A Year in Freiburg 2023

Throwback to the Year 2023 in Freiburg

  Another fantastic year in Freiburg ends - time for a throwback on beautiful moments with my friends, great hikes in the surroundings, delicious food, wine fests and more highlights of the year. A great year ends and a new year with new adventures will start. Welcome 2024!

  The area around Freiburg is always really beautiful in the winter season. So, I decided to go out for a hike with Hussein and his former colleague in the Ravenna Gorge. In 2022, I went there for a summer and an autumn hike. Moreover, I went there for visiting the Christmas market. But doing the hiking path in winter was a real adventure. Some parts were almost impossible to cross, since it was very icy and slippery. But at the end, we made it and we could enjoy the wonders of the nature with snow and iced waterfalls. Finally, we deserved our Blackforest Cake and a hot chocolate, when we arrived back in Hinterzarten. I'd say, it was definitely worth it to do the hike, but next time, I'd prefer to do it again, when it's not so slippery and dangerous. So maybe in 2024, it could be a spring hike to complete the four seasons in the Ravenna Gorge.

  This year, it was the first time, that I joined the Carnival season called "Fastnacht" in Freiburg. Since I didn't grow up with the hype of celebrating Carnival, I just went to the big parade in Freiburg on Rose Monday, followed by a little party night at Feierling. Actually, it was really impressive, how much effort the people put into their costumes. But my highlight was definitely the band, which came into the overcrowded Feierling to play some live music. 

  At the beginning of the year, the St. Jakob-Park in Basel became like my second home. First I went to the concert of A Day to Remember and Bring me the Horizon, which was postponed from 2022 to 2023. Then, I attended the Yonex Swiss Open, an international badminton tournament for the semi-finals and the finals. It was amazing to see some of the best players in the world and learn something to improve my own gameplay.

  It was also time again for trying new restaurants or meet for game nights with self-made food. But the year started with the New Year's spinach-egg-dumpling with a goat cheese sauce. I prepared the dumpling together with Maike and Hussein, while improvising with the sauce. And it was super delicious. We also tried some food at "Taumi" - an Asian fusion restaurant of traditional Asian cuisine with a European influence. But my restaurant highlights were definitely the "Jeju Korean Bistro" and the "Indian Curryhouse". Well, the food was amazing, but the most important thing is of course the company around. I was also happy, that my friend Valentin visited me for a short stay in Freiburg on his way from Switzerland to Göttingen. And of course, I have to mention the Pubquiz evenings at Oscar Wilde's with my "Rock Bottom Boyz and Girlz".

  For me, the most beautiful season in Freiburg is spring, when the cherry blossoms in the Japanese Garden of the Seepark start to bloom. Moreover, in the whole city, there are beautiful cherry blossoms to admire. Also the sunsets in spring with the beautiful red-violet sky were breathtaking from my balcony. After the cold winter, it was very refreshing to enjoy the spring sunshine outside in the nature. I'm already looking forward for the next spring season.

  During spring season, it's always a good option to go for a hike in the vineyards of the Kaiserstuhl region. I joined the hike of the Expats Hiking Group and together we went to Ihringen by train. From there we started our hike through the vineyards and the forest, which was full of fresh wild garlic. Before we reached our main destination of the hike - the Lösshohlwege Path, where it was also possible to go inside the narrow caves - we enjoyed a little wine break in a little local wine tavern. After a relaxed hike, we reached Oberrotweil, where we took the train back to Freiburg.

  For the next hike, we had to take the train and a bus to Todtnau, from where we hiked a loop trail to the Todtnau Waterfall. We enjoyed the adventure path through the forest with some panoramic views of Todtnau, before we finally reached the waterfall. At this waterfall, the water falls 97 metres over five steps and so, it's one of the highest waterfalls beyond the Alps. After taking some photos from all angles of the waterfall, we decided to have a lunch break. In general, it was a super relaxed hiking day, followed by enjoying the street festival of Todtnau with food and a coffee break, before going back to Freiburg.   

  Together with Tugce and Maurice, I had a wonderful hike to the Wutach Gorge, combined with a side trip to the Rötenbach Gorge and the Haslach Gorge. At first, we were thinking of cancelling the hike, because no one else was joining, but I'm super glad, that we did the hike. It felt so good, being in the nature and enjoying the calmness of the forest with the sounds of the flowing water. Moreover, we saw so many spectacular rock formations before even reached the Wutach Gorge. But the most beautiful place, we visited that day, was the wild romantic Haslach Gorge and even if I was so tired after hiking there, I really enjoyed climbing the rocks for an awesome view of the gorge. At some point, the narrow and slippery path felt a bit dangerous, so if I'm doing the hike again, I definitely would make sure, that it didn't rain the days before. But it would be worth it to explore more of the region around the Wutach Gorge.

