Freudenstadt and Alpirsbach

The morning was extremely cold which deterred us from leaving the warm comfort of our blankets. When we finally plucked up the courage to get going it was already getting late in the day. Being called the “Black Forest” you would expect to see trees, but so far we see the scars of clear cutting that was done many years ago. For the most part it is ugly, but occasionally you get nice bits. The rain is mixed with snow and the plants are still holding onto their winter coats, so I would suggest visiting in summer, as it might provide you with more cheerful scenery. It was still raining and cold when we arrived in the town of Freudenstadt, and after driving through the town we decided to skip it and head to our final stop for the day in Alpirsbach, which was at Camping Alpirsbach. The owner of the campsite was extremely friendly providing us with detailed information about the campsite and the surrounding area. What was probably the coolest thing to happen so far at a campsite was the owner stated that we each get a beer from the local brewery for free. This is when he walked us over to the fridge and started to explain that because the water is so soft in Alpirsbach, they actually have to add minerals to the water, but because of this, the beer is really good. He asked Julie if she drank beer, and when she answered no I was not particularly happy (she could have said yes, then I would get two beers for free) but before I could even finish this thought, the owner looked at me and said I would just have to drink two beers. I like this campsite. I chose a Pils, and since they also had a raddler Julie ended up being able to have a beer anyway. I went to explore the small campsites facilities, actually thinking they would be pretty bad based on what we originally saw when we pulled in. However, the bathrooms and showers were all very new and well kept. To Julie’s dismay, all the showers had the “Rain” shower head installed which provides no pressure. She also complained about the soft water not washing away the soap causing her hair to feel gross. I agreed with the pressure thing, but couldn’t confirm the hair thing. When I went to do dishes, I noticed that they had a stove and a microwave provided. We haven’t seen a microwave since we left Canada. Since Spain, Julie has been craving popcorn and since I spotted the microwave we decided to venture out to the grocery stores in search of microwave popcorn. The way into town is through a very lovely wooded area cut along a hill and is only around 1 km away. Despite visiting 3 grocery stores and having found it in the past we came up empty handed, sort of. In the last grocery store I purchased a bottle of Alpirsbach export (like a lager beer) and popcorn that can be popped on the frying pan. Julie is now happy because she can now have popcorn whenever she wants (until the bag runs out). The town itself is barely longer than the brewery plant which didn’t provide us with much to “explore”. In fact, the campsite owner only mentioned the church and the brewery for things to see.