A rail and roller coaster adventure in Germany's Black Forest

Peaceful hiking and adrenaline-pumping thrill rides can both be enjoyed in the heart of Germany's green wonderland.

The Black Forest (Schwarzwald) is one of Germany’s greenest lungs and a year-round playground – in winter, it’s cross-country skiing and snow-shoeing; in summer, hiking and biking. And whatever the season, there’s imbibing of the local, much underrated wines.

Germany does many things very well. Two of them are its public transport and campsites. The former means it’s easy to access the latter without your own four wheels. Eurocamp, which prides itself on sites that provide access to the great outdoors and plenty of family fun, has spacious, comfortable self-catering holiday homes just outside the town of Herbolzheim, which is on the Offenburg to Freiburg train line.

A campsite in wine country

A short bus or taxi ride from the town train station, Campingplatz Herbolzheim is set on a hill surrounded by verdant wine-growing country. In just a few minutes, you can be walking out into the vine-clad hills, the only break in the neat rows of greenery the occasional religious offering in the hope of a good harvest.

At the top of the biggest hill nearest the site is an observation tower, the Heubergturm, where there’s a jaw-dropping but completely free 360° panorama across the Black Forest and over to the Vosges mountains and France. Thirsty after your walk and climb? The Heuberg wine bar at the bottom offers a spectacular view and local booze, including the darkly fruity Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) and the crisp Burgunder.

zum Heuberg/Facebook

A perfect pool

That’s all good for the grown-ups but what about the kids? Another thing Germany does very well is its municipal swimming pools, and here is no exception. Next door to Campingplatz Herbolzheim is the gleaming public Schwimmbad (pictured below), the perfect place to relax while the kids make new friends, often of different nationalities, and show off their prowess on the various diving boards.

You have to pay a small extra charge, but if you say you’re staying at the campsite you can come and go as you please. If you don’t fancy having to make your own lunch or picnicking on the lawn, you can pick up a currywurst and chips from the kiosk and sit and enjoy it on the terrace.

The Eurocamp team on site have a couple of bikes available to borrow, ideal for those without their own transport, and you can cycle to the nearby Edeka supermarket to pick up provisions in a matter of minutes.

There’s a cosy restaurant on site where you can have a home-cooked meal and sample the local wines and beers. You can also order freshly-baked bread (oh, there’s another thing Germany does well) for breakfast. 

Eurocamp

Family fun

However, what makes the site really stand out, apart from the scenery, is its proximity to Europa Park, a theme park second only to Disneyland Paris in Europe in terms of visitor numbers. The park was established by the Mack family as a way to show off their roller coasters, and it now has 13 of them scattered across zones dedicated to different European countries.

Preisler/Shutterstock

It’s a bit like Disney World’s The World in EPCOT, but it carries its concept through in a much more immersive way. You can career around Paris’ nightlife on the indoor CanCan Coaster, speed through Russia’s space programme at high velocity on the Euro-Mir, judder round alpine scenery on the Swiss Bob Run, and be fired from 0 to 62 miles per hour (100km/h) in 2.5 seconds on Iceland’s blue fire Megacoaster.

There are also areas dedicated to folklore and fairy tales, which very much tie in with the setting of the park. Younger thrillseekers will particularly enjoy flying through the canopies surrounded by the fairies and otherworldly inhabitants of Arthur in The Minimoys Kingdom.

And if it’s a hot day you can splash down with the part-roller coaster, part-log flume of Atlantica SuperSplash. (If water is your gang’s thing, then the adjacent Rulantica waterworld offers more wet and wild adventures.)

Preisler/Shutterstock

As well as thrill-seeking adventures around the world in one place, Europa Park offers a taste of different countries’ cuisines. Grab slices of tarte flambée and sit by the lake in France, feeling authentically Alsatian.

Without the queues that blight the theme park experience in other parts of the world, even in high summer, Europa Park definitely delivers on pretty much every level.

You can get to Europa Park via bus from Campingplatz Herbolzheim in just 20 minutes.

Other places to visit

If you're craving some culture, then the buzzing university city of Freiburg (pictured), with its magnificent Münster cathedral, is just a short train ride back down the line.

canadastock/Shutterstock

And talking of cathedrals, a trip over the River Rhine and across the border to Strasbourg, via a change of trains at Offenburg, brings you to one of Europe’s finest religious edifices – the city's Notre Dame Cathedral, with its incredibly intricate astronomical clock. The city is also a thriving arts hub, which is very much at odds with its somewhat stuffy image as seat of the European Parliament (actually almost banished to a neighbourhood outside). It's laced with gorgeous canals too.

Either would make a great stop off as part of a bigger train trip. We're already planning our next adventure on the rails...

For further information on Eurocamp, call 01606 787787 or visit www.eurocamp.co.uk.