A Night in the National Park

Twenty minutes beyond our own park, the Black Forest National Park begins. Since 2014, no one has interfered with it – the forest is allowed to turn wild again.

Night is when the forest leaves its strongest impression. At around ten, as the fire is lit back at the house, you set off with a national park ranger. Fifteen minutes in, your eyes have adjusted to the darkness. You hear an owl, the calls of deer in autumn, then long stretches of nothing – and that nothing is the true reason to be here. On clear nights, the sky above the Hornisgrinde holds stars that are no longer visible from the brightly lit Rhine Plain.

Where exactly you go is the rangers call on that night – it depends on the weather, the season and what the forest is up to. You simply follow.

When you return, the lights are still on. Tea will be waiting, and your bed is not far.