Morning at Brend and Hexenlochmühle
21 May 2018
After one more morning of exquisite breakfast, we bid our farewell to Berggasthof Brend. As we checked out, the guy couldn’t find our room in the book. We gave him our room number again, to which he said, “I didn’t think it was yours, I saw a German name!” Yes, the bright red hair and freckles usually has people guessing Irish, but I do have a German side and carry a German last name as well. I also recently discovered that the part my German family originally came from is not too far from where we were. Maybe that’s why it feels like home here, it’s in the blood.
We spent some time on the grounds around the hotel. It is so peaceful with such an amazing view. We climbed the tower, walked through the fields, and looked out over the mountains and valleys in the distance. Eventually, it was time to say our goodbye. We followed the same offshoot road from Brend that we took yesterday, going through the small village of Gütenbach nearby where we hiked to Balzer Herrgott. This time we looped south along windy roads through the woods, hugging the tight curves and sharp turns. It’s a nice balance of trying to admire the stunning scenery and trying not to send the car flying off the road! As we curved around one more bend, we saw the giant water-wheel pop up before us.
Hexenlochmühle is a beautiful brown building surrounded by the forest, the type of place that you likely imagine when reading those German fairy tales or think of the Black Forest. A little stream flows past, and there are a couple water-wheels that are turned by this stream, generating the power for the building. Inside they have a smokehouse deli section, lots of schnapps and liqueurs, various souvenirs, and a café as well! We absolutely love this place! The aroma of the smoked Black Forest Ham hits you as soon as you step through the door. That is an absolute must buy when we are here. We gazed in the cases quick but made our way around back to the outdoor café. We wandered around the property taking photos before settling in to a spot under the tent and kicked back to enjoy the pleasant day. We had our coffees with a slice of the famous Black Forest cake and one of the light airy cheese cakes as well. Coffee, kirschtorte, and clean mountain air... what could possibly be better?
We stopped back in the shop where we sampled some sausage sticks and schnapps. We got a few sticks to snack on during hikes and took a pack of the Black Forest ham. The ham will be breakfast over the next few days. I also bought a bottle of their krauterlikor. Basically, krauterlikor is like a German amaro, though maybe it is more accurate to call amaro Italian krauterlikor. It has been a long tradition in this part of the world, and I really love it. The herbal, bitter, strong drink is the perfect after-meal sipper. Some people are familiar with the bigger names – Underberg and of course Jagermeister – but the small batch makers are really great to discover. And the best part is that a little goes a very long way, so the bottle will last quite a while.
All this goodness under one beautiful, water-wheel powered Black Forest roof!
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