Escape to a Fairy Tale Forest This Fall

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed)
Sep 13th 2010 at 7:01PM

Although I'd never before been to the Schwarzwald, or the Black Forest, in Southwestern Germany, it felt immediately, and somewhat eerily familiar. It turns out that these woods were the setting for many of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales, and as I drove from Baden Baden to my destination, Traube Tonbach hotel in Baiersbronn, I half expected to see Hansel and Gretel threading their way through the tall pine trees, or Little Red Riding Hood making her way to grandmother's house.

I didn't see any of those characters, but I did find a fantasy of food at Traube Tonbach. It does look a little like Ye Olde Hotel when you pull up to it, and that's because it is. The first lumberjacks were offered sustenance in 1789, and it's been a destination since the 1920s.

While you might not expect to find world-class cuisine in the middle of a fairy tale forest, and in a property that is an antique, albeit elegant and well-maintained, one of the hotel's restaurants Schwarzwaldstube is three star Michelin, and among the best in Germany. Young chefs come to train at the property, so even at the hotel's everyday dining room, you'll find a fresh touch is applied to traditional Swabian dishes, which can be somewhat heavy.

And no matter how sophisticated your palate, it's still something of a thrill to eat Black Forest ham and Black Forest cake in the Black Forest -- without fear of either wicked witches or wolves.

Gallery: Traube Tonbach in Germany's Black Forest