Breisach, Germany (2023)

The first stop of our Rhine River cruise with my family was in Breisach, Germany. We joined the cruise on a land tour to the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) and spent some time walking around the charming town. We saw a waterfall, Ravenna's Gorge, and watched a demonstration on how to make the world-famous Black Forest cake the right way!

The cool history of river locks

The drive from Basel, our launch point, to Breisach takes only 45 minutes. In fact, we were told that if you drove the same route as the cruise ship, it would only take about a full day of driving! Alas, we were stuck on this boat for 8 days (and I say stuck because it was actually so, so, so boring 95% of the time). We boarded the ship in Basel around lunchtime on April 29, and we didn't reach Breisach until the next morning.

I have a lot of feelings about the quality of service on the Rhine River cruise operated by Viking, but I won't waste anymore blog space on it here. If you're curious what my review was, it's on the main Rhine River cruise page where I'm tracking all related posts to this trip.

We had lunch on the boat in Basel and then we set sail. D and I got settled into our rooms, we all participated in an emergency evacuation drill, sat in some orientation talks, and then had dinner. Nothing too exciting. The most entertaining part about the first evening on the ship was going through the river locks, and I think I not only speak for myself but for everyone on the boat. Everyone rushed out onto the deck to watch the ship go through the series of locks that would allow us to reach the next section of the Rhine.

First, we entered through the gate, which is a watertight door that seals off the chamber from the upper and lower pounds ("pound" here meaning the level stretch of water between two locks). Then, the chamber is filled with water from upstream. When the rise, or change in water-level in the lock, becomes level with the water beyond the upper gates, the gates are opened and the boat can exit the lock. It was slow process but oddly riveting, with many passengers out on the deck for the full hour or more in spite of the cold evening. The ship slowly rose from the bottom of the chamber, which was about 10-30+ feet deep, to the surface of the river where we could see the towns and forests on the banks again.

Pound locks were first used in China during the Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE) and were pioneered by naval engineer Qiao Weiyue in 984 CE. In fact, the sluice gate, canal lake, and flash lock have been used since at least the 1st century BCE during the ancient Han dynasty (202 BCE - 220 CE). During the Song, there were barge traffic problems at the Shanyang Yundao section of the Grand Canal -- the largest canal in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site -- where ships would (literally) get wrecked passing the double slipways and also robbed of their tax grain by local bandits. The establishment of the pound lock gates invented by Qiao Weiyue freed up the use of hundreds of working laborers at the Zhenzhou canal, for example, and also allowed hauling boats to carry 133% more cargo!

Additional fun facts: the main artery of the Grand Canal extends for 1,104 miles and runs from Ningbo on the coast (near Hangzhou) all the way up to Beijing. The oldest sections of the canal were completed in the early 5th-century BCE to transport supplies and provide water routes for the states of Wu and Yue. What staggering feats of engineering and ingenuity!

Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte in den Schwarzwald (Black Forest cake in the Black Forest)

Our ship arrived sometime during dawn. After an early breakfast, everyone who had signed up for the Schwarzwald tour grabbed their little radios, earpieces, and lanyards, and shuffled down the boat ramp and onto pre-assigned buses for each group.

It was an hour's drive to the Höllental ("Hell's Valley), a deep valley 9km / 5.4mi long that lies in the municipality Breitnau and in the highlands of the Black Forest.

The early morning light and clouds created such beautiful shadows among the rippling green hills and valleys.

I'm always in awe of how well-groomed the European countryside is. I've literally never seen any overgrown patches on the pasture in all the times I've been to Germany.

After what felt like endless winding and curving through the highlands -- some dramamine recommended if you're sensitive like me -- we finally arrived at one of the many tourist attractions in Höllental. Our guides led us on a little jaunt along the Ravennaschluct (Ravenna gorge). The walk took no more than 15 minutes to complete and culminates at a lovely waterfall. There were some side trails that you could continue on; not sure where they went, but we unfortunately only had about an hour total in the Schwarzwald, so there was no time to explore. (One of the things I dislike most about tours is that you spend more time commuting than you do at the actual place you're supposed to see, but here we are).

The Viadukt Ravennaschluct, or Ravenna Bridge, was first completed in 1885 but blown up by German forces near the end of World War II. It was rebuilt in 1947 under the direction of French occupying forces and with the use of German POWs. The origin of the name Ravenna likely comes from the French word for gorge: ravin.

After everyone had taken their respective photos of the waterfall and bridge, we collected in the Hofgut Sternen Restaurant to watch a Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (literally, "Black Forest cherry gateau") demonstration.

The famous Black Forest cake has been around for over 100 years and it's not entirely agreed upon who came up with the first recipe. The pastry chef Josef Keller claimed to have invented the cake in its present form in 1915 in Bad Godesberg, a suburb of modern-day Bonn. The claim's never been substantiated though and a Tübingen city archivist named one of their master confectioners, Erwin Hildenbrand, as the "inventor" in 1930. Keller's recipe was a simpler version of the popularized versions of the Black Forest Cake and some accept the theory that both confectioners influenced its creation.

