Germany’s Black Forest: The Tourist Trap and the Bliss

This two-part clip from the Black Forest illustrates how, wherever you travel, you can have dramatically different experiences in the same destination. Most travelers, driven by “bucket lists,” get sucked into the highly promoted tourist trap version of a place. (In the Black Forest, they end up in Titisee — part one of this clip.) Some, however, step away from the commercial zone (so expert at bamboozling travelers and corrupting the industry) and manage to reach that “off the beaten path” dimension of the same sight (part two of this clip).
The sad reality is that the vast majority of visitors to Europe’s most-dreamed-about destinations have their romantic vision trampled by mobs of travelers on big bus tours and cruises. (Here in the Black Forest, it’s river cruises.) And the even sadder reality is that most don’t even realize the lost opportunity. The goal for us “Back Door travelers”: to turn our travel dreams into a pristine and unforgettable reality. In this clip, my guide, Simone Brixel (Black Forest Tours), shows us two very different sides of the Black Forest. The choice is yours.