hour… two, if you take your time. But, there is a nice playground for children, you can get a snack there, and the animals look like they are well cared for, even if their enclosures could be better. There were a few empty enclosures, and some animals were hidden away. The lynx exhibit, for example, looked deserted during our visit.

However… there was one creature who made the whole visit worthwhile to me… and that was the peacock. The peacock at this zoo was showing off to the peahen, who was not at all interested in his strutting. It was hilarious to watch him fan out his beautiful tail, only to be completely ignored by his much plainer mate.

After our visit to the zoo, we decided to have lunch at a Biergarten located right next to it. I don’t have a lot to write about our experience at the Stadtrainsee Restaurant. The food was good, and they have a warm kitchen that doesn’t stop for a pause. However, the service was not very attentive.

This restaurant has a full service Biergarten, meaning that the wait staff brings your food and beverages to you, rather than you going and getting it from a counter. After we were greeted by one of two male servers, we made our orders. Bill had a turkey steak. I had spare ribs. After the food and round of beer were brought to us, it was impossible to get the server’s attention again.

What was most appalling was that Bill couldn’t even get the guy’s attention to pay the check. He went up to the counter, and even then, the guy walked away from him, either oblivious or deliberately ignoring him. I don’t understand why a person would act that way on purpose, especially if they wait tables. If you dislike a patron so much that you ignore them completely, wouldn’t you want them to hurry up and pay so they can leave?

It wasn’t a very busy day at all. There were only a few occupied tables. I watched one of the servers sit at a table and smoke a cigarette. The other seemed very preoccupied by his phone. Anyway… at least the food was good. It was more than either of us could eat. We might have taken our leftovers with us, except they charged to box it up, and we really didn’t have the means to store it, anyway. Bill didn’t even bother to give the guy a decent tip. He just rounded up, which he never does.

Anyway… after that, we decided maybe we’d visit Staufen, which isn’t that close to Waldkirch. Susanne had also recommended that town. Now that I’ve been to Staufen, I wish we’d just gone there and hung out longer. It is a very cute place, with lots of shopping and dining possibilities, as well as some pretty good buskers. I took a lot of photos and made use of the free WC in the parking lot. Unfortunately, that was all we had time to do, as we needed to get back to the hotel in time for dinner.

On the way back to Luisenhöhe, I took a few more photos of the very green landscape, flowering trees, and mountains. Once again, I realized why I miss living in Baden-Württemberg. It really is a beautiful part of Germany.

When we got back to the hotel, we decided to have a drink before getting dressed for dinner. The bartender, Pascal, was there. We told him how we spent the day, and he said that the buildings in Staufen were damaged in 2007, when a geothermal project went terribly wrong. Many of the buildings in Staufen date to the 16th century, but now, they are riddled with cracks. A couple of the buildings had to be torn down.

The geothermal project was meant to harness power from geothermal energy. But, to get to the source of the power, the drillers had to “perforate groundwater and a separate layer of anhydrite, a water-free chemical substance.” The process caused the groundwater to bleed into the anhydrite, which increased pressure under the buildings. The chemical reaction resulted in the formation of gypsum, which made the ground swell. Come to think of it, I did notice that there were quite a few building projects going on in Staufen. I guess they are fixing things, to the best of their ability.

Pascal was surprised we went to Waldkirch and Staufen, since they aren’t really near each other. But we had no agenda, other than to see what we could during our time in the area. Now that we’ve been to the Freiburg area, we know there’s plenty more to see.

Pascal brought me a beer and Bill another non-alcoholic cocktail called Ginger Love. He made a silly joke about a weird fetish about loving redheads. I had red hair when we met… although it came from a box.

After we had our round of beverages, we got dressed for our final dinner. Once again, we were taken care of by our Slovak friend, who was equally impressive… Unfortunately, I forgot to get a picture of the menu. Instead, I got a few of the kitchen.

After dinner, we went to the restroom before having one last nightcap. On the way out, the Slovak waiter found us, shook our hands, and welcomed us back sometime soon. I may have to take him up on the suggestion. I bet Horben is beautiful in the fall.

In the next post, I will wrap up our visit to beautiful Horben. Stay tuned!