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Freiburg Baden-Wurttemberg

Only a train ride away from both France and Switzerland is the capital of Germany's mythical Black Forest: the small, youthful town of Freiburg. Home to one of the oldest universities in Germany, Freiburg is full of students and blends well the flavors and needs of the German locals, the students and the tourists. There are hippie shops alongside fabulous bakeries. Cafes, boutiques and old bookstores. There is a local McDonalds, but the farmer's market in Münsterplatz, running daily but for Sundays, is more highly recommended!

The Black Forest is supposedly the region where the original cuckoo clocks were made. Though the clockmakers of the Black Forest did create what we know of today as the cuckoo clock, they caught on to the trend of clockmaking about one hundred years after the original was made. Nevertheless, there are thousands of tourists who visit the Black Forest region in search of the ideal cuckoo and the small town of Frieburg does not leave them disappointed.

Check out the gutters while browsing the shops around the car-free old quarter (near the Münsterplatz). Known as Bächle - Bäch meaning stream in German - these little waterways are fed by the Dreisam and naturally cool the air. Never actually used for sewage, they were once located in the middle of the road and designed to provide water for animals and in case of fire. Today they soothe the harried tourist and entertain children. Yet be wary of the legend! Fall into a Bächle, fall in love with a Freiburger.

There is a lot of great food in the Black Forest region. When in Freiburg be sure to try beef with horseradish sauce or roast pork with sauerkraut, both Badensian specialties. The Hirschen Inn in Freiburg serves these dishes as well as German wine. Yes, wine. Wander a bit outside the old quarter and you'll find a surprising number of vineyards.