Short vacation in Ortenau district (Black Forrest), 17. – 21. May 2023

Originally, the first holiday this year would have been our long weekend in Vienna at the end of June. Accordingly, our holiday budget was already planned for Vienna. But then, somewhat spontaneously, the opportunity arose for this short holiday in the Ortenau district or in South Baden. We decided to go with my father’s camper van. In general, I’m no stranger to camping – camping has always been the be-all and end-all in the family, in whatever form. Travelling independently in a camper by myself was unknown to me yet. Actually, we wouldn’t have gone by camper until September. However, I wanted to use the short holiday in Southern Baden to familiarise myself with the camper in practice, so that I wouldn’t be baffled in September. Or having to realise that it’s not for us at all. Our child has never been in a camper before – only in the car. How would he cope with having to sit for so long? How would it sleep compared to the bed at home? So this holiday was a bit of a test run for the September holiday.

The best photos of this short holiday can be found in the gallery.

I had already picked up Willi, my father’s camper, a few days before. Despite his instruction, I wanted to go through everything again on my own. How do I switch on the heating, what do I have to pay attention to with the fresh water, how does the technology work in general, what pitfalls are there, etc.? I also wanted to make sure that we had enough time for the preparations.

Our journey into the unknown began on Wednesday afternoon. So that my wife could finish packing on Wednesday, our child was allowed to stay overnight with the grandparents the day before. After we had picked up our little fellow traveller, the journey into adventure could begin.

Via Munich (A8)and Memmingen (A96), our journey led to our interim destination at Lake Constance. Since we could not leave until early afternoon, we did not want to drive the entire distance to the Ortenau district in one piece. The pure driving time would have been around 5 hours – without breaks and without delays. All in all, it would have been more like 6.5 to 7 hours with the camper. One should not forget that a camper drives completely differently than a car. Whereas a car can be driven at 130 km/h or faster in ideal traffic conditions, a camper is more likely to be driven at 100 km/h on average. Not least because of the significantly higher fuel consumption compared to a car.

Most of the route was on the motorway. The last part was country roads and city traffic. At the end, because of the Tuning World Bodensee, there were detours that the mobile phone navigation system didn’t know about. I had already used a camping app to find a campsite beforehand. When we finally arrived at the site, all we had to do was check in and tare Willi.

After the work was done, we met up with acquaintances, with whom we drove to our host family the next day.

In the early morning we started our second stage. Before that, we marvelled at Lake Constance in daylight and had a relaxed breakfast before setting off.

Tuning World Bodensee opened today. Because of this, there was a lot of traffic chaos in and around Friedrichshafen. Lots of police were regulating the rush of the even much larger number of car tuners. Our destination was out of Friedrichshafen, so there were not too many delays for us. Around 3 hours of driving – without delays – were on the clock.
With the suggested routes, I chose – actually – a route that would let us drive on the motorway for as long as possible. Since I had already been able to get to know the driving behaviour of the camper better the day before, I wanted to avoid winding country roads as much as possible on my first trip with the camper. So we would have driven as far as Horb am Neckar on the A81 and then across the Black Forest onto the A5 and then on. Apparently, due to delays on the route, the sat nav decided on a different route. After only a short time on the motorway, we were told to “leave the motorway”. I was surprised that we would have made such rapid progress. When I saw more and more signs with “Villingen-Schwenningen”, it dawned on me. Since I had looked at my route completely beforehand, I knew that we wouldn’t pass VS. From then on it was clear: we were not going to take my route…
As was to be feared, we then meandered up the pass road into the Black Forest – and eventually back down again. And all this with a camper that you are driving for the first time….

A brake cool-down break and some time later we reached our destination near Achern. In retrospect, I should have taken one or two more breaks in the Black Forest. Instead, we just drove through. So apart from cars and roads, we didn’t see too much of the Black Forest.

Finally arrived

Once we had found a suitable pitch on the grounds, the strawberry fields were taken in hand. Paradise for young and old.

Besides strawberries, other fruits and vegetables are grown on the farm’s fields. Herbs from the farm’s own cultivation are also on offer.
By now it was already late afternoon and time for a visit to a nearby Father’s Day stall.

A Vaterertagshock or a Father’s Day hockete is a festive get-together in South Baden that takes place on Father’s Day

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More info on the Father’s Day Shock

At some point it became too chilly outside and our group moved the festivities into the courtyard parlour.
After this glorious conclusion, it was time for our now second night in the camper van.

A small excursion to the Mummelsee was planned for this day. As the previous day was the Father’s Day party, breakfast was scheduled a little later. Accordingly, we continued our “guided tour” from the previous day a little late, so that we were already running short of time for the planned lunch. But nothing that can’t be solved. The children’s scheduled nap was simply pushed back a little – there was no sign of tiredness in the two of them anyway.
To bridge the waiting time until lunch, I rode our previous round with the e-scooter and took some more photos.

A “landmark” of the region: storks as far as the eye can see

After lunch and a nap for the two kids, we went to the nearby Mummelsee. Because the lake is located directly on the Black Forest High Road, it is visited by numerous passers-by. Lake Mummel is a popular destination in the region. The lake is known not at least because of its legend.

The Mummelsee […] is the largest of the seven remaining cirque lakes in the Black Forest. It is 3.7 hectares in size, has a circumference of about 800 metres, is 18 metres deep and lies at 1,036 metres above sea level. Incidentally, the name of the Mummelsee goes back to the white water lilies, which are popularly called “Mummeln”.

More information about the Mummelsee can be found on the websites of the Berghotel Mummelsee or Schwarzwald Tourismus.

Info around the lake

View from the Black Forest towards France.

As it was relatively cold, we stopped for a warming drink at the Berghotel. When we arrived back at the farm, dinner was already prepared.
To be fit for tomorrow’s programme, we had to go to bed early this time.

In the morning, the weekly market in Achern was our first item on the agenda. Among other things, our host family’s stand was set up there. After a short stay, we had to go back to the farm because we had to pack. For our excursion to Strasbourg.

Go to Strasbourg!

First we went by car to Kehl station, which is on the German side of the Rhine and thus opposite Strasbourg. Accordingly, we quickly reached Strasbourg by tram from Kehl. Fortunately, the brother-in-law was prepared so that we were guided from spot to spot.

Whether it’s half-timbered houses, …

… Barrage Vauban, …

… the Ponts Couverts de Strasbourg, …

… or the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg.

We saw all the important addresses on our first visit to Strasbourg.

Last but not least, a visit to the EU Parliament was on the agenda.

The political interest of our kids was limited, because at some point unrest spread.
Maybe it was also because we had been on the road again since the morning and they didn’t think much of an (after)nap.
Actually, we wanted to go to the roof terrace at that point – but the queue in front of the lift was too long, so we didn’t want to test the patience of our two little ones any longer. Instead, we took the next train back to Kehl and then to our host family.

We ended our holiday in a nearby pub. The next day we went back home again.

Day 5: Return home – Sunday, 21.05.

Around 500 kilometres and a pure driving time of at least 5.5 hours were ahead of us. It was inevitable that there would be one or two delays on the return journey.
The most delay was caused by a traffic jam “only” about 5 kilometres long shortly before Mühlhausen im Täle due to a broken-down vehicle.
The end of the traffic jam was just before a rest stop, so we took the opportunity to stop for lunch.
Not least in the hope that the traffic jam would possibly dissipate. Our wishes were not fulfilled, so that we needed about 1 hour for the 5 kilometres.
From then on, it went like clockwork. A short fuel stop shortly after Munich was our last break before we arrived back home.