The colors of the cake -- black, red, and white -- are supposedly inspired by the colors of the traditional costumes of Black Forest inhabitants. Another fun fact is that the cake became really popular among fans of the Portal video game franchise because of the frequent references to a Black Forest cake and the famous meme, "The cake is a lie" (fantastic game, btw, highly recommend). The game developers were inspired by a Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte they purchased from a nearby cafe!

I always feel like when it comes to pastries and confectionary goods, ignorance is bliss. When I am indulging in sweets I do not want to know how bad it is for me. Has watching this demo stopped me from eating a lot of Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte since this trip? Not at all. But I do think about how much cream and sugar went into this cake every time I eat it.

The typical Black Forest cake is built from alternating layers of chocolate sponge cake, soaked (maybe drenched is a better word) in Kirschwasser (an alcoholic spirit made from sour cherries), whipped cream, and cherries. In Germany, you are legally required to have Kirschwasser in your Black Forest cake in order to label it as Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, and I wholly agree that this is necessary. Can you imagine eating tiramisu without dark rum or marsala wine? That's just wrong.

I could not believe how much cream went into this cake. The amount of cream portioned out for each layer was literally a whole mixing bowl about one foot in diameter. I think there was more cream than cake, honestly. All the pieces had been baked and made, and so the demo was just about assembly. It took about 40-45 minutes in total, so you could say making this recipe is not a piece of cake (*badum-psh*). Yes, I'll be here all day, you're welcome.

Both D and I absolutely love Black Forest cakes -- it was actually what we got for our wedding cake! -- and were pretty disappointed with the one at Hofgut Sternen. Fun demonstration, not as tasty cake. The sponge was way too dry, there were not enough sour cherries, too much cream, and (a personal preference) not enough chocolate shavings. Our favorite Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte is made by a German bakery in our neighborhood called Schubert's Bakery. So good and worth the trip to the west side of the city if you're ever in San Francisco! Started in 1911 by German immigrant Oswald R. Schubert and has since been taken over by two German brothers who are fourth-generation bakers, so you know it's the real deal. (No I'm not getting any free commission or cakes from this, although I wish I were. Everything they make is just so good and I hope they stay in business forever.)

We had about 15-20 minutes left of the hour after the cake demonstration to check out the cuckoo clock factory and glass-blowing shop. Cuckoo clocks were invented sometime in the early 1600 and somewhere in the southwestern region of the Black Forest, although no one knows exactly where in the Schwarzwald the first one was made. It's since become one of Germany's most famous and popular exports since the mid-1850s. Cuckoo clocks from the Schwarzwald in particular are renowned for using only wood for all parts of the clock movement, including gears. The mechanism that makes the cuckoo call has been essentially unchanged since the mid-18th century! There were some truly amazing pieces in the cuckoo clock factory with the most intricate wood carvings.

When the cuckoo sang and the clock struck 11AM, our time in the Schwarzwald came to an end and we were whisked away on our air-conditioned carriages to make it back in time for lunch on the cruise ship.

Breisach

The cruise ship was docked at Breisach until 5PM. D and I were so bored of all the sitting and eating; the little expedition out into the Schwarzwald did nothing to take the edge off the cabin fever. So after lunch, we explored the town of Breisach with my parents. We were all drawn to the crazy-looking cathedral that presides over the town from a large hilltop in the town center: the Stephansmünster, a coral-pink Romanesque cathedral.

Cobblestone roads spiral around the hilltop and lead you up to the gates of the cathedral. Breisach was built upon this hill as the seat of a Celtic prince and its name comes from the Celtic word "breakwater". It was named so because the hill used to be in the middle of the Rhine and would literally break surges on the river until engineer Johann Gottfried Tulla straightened the Rhine to improve navigation and alleviating the effects of flooding in the 19th century (wild, right?).

After walking around the cathedral grounds, we came back down and walked around the town square. There were a number of cute restaurants with tourists and locals alike sitting on the outdoor patios, having a beer, eating some schnitzel, or grabbing dessert. Everyone was out enjoying the sun. It was so lovely!

My parents were ready for a nap after our stroll through the charming town, so we all walked back towards the ship.

Breisach nature walk

It was still only 3PM when D and I dropped my parents off back at the ship and we needed to kill time. So we decided to walk down a large path tracing the riverbanks where many were biking, fishing, and jogging.

Spring was truly in the air! We came across so many birds with their cute, newborn chicks and others still nesting and nursing their brood.

After about 15 minutes of walking down the river, we came across a nice lake and spent some time birdwatching.

We saw a common kingfisher diving at the lake there -- it was literally one of the most exciting things that happened on our Europe trip!!! I still get stoked thinking about it. If you've never seen a photo of a common kingfisher, click here. They're so beautiful! It took me a second to process what I saw -- the flash of bright orange and metallic blue -- right before a splash in the water. Wish I reacted fast enough to get a photo, but it was so hard keeping up with it.

As we walked back to the ship, we stopped to watch the nesting swan fending off some pesky ravens trying to steal an egg.

Once we were back on the boat, we took a shower and waited for the dinner bell to ring.

If you'd like to follow the rest of our adventures in our 20-day trip through the Rhine River region of Europe, you can find the whole collection of posts in 20 days on the Rhine River (2023).