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Notes from the Black Forest
The Schwarzwald is an enormous region of forested hills in the part of Germany that borders France. When German folktales talk about “don’t go in the woods,” this is the woods they’re talking about, but it’s actually quite nice. Some notes:
- Even in summer, the giant cedar trees are a distinctive gray-green color, and the light inside the forest has a bluish tint. It’s perpetually twilight, but it’s not oppressive.
- The ground cover is surprisingly sparse. It’s mostly fallen cedar leaves and moss, and there will be one very polite fern maybe every dozen feet or so. Every so often there’s a patch of mushrooms or wildflowers. I can understand how someone might easily wander too far into the trees and get lost.
- There are tons of birds, and they sing all the time. It’s lovely. Perhaps because of all the birds, I didn’t encounter any insects, just the occasional moth. Maybe once every quarter mile there’s a tree that hosts a bee hive; but I never saw the bees, I just heard the buzzing.
- The entire region is filled with the ruins of old castles and abbeys. Aside from some stray plants, the ruins are all clean and tidy, and there’s nothing stopping anyone from going inside. Based on what people told me, I don’t think anyone owns these places, and they’re maintained by local volunteers and the general goodwill of hikers.
- Speaking of, (here) is one of my favorite episodes of The Magnus Archives on Spotify, and (here) is a transcript on Github if you prefer to read instead of listen. This story captures the "removed from time" atmosphere of the Schwarzwald perfectly.
- Even in summer, the giant cedar trees are a distinctive gray-green color, and the light inside the forest has a bluish tint. It’s perpetually twilight, but it’s not oppressive.
- The ground cover is surprisingly sparse. It’s mostly fallen cedar leaves and moss, and there will be one very polite fern maybe every dozen feet or so. Every so often there’s a patch of mushrooms or wildflowers. I can understand how someone might easily wander too far into the trees and get lost.
- There are tons of birds, and they sing all the time. It’s lovely. Perhaps because of all the birds, I didn’t encounter any insects, just the occasional moth. Maybe once every quarter mile there’s a tree that hosts a bee hive; but I never saw the bees, I just heard the buzzing.
- The entire region is filled with the ruins of old castles and abbeys. Aside from some stray plants, the ruins are all clean and tidy, and there’s nothing stopping anyone from going inside. Based on what people told me, I don’t think anyone owns these places, and they’re maintained by local volunteers and the general goodwill of hikers.
- Speaking of, (here) is one of my favorite episodes of The Magnus Archives on Spotify, and (here) is a transcript on Github if you prefer to read instead of listen. This story captures the "removed from time" atmosphere of the Schwarzwald perfectly.
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