September 19

Day 8: September 19 

Nature

Half-timber buildings in the Main square of Calw, Germany located in the Black Forest

Calw, Black Forest

This morning was definitely a rough one after all we had done yesterday! All of our alarms were set for 7:00 A.M., in order to give us time to gather all of our hiking gear and catch the train on time. Unfortunately, it took Ellie's 7:30 A.M. alarm to finally get us all out from under the covers and moving around. With every water bottle in sight crammed into our backpacks and Laurel's sunscreen shoved into Logan's pack, we were off to catch the 8:00 train. Each of us grabbed a quick bite to eat from the room, a granola bar or a piece of fruit, to enjoy on the way. Two and a half hours later we finally arrived at 10:30 fully awake at our destination of Calw. Calw is a small town located in the valley of Nagold in the Northern Black Forest. The town was established as early as the eleventh century and has continued to grow since then. In the Middle Ages it was an important commercial town, specifically in the cloth and leather trades. By the sixteenth century the Dukes of Württemberg had established their summer residencies in Calw. Jumping ahead to World War II, Jewish women were forced to work in a factory assembling aircraft as part of a small concentration camp that was located here.

  Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp 

It was a brisk morning, influencing our decision to find a coffee shop before heading out on the trails. After exploring the main square a little, we stumbled upon the most charming little coffee shop. Cafe Montagnola was full of old-fashioned charm. We immediately felt right at home with its classic wooden tables and humble staff. A favorite among both locals and tourists it was established. Ordering took longer than expected because of the language barrier. Google translate saved the day! After grabbing our drinks, we headed out to their beautiful terrace overlooking the main square. Ellie was an expert at picking out other tourists like us and would imitate the confused expressions all of them showed as they tried to read a map or figure out where they were.

Sign inviting us into Cafe Montagnola

Hiking the Black Forest

The Black Forest is known for its picturesque hiking trails and old-fashioned traditions. With our stomachs now full and the sun at its highest peak, we set out into the forest for a quick afternoon hike. The trail was clearly marked and not as rough as we first expected it to be. For seven and a half miles we hiked through the peaceful woods. Spruce and beech trees, common to this area, lined the paths creating a canopy over us. We walked as slowly as we could, breathing in the fresh air. Birds sang to each other, creating background music that had all of us putting our headphones away. Two hours later we reached an odd clearing. The birds stopped singing, and there was an eerie chill that went down all of our spines. A plaque was off to the side and again, Google Translate saved the day. We had stumbled upon an old Henker site, or beheading site, that was in use as early as 1818. A famous German woman was beheaded for suspected witchcraft, right below our feet, some hundred or more years ago. Here, the Henker would go about his job of beheading people. The word Henker in English means executioner. Many women, due to religious and spiritual beliefs, were thought to be witches and blamed for anything unusual or not specifically explained in a book of religion. Beheading was the most common form of punishing them. Religion was important to the people of Calw. In a devote Catholic town, heretics were punished severely. This was another reason for having a Henker site closer to town. Being that the sky was darkening above us we decided to head back down the trail towards Calw.

The old Henker site we stumbled upon showing the place where the Henker would behead his victims. 

While on the trail we were again struck dumb in disbelief by the natural beauty of everything around us: from the moss growing on the base of the trees to the leafy canopy shading us mercifully from the sun. The sun's rays shining through the branches of the trees was mesmerizing. The immensity of the forest had no comparison to any woodland I'd ever been to before. The only real animal sightings we had experienced that day were the birds high overhead. That was soon to change though as a red fox skittered across the path barely glancing in our direction. Red foxes are common in the Northern parts of the Black Forest. Other animals that are frequent in this area, and we were all hoping we wouldn't have to witness are alpine ibexes, chamoises, and mouflons.

Black Forest

Black Forest

Calw's main market square seemed to be even busier at night. With its 18th- century half-timbered houses lining the streets and two shimmering fountains, it looked as if it had been taken out of a story book. We caught the train at the station and rode it all the way back to Frankfurt. Walking home we couldn't wait to whip something up in our kitchen for dinner. The day ended with all of us playing some old-fashioned card games and fighting over who would get to shower first. Finally, around 10:00 P.M., we all stumbled into our beds and dreamt of walking along secluded trails in a certain forest in Germany.