So we were going to the Black Forest in Germany next week, and looking forward to swimming in the pool, going to Europa the epic theme park, and riding those crazy karts-on-tracks down the side of the hills.

Then today my daughter came back to the park with what we assumed was a badly sprained arm after falling off her scooter, but a trip to the injuries clinic to get it checked out revealed that she’s bent her right arm bone and is now in a cast for three weeks.

No getting it wet. No rollercoasters.  No fun!

So, any suggestions for things to do in the Black Forest (we’re staying near Baden Baden) that are interesting/fun for 7 and 9 year olds, but don’t involve too much action, water, or the use of a right hand?

Lots of choo choo trains to ride on

Look for “konditorei” …. Teutonic patisserie  extraordinaire!!

Drive up to the high road over the top and have a little walk in the firest (think it’s B500)

Lots of cycling to do…rent a tagalong

River Rhine day cruise

Surely there must be something nowadays to put over it to stop it getting wet.

Or just go old skool and wrap a carrier bag round it!!

That means you can eat more than the kid doesn’t it.  Mmmm cherries in kirsch.

We went last year.

A few ideas from me, kids same age as yours (were 8 and 5 when we were there).

It’s worth a drive to the French border at Strasbourg. Go to the Parc d’Orangerie. Hire a rowing boat and loads of parks/play kit if she’s careful.

If the kids will walk then there is some cracking walking. Try the Quellerlebnispfad in Bad Herrenalb (starts near the Freibad / outdoor pool) – leaflet or walking book from Tourist info office. If you go there the ice cream parlour near the kebab shop was brilliant.

Kurpfalz park. Animals and steel track luge things. You can ride them two up so could be ok with a cast on.

At Bad Wildbad there is a tree top walk with a massive circular/corkscrew slide (can be avoided) at the end and some great walking.  Park in town and take the funicular up (you can drive to the top and park there if you prefer). We did two days there and the park in town option I definitely thought was better.

It’s a bit late to dig out our holiday album that has all the other stuff in but if you want to PM me your email address I’ll send a few more ideas direct if I get a spare half hour later in the week.

And if you’ve not been before grab a phrasebook and Google translate and learn a few pleasantries auf Deutsch. I have very rusty GCSE German and just knowing a few very basic words and phrases really has a positive effect in shops and cafes.

Do not bother with Karlsruhe and definitely don’t do the zoo. If you have been to Marwell or Africa Alive or any of a number of the better British zoos you may find Karlsruhe a bit behind the times.

Oh and check out the Umwelt zone rules if you plan to drive into any cities. We didn’t bother with a sticker but we were avoiding the cities with the car.

Oddly enough we’re in Baden-Baden right now!

Dunno if your daughter is interested but the Technikmuseums in Sinsheim and Speyer look properly epic and are about 2 hours away by train. https://www.technik-museum.de/ Trying to figure out if 5yo Squirrelprincess would be interested or bored but is on our future list.

There’s a Unimog museum in Gaggenau which is 40-50 mins by train changing at Rastatt.

Baden-Baden is ‘nice’ as in pretty buildings and such but tbh not much to do that isn’t either expensive dining or more active things. Local Rothaus beer is good though!

A couple of things to watch with CREDIT cards is that they don’t always take them/work in restaurants and supermarkets. We ended up drawing out more cash as a consequence.

You tend to be ok at tourist attractions (at least on the gates) and places like petrol stations but even quite large and expensive restaurants can give issues.

Get one of these and still go swimming 😊

About DryPro

My credit card has been fine, biggest issue was the KVV machine at the airport only accepting Visa! Mastercard is not a thing here. Still, not usually hard to find a cash machine. Contactless isn’t thing either.

Oh I forgot to mention the local honey schnapps. Wow!!!

@squirrelking Yeah the two museums at Sinsheim and Speyer are spectacular. Of the two I think Speyer is best, though being able to get on-board a tu-144 and a Concorde in Sinsheim is pretty special. My son is 4 and absolutely loves going to both. The slides down from the roof under the 747 and Concorde are fantastic. Speyer is a lovely city with SO many ice cream cafes. The beer garden on the riverbank is great. Sinsheim town is a scruffy industrial hole.

The summer rodelbahns are great. Min age tends to be 3 and you can travel with your kids so the injured one should be ok. We really like the one in Gutach, though the one at Todtnau looks amazebals. Beware of VERY long queues for these. Tripadvisor reckons that 3 hours for the one at todtnau on a weekend is not unheard of!

The cuckoo clock shops in Triberg are ok. Nothing special though. There’s at least 3 which claim to be the world’s biggest. The best one is possibly on the road north out of triberg heading towards Gutach.

Titisee is obviously the centre of it all. The main street is full of tourist crap. 5 mins walk or ride out though and you’re back into pleasant Teutonic civilisation.

Credit cards can be hit and miss. Most places take them. I have run into restaurants and hotels that don’t though. They’re increasingly rare.

There’s plenty of great walks, many assisted by chairlifts. Watch out for tics and wasps this year.

We’re off there on Saturday, then heading onwards to the alps. Can’t wait.

Ah, I didn’t realise you could get on the Concorde(/ski)’s!

Can report that Karlsruhe Naturkundemuseum is a good day out for a 5 year old with an adult version audio tour (child’s version available, we didn’t realise). Ours was just sitting listening to all the stuff about the special exhibition  (hippos on the Rhine [about 100k years ago or so and mostly about climate change through ice ages and such]) before we took her down to the aquarium/vivarium and let her point out all the characters from Finding Nemo. Cost us €22 for 2 adults with special exhibit and auido guide. https://www.smnk.de/

For traveling, if you are on public transport and NOT in a town that gives the free tourist pass (Baden-Baden being one) then the 5 person Citypass is best value around town (up to 3 zones) and 5 person Regiopass for traveling further. All KVV tickets are valid on Deutsche Bahn RE services (took the DB site to actually explain that) but nothing faster, not that Karlsruhe is too much of a stretch. Also, the KVV website is arse, google/bing maps work to a point (usually getting to to the train station) then just find your quickest connection as they aren’t always listed.

Tried to post before but crappy swiss campsite WiFi thwarted me 🙂 (made up for by Switzerland being soo nice).

The posts above have it nailed. Speyer museum is the slighty better one. And we struggled to find somewhere for a meal that wasn’t ice cream 🙂

Unimog museum and Gaggenau were worth the visit. Off road ride wasn’t rough so should be fine if you ask them to go slow.

We had some credit card problems with non tourist German stuff last year. ADAC and Citroen dealer couldn’t take Visa or Mastercard (WTF?). Eurocard or Maestro only.

I’ve just got back from there. We spent a lot of time in waterparks, lakes and rivers so I’d look at the cast covers linked to above.

Took my kids to the “alternative wolf and bear park” http://www.baer.de and it was great, as was the rodelbahn at Gutach. Your not too far from German Legoland, which is significant more enjoyable than the English one.

Not too far? It’s in the peoples republik ffs.   😉

(also annoyed I was not aware of its existence till now)