It had been ages since I’d been to Freiburg. Good wine was the order of the day back when an old friend studied law here in the 1990s. But now I was back to pay more attention to Freiburg’s beer scene before venturing into the Black Forest for some beer hiking.
Close to Switzerland and the Alsatian region of France, Freiburg is a city of gabled roofs and brownstone buildings famous for its delicately wrought Gothic cathedral and its brooks (Bächle) that crisscross the Altstadt. The Münsterplatz, which wraps around the cathedral, is a bustling square lined with stately buildings and home to a farmers’ market held every day except Sunday. Shaded courtyards and narrow cobblestone lanes provide respite from the crowds and also from the summer sun in this, Germany’s warmest city.
The heat is one of the historical reasons for those Bächle burbling through town in their narrow stone channels. Once used to extinguish fires and provide water for livestock, the channels were constructed mainly as a form of cooling. Even if these valiant brooks may not be as effective against today’s temperatures, the sight and sound of them are refreshing, enough to cool you off by dint of suggestion. But watch your step as you wander through the Altstadt after a few beers. Local lore has it that if you accidentally step into a Bächle, you’ll marry a citizen of Freiburg!
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