Dancing and Hiking: A Weekend in Freiburg

This entry is about last weekend. I was in Hamburg for most of the past week, but I did a lot and took some good pictures last weekend, so I want to write about that first. Hopefully tomorrow I will start to cover the Hamburg trip.

Anyways, last weekend was my first real weekend in Freiburg, as there was no IES orientation trip or anything else I had to do. On Friday, I went to a discotheque with some friends, and danced until 3:30 in the morning! I had never been to a club before, and so everything, the lights, the DJing, was new and exciting. The group of people I was with decided at 11:30 to stop being the cool kids in the room, so we descended onto the empty dance floor and began the party, literally, because then everyone else came and started dancing. The DJ played hip-hop, and all but five songs or so were in English, very common for any of the music, on radio and TV, that I have heard in Germany. At least it meant we knew a lot of the words! We had to fend off the advances of some men with gelled fauxhawks and mullets, but other than that, it was a really fun night.

Saturday the weather was beautiful, so I went to the city in the afternoon and finally took some pictures. I wandered around the oldest part of the city, near Schwabentor, pictured below, one of the two reconstructed gates that lead to the old city. This part of town, like much of the inner city, is all a pedestrian zone, allowing only the street trains and bikes. The bächle, gutters carrying water diverted from the Dreisam river, run through the cobblestone streets. Most of the buildings are in an old style, giving the entire area an historic, medieval feel.

Schwabentor, bikes, and bächle

I made my way to the Münster and finally got some pictures of it in daylight. I passed a global warming protest on the way there, people carrying huge blue balloons representing daily CO2 emissions-- just another Saturday in Freiburg.

Closeup of the Münster clock

Every day there is a farmer's market in the plaza around the Münster, and it was just packing up as I got there. The steeple is under renovation for the next five years, sadly, hence the scaffolding.

The münster steeple

I am amazed at the colors of some buildings in Germany. This tiny alley is one of my favorites.

Alley by the Münster

I finished my walk at Bertoldsbrunnen (Bertold's Fountain), the center of Freiburg, where all the street train lines cross. Bertold was one of the old founders of the city. As you can see, there were a lot of people walking around, as there always are, no matter the day or time.

Bertoldsbrunnen

On Sunday, after a French toast breakfast with other IES friends who live in Littenweiler (we have done a Sunday breakfast for the past three weekends), the four of us plus another guy on the IES EU program went for an all-day hike to Schauinsland, the hausberg ("house mountain") of Freiburg. Basically, it is the largest mountain near the city, 1284 meters or 3281 feet tall. We left from Littenweiler, because about two minutes from my dorm the Sudschwarzwald nature preserve starts. The trail first ran by houses and little farms, and then into switchbacks the higher we went. There were some great views of Littenweiler along the way. We got to the top of the ridge at an 800 meter high point called Kybfelsen and had a quick lunch on a beautiful rock outcrop there. There was a great view to the south and west, and we could see down into the southern part of Freiburg.

Lunch at Kybfelsen

Sudschwarzwald

Our hike was far from over there, however, and we pressed on, going back down to a picnic area, past the occasional mountain biker and trail runner, and then going back up again on the long climb to Schauinsland. There had been some snow on the trail before, but now, as we got higher, the snow got a lot deeper. I would estimate maybe a foot and a half or so, maybe even a bit more, but it was packed snow so we could walk on top of it. The climb up was hard. The snow was slippery and the elevation change was fairly intense for the last hour or so. We finally got to the top, however, and climbed up the observation tower that was there. I had to fight my fear of heights, but I am glad I made it to the top, since it gave a great view of the surrounding area. You could see Feldberg, the mountain we went snowshoeing on three weeks ago, and lots of other peaks in the area. There was some cloud and smog, but it was still worth the three or so hour climb.

Feldberg from Schauinsland

We decided to be hardcore and hike all the way back instead of going down the gondola and catching the train. We stopped at Kybfelsen on the way back again, just as the sun was beginning to set behind a layer of cloud or smog, which made the view very different from before.

View from Kybfelsen on the way down

Going down was a lot easier, of course, and we got back just as it got dark and had a well-deserved meal at Pizza Boxx (yes, two Xs).

The weekend was a lot of fun, and I look forward to spending more of them in Freiburg to see what else the town has to offer. Look for a Hamburg update soon. Also, I hope you like the new layout.