Fairytale Village in the Black Forest
When we found out we would be moving back to Germany after spending the past three years in Japan, we were beyond thrilled. We immediately began searching for a home for our family… one that was located in a nice area, with four bedrooms, garage, and a large yard, which after living in Germany before, we knew was no small feat.
Shortly after beginning our search online, we stumbled across a beautiful home in the charming German village of Calw. Located about an hour west of Stuttgart, Germany, and an hour east of France, Calw is situated in the dense Black Forest {Schwarzwald}, which is best known for cuckoo clocks, black forest cake, and the setting of the Brothers Grimm Fairytales.
The town has everything we need, with dozens of restaurants, nightlife, banks, grocery stores, clothing shops, pharmacies {Apotheken}, cafes and ice cream shops, and even McDonald’s and Subway. In addition to the weekly farmer’s market where we purchase local produce, cheese, wine, bread, fish, organic meats, and flowers, there is a farmer who lives five minutes walk down the street from our house where we buy fresh milk and eggs.
Life moves at a much slower pace here, and I have discovered an appreciation for simplicity: eating seasonal food and fresh produce, taking walks in the country, picking flowers, sipping wine at the biergarten overlooking the river, biking the kids to school, listening to the church bells ring throughout the day, enjoying a daily ritual of cappuccino and cake {kaffee und kuchen}, playing at the park, pruning rose bushes and drying lavender bundles, savoring a scoop of ice cream on a sunny afternoon while admiring the beautiful flower boxes in the windows along the town’s cobblestone streets.
We absolutely love living in this picturesque village and feel so blessed to have the opportunity to raise our children here. They are enrolled in a german kindergarten where they are already learning to speak German {and hopefully soon they can begin acting as our translators}.
