The Black Forest is rightly one of the most popular holiday destinations in Germany. The mountainous landscape with its dense coniferous forests, quaint villages and farms, vineyards, hiking trails, waterfalls, small lakes and the many beautiful views are perfect for a short trip back to nature. However, Germany's highest low mountain range offers numerous opportunities not only for hiking and outdoor fans: The Black Forest is also very suitable for a road trip, for example along the Black Forest High Road, a wellness holiday amidst vineyards or a family holiday with children. In short: the Black Forest is always a good choice!

Since the Black Forest covers a fairly large area with a north-south extension of 150 kilometres, it makes sense to choose a Black Forest region. In my case, the northern Black Forest, the land of thermal springs, monasteries and waterfalls. Nowhere else in the Black Forest is their density higher than here. In addition, there are picturesque valleys, sandstone cliffs, moors and many a hidden bijou.

My long weekend starts in Bad Wildbad: the spa town lies at the foot of the Sommerberg, from where you have a beautiful view of the surrounding Black Forest. If you don't want to hike up, just hop on the cable car that takes day-trippers from the town up to the almost 800-metre-high summit. Once at the top, you should definitely visit the tree-top walk. Over a length of more than one kilometre, the wooden footbridges wind through the mixed mountain forest before you reach the highlight of the trail with the 40-metre-high observation tower. The special thing about it is not only that you walk through the forest at the height of the treetops, but also that the whole construction is on top of a mountain. So at the end you have a brilliant panoramic view high above the treetops of the Black Forest - which is also great at sunrise and sunset in good weather. For a little adrenaline kick, a crazy giant slide leads from the observation tower back down to the forest floor. Even more action and thrills are promised by the Wildline suspension bridge, which is located very close to the treetop path. It spans almost 400 metres in an upward curved arch over the dark forest. For people with a fear of heights definitely a test of courage, for everyone else fun and a great panoramic view of the valley. So much exercise makes you hungry. On the Sommerberg, the Auerhahn restaurant awaits hungry guests. How about Swabian "Maultaschen" or a "Baumwipfelpfännle" with beef steak and spaetzle?

Back in Bad Wildbad, it's worth stretching your tired limbs. There's no better place to do this than in the historic Palais Thermal spa, which is completely Moorish in style. Whether you go to the sauna, the princely bath or one of the numerous whirlpools, you will have the feeling that you are relaxing in the Orient instead of the Black Forest. Incidentally, the bath dates back to the 18th century and was modernised in 1995. Right next door you can spend an imperial night at the Hotel Moknis. If you're staying in Bad Wildbad, you should stay here and be pampered like a sultan.

Behind Bad Wildbad, the Enz becomes smaller and smaller. In Enzklösterle you reach its source. The climatic health resort is completely geared towards family tourism. The longest summer toboggan run in southern Germany, an adventure golf park and a climbing park promise pure action. But the real attraction is nature. The small town is surrounded by a lot of black forest and blueberries. These have a special significance for Enzkösterle; in the past, there were even blueberry holidays here to harvest the fruit. Even today, there is an annual blueberry festival; the blueberry house entices visitors with specialities such as blueberry dragées and a blueberry trail.

Solitude and tranquillity can be found in the Kaltenbronn high moorland. The unspoilt moorland between Kaltenbronn and Bad Wildbad is considered Germany's largest raised bog area at 181 ha. It is a wonderful place to walk, often on plank paths - and to explore the Wildsee and Hornsee lakes. A substantial part of the area was declared the Kaltenbronn Nature and Forest Reserve in 2000. Information and explanations can be found at the Kaltenbronn Information Centre, a nature museum, event venue and portal with a permanent interactive exhibition. On the way, you can learn all kinds of interesting facts about flora and fauna on display boards. The moor ends at the Weissensteinhütte, but walk on for another 2 km. The Grünhütte has the best blueberry pancake in the entire area.

It is not only in Bad Wildbad that tired hikers get fit again. In the Teinach Valley in the spa town of Nebulach, a state-recognised healing gallery beckons, which is suitable for people with lung problems. In the half-timbered house town of Bad Teinach-Zavelstein, you should definitely pay a visit to the Mineraltherme, an exceptionally beautiful complex in classicist style, built by the court architect Thouret and with a nice hotel attached, where you can eat very tasty food. In general, Bad Teinach-Zavelstein is an enchanting place. Down in the valley are the springs, and this is also where the famous mineral water is bottled. On the mountain, the listed town of Zavelstein with its half-timbered houses is a delight. The Teinach Valley is one of the most beautiful hiking regions in the northern Black Forest. Red sandstone cliffs alternate with sparse forest, interspersed with meadows and woods. On the hiking trail "Der Teinacher" you walk a total of 12 km around Bad Teinach, almost always with a magnificent panorama. At the Wanderheim, which is part of the star restaurant Berlins Krone, you can enjoy a Swabian onion roast of pasture-raised beef with Black Forest beer.

If you are interested in German literature and even more half-timbered architecture, Calw is recommended. Writer Herman Hesse lived and worked here. The house where he was born is on the market square. The writer grew up here until he later moved to Basel. The Hermann Hesse Museum contains extensive documentation on the great poet, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946. The town, which is well worth a visit, is full of colourful half-timbered houses and secluded squares. The tannery as well as the drapery trade brought wealth to Calw, which can still be seen today. On Saturdays, the market square is buzzing with life, and the weekly market attracts everyone from Calw outside. Then people not only go shopping, but also celebrate the weekend in the nice cafés all around.

Further southwest, the Hornisgrinde, the highest mountain in the northern Black Forest, beckons at 1,165 m in the Black Forest National Park. On the summit plateau there is a treeless high moor through which you can hike on a wooden plank path and enjoy a wide view of the surrounding countryside. The view is even better from the Hornisgrind Tower or the Bismarck Tower. Several hiking trails lead up and over the Hornisgrinde. The short ascent from Lake Mummel, which lies directly on the slope below the Hornisgrinde, is recommended. The best place to stop for a bite to eat is the newly renovated Grinde Hut or on the shore of the Mummelsee. The idyllic mountain lake has something romantic about it with the surrounding forest and the small wooden path that circles it. At least if you come in the low season or outside the rush hour. Since the Mummelsee is one of the top sights of the Black Forest and is located directly on the Schwarzwaldhochstrasse, the crowds are correspondingly large and, especially on summer weekends, you sometimes meet whole busloads of tourists. Anyone looking for a souvenir from the northern Black Forest will find what they are looking for here: Fragrant, freshly baked wood-fired bread, hearty smoked Black Forest ham, Black Forest kirsch, berry wines or a unique Black Forest cuckoo clock. In summer, it's worth taking a dip in the cool water. This is especially good at the 2.5 km long Schwarzenbach reservoir, which is the largest reservoir in the northern Black Forest and can be circumnavigated once along a path. Everywhere, beautiful stretches of shore with small white sandy beaches invite you to take a rest and, in summer, to swim.

At the foot of the dam and Hornisgrinde lies the "wine and flower village" of Sasbachwalden. Surrounded by steep vineyards, with many pretty half-timbered houses and a view of the Rhine plain, Strasbourg and the Vosges, Sasbachwalden has a great location and is a good starting point for a short trip through the Black Forest. Various hiking trails lead through the vineyards and up the hills to the Hornisgrinde. Along the way, "schnapps fountains" and local wineries offer self-service local tipples for refreshment or a picnic in the vineyards. You can even "sleep in a wine barrel" in the middle of the vineyards in Sasbachwalden! What could be better than enjoying a warm summer evening with a Baden wine in your hand and then dreaming of the Black Forest in a wine barrel?