Freiburg im Breisgau

Last Saturday, we continued to explore the nearby cities in the Baden-Württemberg state of Germany. On Saturday, we went to the city of Freiburg Im Breisgau. Freiburg is known as the "Capital of the Black Forest (Schwarzwald)." Freiburg is a charming city and has the winding streets and interesting medieval architecture that I've been dying to see in Germany.

Freiburg is unique in the sense that there were deep gutters along all the city streets which will flow with streams of water called bächle during certain times of the year. The gutters were dry when we went, but we still had to watch where we stepped nonetheless.

Here is a photo of the children outside of one of the buildings in the city center.

Freiburg is also home to a magnificent Gothic Cathedral (Freiburg Münster). Unfortunately, the Münster's unique spire was covered with netting and scaffolding when we went because much of the exterior is currently being renovated. From the inside of the cathedral, you can feast your eyes on the gorgeous stained glass windows, grand altars and monuments. Here are photos of the Münster's side exterior and the ceiling near the main entrance.

There was an open air market area adjacent to the Münsterplatz where local farmers and merchants sold their wares. Of course you're never too far away from the fine proprietors of meat and würsts when you're in Germany.

This is also where the Historical Merchants' House (Historisches Kaufhaus) is located. The Historical Merchants' House was built during the Middle Ages and used as a warehouse and customs building. I don't know what the clear height is, or the number of docks there are in the building. Can you tell that I used to work in a commercial real estate office?

We also went to the Carnival Museum (Freiburger Fasnetmuseum). It had a weird, creepy vibe that made it fantastic! We initially thought it was closed, but as it turned out the museum's caretaker was in the neighboring pub enjoying a brew with a group of his friends. The museum, which is run by the Breisgau Carnival Guild, contains costumes that have been worn by the carnies in Freiburg from medieval times to the present. Surprisingly, the children were not scared and even enjoyed hearing about the costumes and looking at the displays. We didn't take any photos of the exhibits but here is a photo of the sign that hangs outside of the building.

The kids also enjoyed watching this street performer create gigantic bubbles. At first they were content to just watch her, but after they saw a few children pop the bubbles they couldn't help but join in the fun.

After we meandered around for a little longer, we returned to Karlsruhe via the Deutsche Bahn train.