  Since I've been in Freiburg, I always wanted to hike around the Kandel mountain. I already prepared a hiking route and luckily, I found some people from the Expat Hiking Group, who joined me. We went to Denzlingen and took a bus up to the "Bergwelt Kandel", from where we started a hike around the summit of the Kandel, the highest elevation in the Middle Black Forest and the local mountain of the city of Waldkirch. When we started our hike, we had sunshine to enjoy some beautiful panoramic views, but on the way to the Thomashütte, it got more and more foggy. So we decided to make a little break with those mystical views, before we continued and reached a spectacular rock formation, where we climbed up. Even if I'm afraid of heights, I was able to overcome my fear for a short time. After another break on top of the rock, we went back to the starting point of the hike, where we got our well-deserved after hiking beer. For me, this hike was my highlight of the hiking season while staying in and around Freiburg.

  The summer in Freiburg was full of lovely wine festivals in the surroundings of Freiburg, great nights at the Dreisam river, a well-organized barbecue party in the Seepark and my first official badminton tournament. At the "Höllentalmeisterschaften", I reached the quarter final with my female double partner Gesa. We almost reached the semi-final, but we had a little bit unluck at the end. Nevertheless, for our first tournament, it was quite successfull and we were satisfied with our performance. 

  In the Seepark, they opened a new barbecue section and so, I planned a little barbecue party with my friends. Somehow, they were more people than expected, but in the end, it was a super great Sunday afternoon with amazing people, great food and a little cooling down section while swimming in the lake of the park. Also, when I came back from my trip to Norway, I celebrated my birthday at "Brasil" with my friends. I was super happy to spend so much time with all of them this year.

  This year, I didn't just go to the wine festival in Freiburg, I also tried the one in Denzlingen and in Ihringen. Here, I need to say, that the wine fest in Denzlingen was super cozy and small, while the wine fest in Ihringen was too overcrowded. It was still a great experience to try so many different wines from the Kaiserstuhl region. In Freiburg, I also got to know Manon, a French girl living in Strasbourg and the reason for me to visit the city for the first time.

  On a sunny Sunday in autumn, I decided to take my bike and ride to the Mundenhof, a little animal-nature adventure park in the west of Freiburg. Before, I was always too lazy to go there, so it was my first time visiting the Mundenhof and I need to say, I really loved it and I was surprised, that it was free of charge to enter the animal park. On 38 hectares, it was possible to experience domestic and farm animal breeds from different continents.With taking breaks and watching the animals, it took me around three hours there and my absolute highlight were the meerkats. They were so unbelievable cute. But I also really liked the monkeys and the two-humped camels. I might go there more often again in the future, since it was such an amazing Sunday afternoon experience. 

  Together with Maurice and Meryem, I started the last hike for this year to the beautiful Zweribach Waterfalls, approximately 20 kilometres in the East of Freiburg in the Black Forest. We took the train to Hinterzarten and the bus to St. Märgen, before we started our hike. At the beginning, it felt like a very easy hike through the forest, but then it turned into a real adventure. There was a lot of snow, the further we hiked and on the narrow forest trails, it got really slippery and somehow dangerous. But we continued our hike and then we came to a part of the trail, where we had to show our climbing skills. Luckily, we could finish the whole part of the hike without any injuries. Before we finally reached the waterfalls, we took a little break by having a cold lemonade. It was definitely a cool idea to offer some drinks inside a trunk of a tree. Somehow, we managed to arrive at the waterfalls and we enjoyed the impressive perspectives of the stream. After taking a few photos, we returned in the direction of St. Märgen, where we took a warm drink while waiting for the bus to Kirchzarten.  

  Apart from staying in Freiburg, I also had some amazing highlights this year, which should be mentioned. A couple years ago, I applied for joining the quiz show "Gefragt - Gejagt" and finally, I was able to go to Hamburg in June for the recording of the show. Unfortunately, we didn't win the money, but it was a really great experience, even if I was very nervous at the beginning. But all the people were super friendly and lovely, so it gave me a good feeling. It was also great to get to know Alexander Bommes and after the show, I still stayed in touch with the other candidates Elisabeth, Dario and Inga. 

