Back to the Forest - Rothaus Brewery and the Schwarzwald
19 May 2018
We flew back to Zurich as this is actually the closest major airport to Haut-Rhin. There is one in Mulhouse-Basel, and one in Strasbourg, but they are smaller airports that wouldn’t have direct flights from the US. Zurich was affordable, nonstop, and familiar… and it was really nice to walk through those halls once again. We didn’t stay in the city at all this time – we'll do that our last night as we stay close to the airport – and instead went straight to the rental desk to pick up our car. This time we were given a Renault Captur, which in style was very similar to the Peugeot we had here last time. A quick wind through the garage put us right on the highway where it was straight to the border and Germany!
The first weekend of this trip was a holiday weekend in France, and with that being the case we found the rooms to have a higher price when we tried to book. The alternative was to spend a couple nights in Germany where it would be significantly less expensive before moving on to the rest of the week in Alsace. Since we were going to stay in Germany near the border, where better than staying in the place we loved so much before? Alsace may have stolen our hearts, but the Black Forest also did as well.
We drove the highway through the Swiss countryside toward Koblenz and the border crossing, and as we passed by a few familiar landmarks we were reminded of the last time we were here. A giant rainbow had formed and spanned the sky overhead, which we took as a sign that we would return. It looks like there was a good bit of truth to that prediction!
We passed through the busy border crossing and began our journey up the Rt. 500 toward Brend and our home for the next couple nights. It is so refreshing being back in the Schwarzwald! We passed by classic cars and speedy motorcycles as we wound along that amazing road. It is really a lot of fun to drive! This trip will have us spending most of our time within the little villages, but if there is ever a time when we will do a lot of German road driving, then maybe we will splurge on the Audi and cruise through the forest properly! This time though we will settle for our Renault.
We came upon the first stop of our journey, one that we had driven past last time yet had no idea was here. The Rothaus brewery sits just less than 4km off the sharp curve Rt 500 takes around the southern end of the Schluchsee, right about where we stopped for a few pictures on the way back to Zurich last time. The brewery had a lot of property, with a restaurant, a shop, a little park, and a large number of other buildings on site. We stopped at the restaurant and had a quick lunch of potato soup and wurstsalat, both local staples and both hit the spot. We’ve already had most Rothaus beers before, but we still got a couple just to try again. Yep, just as tasty as we remember! They had some distilled items as well, and we sampled a bierbrandy and honey whiskey. The brandy was sharp and strong as the schnapps in the Black Forest tend to be, but the whiskey was silky smooth. And that’s how you do lunch!
We wandered around the property and took a few pictures before checking out the shop. Sometimes brewery shops have a shirt or two, and some other small swag... but not Rothaus. The shop was extensive! Tee shirts, bottle openers, glassware, and coasters- your typical brewery fare- were only the beginning. It seemed if you could put the logo on it, they had one. Beth was happy with the variety of women’s cut shirts, but if you wanted a bicycle or a lounge chair or a hunting knife or a necklace, you could have bought those too. I especially liked their selection of traditional clothing, like the dirndl dresses and those leather shorts the guys wear! We restrained ourselves though, and Beth found a nice tank top shirt on discount that, well... hugs the curves rather nicely. Oh, we bought some beer too. Naturally.
Rt 500 passed us through Titisee and back up where we saw that magnificent sunset, and we continued on towards our hotel before we had to exit off the road for a detour. We looped through Vöhrenbach and found a little cemetery on a hill before finally passing through the lower end of Furtwangen and crossed over on the road to Brend. That little forest road wound us up through the woods to the Berggasthof Brend.
Ah, finally home!
Last time we had a cute little room with windows that opened out to the fields, and that was all we expected this time around. Instead, we had a cute little room with a large sliding door that opened up to a balcony overlooking the forest! I just stood out there for a little while, taking in the fresh forest air and the amazing view, and knew that if we were here for more than just a couple nights, this would be the spot I’d find myself in most often.
I did have to break away from that view as it was time to get dinner. One thing we felt we missed out on last time was dinner at Brend, we always seemed to be out and their hours are early. We made the effort tonight though, and took the very short walk from the room down to the dining area. It was nicely set up like an old rustic cabin, the large windows giving the same view we have from the room. Perfect.
It is spargel season in Germany! Spargel is asparagus, but they keep piling the dirt as it grows to make it stay white instead of turning green. It has a much different flavor, and is a specialty in this area- it’s so prized that you have a hard time finding the green asparagus as everyone prefers the white. Like last time with the mushrooms, spargel is in season so it is featured on every menu. I love how things are much more seasonal here than you typically find in the US. They celebrate the fresh, seasonal harvest to the fullest, and we have to get it when we can! We started the meal with spargel soup, which was nothing short of exquisite. Beth had the zander fish fillet as her meal, and I went with the spargel and schnitzel. I’m going to have my fill of white asparagus to be sure! We kicked back with sour cherry schnapps and let the evening wind down, and as we closed out our tab we took a quick walk outside along the field. The past few trips to Europe have been in the late fall or winter, but at the end of May we were experiencing a very different season. The flowers were in full bloom, the grass and leaves were brilliant green, and the sunlight filled the sky late into the evening. 10pm and the sun is just setting! We watched the last remnants of light fade from the sky before heading up to bed.
First day back in the Schwarzwald... it’s like the first day being back home!
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