Welcome to Sasbachwalden, a cute little town full of vineyards and orchards (for the aforementioned schnapps!) that lies on the western slopes of the Northern Black Forest.
It was about a 40-minute transit ride from Offenburg (train to Achern, then bus to Sasbachwalden Gaishölle). Unfortunately, our train was delayed, which made us miss our bus, leading to an unfortunate one-hour pit stop at the bus station while we waited for the next one.
Our hike started at the visitor centre in town before following the Schnapsbrunnenweg 1 trail (7.44 km). We climbed some big hills and then took a wooden walkway up to the Gaishöll Waterfalls. I say "waterfalls" loosely, as the severe drought in Germany had turned them more into a bubbling stream. Jill continued on to see the actual "waterfalls," but the extra hike and elevation weren't worth it for out-of-breath me (and it turns out they weren't worth it for Jill either!).
We then exited the forested area and made our way through farmhouses, vineyards, and the Schnapsbrunnen. Schnapsbrunnen are self-serve, trailside honour-system stations where hikers can grab local fruit brandy (schnapps) and other drinks (water, beer) chilled in fresh mountain spring water. Each drink is 1.50 - 2 € and you drop your coins into an honesty box. I also bought two medium bottles of snapps (blueberry and cherry) for 5€ each. We visited five Schnapsbrunnen over the following few hours. They were run by the families of Fischer, Rösch, Brenner-Decker, Haus Zink, and one near the Fatima Grotto. I think my favourite was Rösch because the drinks were kept inside this cute little cupboard that you opened up, helping them stay cool in the 36-degree heat.
I also learned the hard way the difference between the drinks labelled "Wasser" and "liquer." The Wasser was disgusting and tasted like a shot of 40% hard liquor, like vodka, and nothing like the sweet 25–30% fruit liqueur we had been sipping. Later, I learned that Wasser is a clear, completely dry fruit spirit with no added sugar, while liqueur is a sweet, lower-alcohol drink made by adding sugar and flavourings to a neutral spirit base. So if you're there in the future, avoid the schnapps Wasser!
Surprisingly, we weren't too tipsy after all those drinks, but I think the heat zapped it right out of us. We had tried to avoid the midday sun, but our hour-long delay meant we were walking through the orchards and fields during the hottest part of the day, trying not to bake. Bless Jill for lending me her umbrella to walk under in the blazing sun and for attempting to find shortcuts back into town by cutting through random fields.
I really wanted a piece of Black Forest cake, but alas, the bakery we went to was completely sold out. They did, however, have a Black Forest roll! There is a noticeable difference compared to the ones back home, as the German version is flavoured with cherry brandy. Still, it was delicious, and I can officially say I had Black Forest cake near the Black Forest!
Offenburg
We used the town of Offenburg as a transit hub and grabbed a hotel right near the train station for our day trips. But while planning our afternoon there the day before we arrived, we realized that all the shops in Germany are closed on Sundays. So, other than wandering around the shuttered old town, we didn't really know what we were going to do.
Luckily, Jill had the idea to search for lakes to swim in, and we came across Strandbad Gifiz. This is a man-made lake with paid (€4) swimming access that includes lifeguards, washrooms, showers, lockers, a waterslide, ping-pong tables, volleyball courts, and a snack bar. It was the absolute perfect slow afternoon in Offenburg! Thankfully, it wasn't too crowded, so we laid out our towels, swam, went down the waterslide, drank Radlers, and relaxed.
When we got back from our day hike in Sasbachwalden, we wandered around the old town a bit more before dinner. During our two nights there, we had expensive (but delicious) sushi at Taumi and bowls and burgers at Celsius. We also highly recommend the train station-adjacent restaurant, Offenburger, whose name—a play on the town itself and its culinary offerings—made me smile.
Next up: day trips to Freiburg & Ulm!
