Freiburg from the Schlossberg

On Tuesday, 30 January, while my wife was at work again, I crossed another border, this time into Germany, for a day in Freiburg im Breisgau. It was my second day trip on my own from Basel.

After the clear blue sky in Colmar, the weather had turned grey again.

Streams in the streets

Freiburg is a university town, and it felt lively, with plenty of students about in the streets.

By about eleven, I was walking into Freiburg’s old town. One of the first things I photographed was a narrow channel of running water along the edge of the street. These little streams, the Bächle, run through many of the old town’s streets.

A cobbled street lined with shops, with a narrow stone channel of running water along one side and a bicycle parked beside it. — A Bächle running along a cobbled street.

Close by was a square with Freiburg’s town hall, a white building with red sandstone arches, a clock and a green copper cupola.

The white town hall in Freiburg, with red sandstone arcades, a central clock, ornate gables and a green copper cupola. — The town hall on Rathausplatz.

A little later, I came to a square with a tall fountain and red-painted buildings, near the Minster.

A square with a stone fountain topped by a bronze figure, in front of red-painted buildings with a green-capped turret, under a grey sky. — A fountain and red buildings in the old town.

Up the Schlossberg

Late in the morning, I crossed a footbridge over a busy road towards the Schlossberg, the wooded hill rising right beside the old town. From the bridge I could see a small funicular railway running up the hillside, and a tower on the top.

A wooded hill with a straight funicular track running up its side and a tower at the top, seen above a wide road and a pale building, under heavy grey clouds. — The Schlossberg from the footbridge.

I walked up through a park and then along a path through the trees.

A paved path with a metal railing climbing through bare woodland on a hillside. — The path up through the trees.

Looking out over Freiburg

From several points along the way, the path opened out over the city. The Minster’s tall spire stood above the red roofs of the old town, with the plain stretching away beyond it. On the other side, the city spread out towards the dark, wooded hills of the Black Forest.

A wide view over the rooftops of Freiburg towards dark, forested hills under a grey sky, with a few modern buildings among the older houses. — Freiburg and the hills of the Black Forest.

Along the way, a wide gravel terrace with benches and a low wall looked out across the city.

A wide gravel terrace with benches and bare trees along a low wall, looking out towards distant hills. — A terrace with benches on the Schlossberg.

The higher I climbed, the fewer people there were. When I could no longer see any other hikers, I began to feel uneasy, and I decided to turn back.

On the way down, I passed a restaurant with a beer garden, its long tables standing empty, and looked down on the Schwabentor, one of the old city gates.

The Schwabentor, a tall stone gate tower with a steep roof, seen from the hillside above, with the rooftops of Freiburg stretching away behind it. — The Schwabentor from the hillside.

Back through the town

After I came down, I spent the early afternoon walking around the town.

I also had Indian food in Freiburg. There were many students outside, but the restaurant itself was almost empty while I ate, with perhaps only one other customer. In one park, there was a small vineyard planted on the lawn, with a label beside each row.