RETURN TO HINTERZARTEN

 

HOTEL SONNENBERG

 

When I was in Hinterzarten in the German Black Forest back in June of this year, little did I realise that I would be returning so soon. Back in June the weather was glorious with long sunny days and temperatures in excess of 30 C. I had spent most of my vacation in nearby Titisee staying only one night in Hinterzarten.

Hinterzarten is at the very heart of the Black Forest and with the city of Freiburg only a short drive away, it is an ideal base from which to explore the area. At over 800 metres above sea level and surrounded by mountains, it is little wonder that Hinterzarten has become such a popular ski resort.

Arriving at the beginning of December, as I did, one can expect a little snow, although the ski season doesn’t get underway until after Christmas. In the weeks prior to my visit there had been some snowfall but it hadn’t lasted long and on the day I arrived there was not a snowflake in sight. However, the very next morning I awoke to a blanket of snow which had transformed this small town into something quite magical, a complete contrast to my previous visit.

The hotel that I and my travelling companions were staying at was the Hotel Sonnenberg situated on a hill high above the town at Am Kessler berg 9. This position afforded us the most fantastic views of the town and surrounding area, both from our bedrooms and the restaurant where we enjoyed breakfast every morning.

On our arrival at the hotel we were greeted by Herr Lehmann (the owner) with a cheerful “Welcome home”. Over the next six days it was to feel very much like our home with the generosity and hospitality that was shown to us by Herr Lehmann and his wife. The owners and their staff worked tirelessly to keep the hotel spotless and see to our every need, ensuring that we had a wonderful stay.

The Hotel Sonnenberg is rated 4 star and has an indoor swimming pool, sauna and massage rooms as well as the perfectly situated aforementioned restaurant and a library. Wi fi internet is also available and is free of charge and there is also free guest car parking. Breakfast is continental but with such a wide range of meats, cheeses, cereals, breads, preserves, fruit and juices, there is no need to go hungry. Evening meals are also available in the restaurant although you do need to pre-book in the morning.

My room was a non smoking double room at the front of the hotel overlooking the car park and town, there was also a small dairy farm opposite with a delightful cow shed that looked quite splendid all lit up at 04:30 in the morning. The bedroom was of a good size and featured a Laura Ashley design and the bathroom with its large shower cubicle had a granite finish. The bedroom also had ample seating with a settee, two chairs and a coffee table. There was the usual TV, mini bar, dressing table and adequate wardrobe space with a built in safe. All that was missing in my opinion was tea/coffee making facilities, but this is something that I have come to expect whilst travelling in Europe as it is not as common to find this facility on the continent as it is in the UK.

A short walk from the hotel is the Ski Museum which is well worth a visit, you can easily while away an hour or two looking at the ski exhibits and art work. Something to bear in mind when visiting local attractions is that often you will get a discount if you have a Hochschwarzwald card. These cards are supplied by many of the hotels to guests staying for at least two nights. The cards will also allow you travel free on some local trains, take a lake cruise on Lake Titisee and have free time on bike hire and Segway hire in Titisee.

Due to the heavy snowfall and the fact that our English car was not fitted with winter tyres, we did, on occasions, experience a little difficulty driving around, but this didn’t stop us having a great time. The local taxi drivers had no problems getting around as they all had their winter tyres on and were familiar with the winter weather conditions. We also used the train to travel into Freiburg and Herr Lehmann was kind enough to drive us to the train station. For our day out to the Christmas market in Strasbourg we hired a taxi from the hotel to the train station where we then travelled by coach for a full day’s excursion to Strasbourg and Gegenbach.

One thing to bear in mind on a visit to Hinterzarten is that for the first two weeks of December there are a lot of hotels and restaurants closed for holidays before the Christmas rush. I had booked the Sonnenberg via Booking.Com a few weeks before leaving the UK and had originally booked for 5 nights. However, we enjoyed our stay at the hotel so much that on the fifth day we booked in for an extra night.

We drove away from Hinterzarten feeling that we had experienced a wonderful holiday, but thinking it had ended all too soon. The hospitality shown to us by Herr Lehmann and his wife was second to none and we look forward to our next visit with anticipation. Germany is a wonderful country, the Black Forest is a beautiful area of Germany and Hinterzarten and the Hotel Sonnenberg is the ideal place to stay and experience this magnificent area.