Sure you’ve probably heard about the Black Forest. You’d pretty much have to have had lived on another planet or under a rock not to. It’s not some mythical place like Atlantis, neither is it just some small wooded area.
Don’t go sitting there scratching your head wondering what this has to do with the town of Althengstett (which in itself is pretty fund to pronounce). Plenty, I tell you.
The town of Althengenstett lies completely within this Northern Black Forest area, sharing borders with bigger towns like Bad Liebenzell and Calw (which has an early 19th century executioner’s block — make sure you get a chance to see it).
The biggest attraction that’ll make you want to come to Althengstett is the Schwarzwald, which is the largest nature park of its kind in Germany. There are so many hiking and cycling trails through the park that my feet hurt just typing about all its hiking trails.
The pain is worth it. But, if you get too tired, there’s the Black Forest Railway to get yourself around. ;-)
It’s also where you’ll find all sorts of Black Forest goodies, like cuckoo clocks.
Not everything in Althengstett is done in the great outdoors. There’s a beautiful stone Waldensian Church in the village of Neuhengstett, as well as a Waldesian Museum (located at Waldenserstraße 8, open April to October on the 1st Sunday of the month 2pm-5pm).
Another church is the St. Mark’s Church, located within the Altstadt (Old Town). It was originally Catholic, which became Protestant after the Reformation. What’s that tell you? It means the church was here before 1517 (because that’s when the Protestant Reformation started).
All this running around nonsense can sure make you tired. I think lounging around the town’s municipal pool is a good idea. You’re surrounded by wonderful countryside, a children’s pool for the youngster to enjoy, a diving platform, and massaging jets in the water to send away the world’s ills.
I think getting lost in the Schwarzwald could do the same thing, just with better food & treatment. ;-)
