Germany Guide
The Black Forest
Around Freiburg
The hills of the Black Forest almost rise out of Freiburg's Altstadt giving the town a hugely convenient outdoorsy playground for hikers and mountain bikers. The largest of these forested peaks, the Shauinsland, has its summit 7km south of the city and beyond that lies a series of rounded and densely forested mountains around the Feldberg, which include the ski resort of Todtnau. To the west the land flattens around the Rhine and the French border, making the cluster of hills called the Kaiserstuhl stick out in what's otherwise a clear run up to the impressive Vosges mountains on the horizon. This stretch of the Rhine Valley is also home to the Europa-Park, Germany's largest theme-park, which is packed with rides and commercial joy.
Getting to all these places by public transport from Freiburg is reasonably straightforward, though in most cases you'll have to change services en route, but it's all frequent enough to make them easy day-trips. Services are coordinated by RVF ( 
0761/20 72 80, 
www.rvf.de ) and their €10 REGIO24 ticket is a useful day-pass that covers all the places detailed in the rest of this chapter. The group version of the ticket covers up to five people travelling together for €17 per day.