BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG Its Roll-Callofgenius,Incredible Naturalbeautyandsweeteccentricities

BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG its roll-callofgenius,incredible naturalbeautyandsweeteccentricities. ers Grimmdrew inspirationfromBaden-Württemberg, whichtimeandagainamazes with of university townsHeidelberg, Freiburg andTübingen.Goethe,Turner, Twainandthe Broth- in thehere futuristiccarmuseumsandtheenergetic andnowexploringStuttgart’s nightlife andLudwigsburg;palaces inKarlsruhe inRoman-styledecadenceBaden-Baden’sspas; or luxuriantly green valleys,where woodsyfarmhousescrouchbelowsoftlyroundedhills. by thejaggedSwissAlps. Tothewest,fabled BlackForest asoothingtonicof serves Constance andthepastoralpicture becomes oneofripeningcornfieldsandwetlandsoutlined cragsandtheUpperDanubeValley’scastle-topped precipitous ravines. SwingsouthtoLake shifting fromterraced vineyardsbetweenHeidelberg totheSwabianAlps’misty andStuttgart we bewithoutBlackForest cuckooclocksandtheultimate cake, beerfood,thepretzel? plug; GottliebDaimler,thegasengine; andCount Ferdinand, thezeppelin. Andwhere would andtheastronomical telescope Itwashere(Miescher) (Kepler). thatBoschinvented thespark Einstein,string offirsts. DNA Germany’ssouthwesternmost ofAlbert state isthebirthplace years ago,cavemen a inthe SwabianAlpsgave andsosparked theworldfigurative art If onewordcouldsumupBaden-Württemberg, itwouldsurely beinventive. Some35,000 Baden-Württemberg 402  Let yourjourneyunfoldinhalf-timbered Ages; villagesstuckintheMiddle inthebaroque It’s asmuchtravellers candototear theirgaze awayfromthebewitchingscenery,

     HIGHLIGHTS POPULATION: 10.75 MILLION Strainyour neck foragoodlookatthe Borderhop, batheandbeddowninthe splashin Abandonmodesty foranaked SoakupAltstadtviewswithajollypunt BlackForest Gorge ontheone-and-only Münster world’s talleststeeple toppingUlm’s straw on Roman-Irish Bath the thermalwaters ofBaden-Baden’s in along theNeckar call in andheartheworld’sbiggestcuckoocake Triberg (p439) Lake Constance (p460) ( p446) Tübingen (p467) ( p426 )

 AREA : 35, 752 SQKM Baden-Baden Triberg Tübingen Lake Constance Ulm BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG , . 403 (Baden (Baden

, Baden- Friedrichshafen schaffe, schaffe, schaffe, schaffe,

(www.euroairport.com) allows 2nd-class allows 2nd-class (www.germanwings.com)

and are both served are by Schwarzwald-Gästekarte EuroAirport (www.stuttgart-airport.com)

(work, work, build a house). (work, work, build a house). Germanwings Karlsruhe-Baden-Baden airport (www.fly-away.de)

0711 / pop 591,100 Progressive, open-minded and strikingly Progressive, Blessed on with a prosperous air, a finger Trains, trams and/or buses serve almost STUTTGART Häusle baue cuisine or shimmying on Michelin-starred beside ubercool 20-somethings in the bars on Theodor-Heuss-Strasse. self-assured, its traditions, cherishes Stuttgart stays and embraces true to its rural heritage a passion. with innovation travel on trains and some buses, cost- travel and €28 for up ing €19 for an individual hotels Black Forest Most people. to five many Germans the their opinion about Ask on a tan- and they will go off Stuttgarters a behind smooth operators they are gent: wheel, speeding along the auto- Mercedes they bahn while flashing and gesticulating; in designer suits with a city slickers are home- tight-fisted Swabian drawl; they are away to bodies who slave the stereotypes. for So much and an endearing technology the pulse of Stuttgart the real outdoors, the great of love preconcep- such challenges immediately touring space-age you’re tions. One minute strapping on car museums, you’re the next through vineyards, dining boots to hike though public transport across the Black though public transport across the Black can be slow, and long-distance trips Forest to Konstanz) may (for instance Freiburg at train Available severalinvolve changes. Bahn Deutsche stations, the great-value Baden-Württemberg Ticket issue guests with the the local public use of free ), providing p444 ( transport network. % Getting There & Around Around There & Getting Stuttgart airport a hub for the low- is largest, Württemberg’s cost airline of 75km north is about Frankfurt airport Other useful include the airports Mannheim. Basel-Mulhouse and Ryanair airlines easyJet budget where operate. other airlines. Ryanair among in this chapter, every city, town and village airport Airpark; www.badenairpark.de) (www

is a savvy ini- (www.schwarzwaldverein.de, in (www.schwarzwaldverein.de, in Wandern Ohne Gepäck

Loops around Lake Constance and (www.neckartal-radweg.de, in (www.donau-radweg.info) Traces (www.donau-radweg.info) STUTTGART Traces the Rhine River along its left

Follows the Rhine from Konstanz

, Germany’s first hiking club founded hiking club founded , Germany’s first Local tourist offices stock maps and can Local tourist offices Activities Activities westward to Basel and then northward (or via Freiburg and to Baden-Baden, Heidelberg, MannheimBreisach) beyond. German) Shadows the Neckar River for 357km from Villingen-Schwenningen northward to Tübingen, Stuttgart and Heidelberg. the mighty Danube from Donaueschingen (65km east of to Ulm (190km northeastFreiburg) of Donaueschingen), and beyond. continuing to Vienna, Budapest through three countries:through three Germany, Switzerland and Austria (see ). p467 Veloroute Rhein Rheintal-Weg Neckartal-Radweg Donautal-Radweg Bodensee-Radweg Black Forest. For free-wheeling with watery with watery For free-wheeling Black Forest. try these: views, vigorating scenery of mountain biking in the vigorating scenery of for two-wheel cruising. The state’s cycling spins around from gentle appeal reaches Lake Constance to the uphill slog and in- Thousands of kilometres of signed cycling cycling signed of kilometres Thousands of a Baden-Württemberg, criss-cross routes autobahn speeding place to exchange great CYCLING CYCLING recommended. a three-day hike from Freudenstadt ( p448 ). p448 ( from Freudenstadt hike a three-day produced by the The 1:50,000 scale maps Landesvermessunggsamt and Kompass are tiative where walkers can hit the trail without walkers where tiative including routes, on two Black Forest luggage .wandern-ohne-gepaeck.com, in German) suggest day hikes, but for longer treks check check treks but for longer day hikes, suggest www.wanderbares-deutschland the website .de (in German). boots are not an issue. not boots are hike-friendly state has well-maintained, state has well-maintained, hike-friendly muddy where trails and lodgings signposted the Black Forest, nearly everywhere in this nearly everywhere the Black Forest, German) to be in 1864. Whether it’s in Freiburg through strolls vine- Stuttgart’s leisurely Lakeyards and or Constance’s orchards, of depths into the darkest multiday hikes Baden-Württemberg practically coined coined practically Baden-Württemberg the as the basethe word wanderlust of Schwarzwaldverein HIKING HIKING lonelyplanet.com bank (in France and then Germany) and the right bank (415km). from Basel northward to Mannheim