  Visiting my home town is also always fantastic. When I was living in Göttingen, I could go home more often and since I moved to Freiburg, I'm only two or three times in my home town per year. But following my heart to get away from the city life is always good for the mental health too. And I always love to see Willow, our neighbors dog. So doing a dog walk is of course always a duty while being at home. 

  But the main highlights of the year were the weddings of my friends. In July, I went to Wolfsburg for the wedding of Jia-Pei and Sebastian, my former colleagues at the university of Göttingen, in the planetarium. It was a really special wedding ceremony and after the wedding ceremony, we moved to a hotel on a lake, so we could combine the wedding with a lake day. Moreover, I could also see my other former colleagues again after a while. I was really happy that I joined, even if it was a stressful drive from Freiburg to Wolfsburg. 

  In August, my best friend Silja married her husband Thaddäus at the Romrod Castle close to Alsfeld. Luckily, it was a sunny day so the ceremony could have been outside. We also got a tour through the castle, before the dinner in the castle hall started. Later on, we went to the basement party room with a nice candy bar. The next morning, I found some candys in my suit coat. What a surprise. In general, I was super happy for my friends, that they married this year to start a new adventure together. 

  The year ended with some quality time with my friends again. During the pubquiz, we won a bottle of sparkling wine. The goal for the next year will be the win of at least one pubquiz night. I guess, we're on a good way. Moreover, I was super happy, that Silja and Thaddäus came to Freiburg for a weekend. We went to the Cage Quests Escape Room  together and finished the room "Nosferatu". Since it was also Siljas birthday, I got her a Stefans cheese cake and we went to the "UC Café" for having some hot drinks after walking through the city centre. With Rahul, I went to the football match of SC Freiburg against Borussia Mönchengladbach. It was a real spectacle with six goals and a 3-3 as a result. Another highlight was the pizza at "Café Ruef". It's definitely a place to come back in the next year.

  December time is Christmas time and so I decided to visit the Christmas Market of Basel together with Hussein and Maike. At first we entered the "Adväntsgass", which looked like a very fancy kind of Christmas market with not so typical food like oysters or Indian food. But we also got our first mulled wine for the evening, which was surprisingly not more expensive than in Freiburg. Afterwards, we went to the more real Christmas market around the Basel Minster, which is called "Märchenwald". Here, we got a plate with raclette cheese and a crêpe with nutella and ovomaltine. In general, I'd say, that the Christmas market in Basel was worth to visit, even if it was really overcrowded for a rainy Saturday evening.

  Since our Christmas party from work was cancelled, the R&D section decided to go out for a Lasertag evening with a following dinner at "Schwarzer Kater". It was a super funny evening and after the sport, we really deserved our beer and our great food - well, I had ravioli filled with pumpkin together with porcini and sage butter, and it was fantastic. Another great event was our Badminton Christmas Tournament, which was obviously just a fun tournament with mulled wine, punch and Christmas pastries like cookies or gingerbread.

  On the first weekend in December, I got a visit from Verena and we explored the beautiful areas in Freiburg on a snowy weekend together - including a visit of the Christmas Market in the city centre, after I finished my work on Friday. On Saturday, we started a little sightseeing tour. Our first destination was the Freiburg Minster with the Saturday market and the ascent to the bell tower, where we saw the "Hosanna" bell, the oldest bell inside the tower from 1258, and where we had a fantastic view of the snowy city from the observation platform. Then, we crossed the Martinstor for a little walk around the narrow and cute streets of the Gerberau until we reached the crocodile statue, followed by taking a hot drink at the "Katzentempel". Since the heating system was broken that day, we didn't stay that long and decided to take a little rest at my place, before we went back to the train station to take the train to Himmelreich and the shuttle to the famous Ravenna Gorge Christmas Market. It was a real spectacle with the light show at the viaduct. We really enjoyed our two hours spot with mulled wine, hot gin, deer sausages, potato pancakes and a break around the warm fire. In Himmelreich, we also went to a restaurant for a hot chocolate, since we had to wait for almost one hour to take our train back to Freiburg.

  The Sunday started with a French breakfast. I got a baguette and fresh warm croissants from "La Baguette" and together with French cheese, I got at the Minster Market the day before, we started into the day. After the refreshment, we went out for a walk in the Seepark. We went to a little advent market inside the community centre of the Seepark. Since the sky was completely clear, we decided to make a little walk up to the Kanonenplatz for another panoramic view of the city. Unfortunately, the path was completely icy and so, we had to skip this plan, but therefore we went to the "Sichelschmiede" for a very delicious lunch. The last highlight of the weekend was the advent mass in the Freiburg Minster, which was really interesting.