Last weekend, our program did the first traveling of the semester! We divided into three groups: the first went to Titisee, the second to Sasbachwalden (I think), and my group went to Staufen! We hiked up to the ruins – they’ve been around since the High Middle Ages! Around 1100 ad.

The hills all around are covered with vineyards…

From the ruins you can see France in one direction, and the Black Forest in the other! This view shows Germany:

Staufen is also famous for claiming to be the place where Faust died – from the famous German legend of an intellectual who sold his soul for more knowledge.

Today, it suffers from shifts in the city foundations due to some drilling for gas energy a few years ago. Huge cracks split through walls and buildings…

Big red signs like that one cross the cracks throughout the city. They say, “Staufen must not break!”

Before our group left, we enjoyed some kaffee und kuchen, or coffee and cake! I had the traditional Black Forest cake, famous in the region! Yummmm!

It was a great trip and I can’t wait to travel to some more places in Europe! : )