Sunny village house in the High Black Forest with wonderful views towards the Alps

A large rambling house arranged over 3 floors, nestling in the small village of Happingen, 850m up in one of quietest areas of the High Black Forest (Hochschwarzwald), overlooking the Rhein Valley and the Swiss Alps. It is the oldest house in the village and if you go deep down into the small vaulted cellar, you can feel its age. Before street names and house numbers were recently introduced, the postal address of this house was Happingen 1. We own half of the building and share responsibility for its upkeep with our neighbours who live here all year round. We bought the house in 2014 when we finally sold our place in the UK having decided to settle in Germany. We live and work in Heidelberg and rent a small apartment there, but we wanted a place where family and friends could gather that was quiet with plenty of nature on the doorstep and transport connections nearby. Nick is a teacher and Alexa can usually work from home, so we come down here during the school holidays, and for long weekends whenever we can. The house is by no means a show home, but it is large and comfortable and relaxing with all the facilities you will need. The large garden and the outlook is a joy. There are plenty of places to sit and admire the view over to Switzerland (we are only 20 minutes or so from the border) and there is plenty of birdlife to be seen; from red kites, buzzards, kestrels and sparrow hawks, to yellow hammers, fieldfares, woodpeckers and the occasional marsh tit. There are times when the silence is so pure, you can hear the birds` wings beating - we love that. On the ground floor (there are 2 cellar levels below that!), we have a large living room, a dining room, a kitchen, a utility room, an office come occasional bedroom, a library and a bathroom. On the first floor, there are 2 large bedrooms, a bathroom and a large split level lounge. At the top of the building, there is a further large bedroom. The house itself is vegetarian and non-smoking, but there are plenty of places to eat nearby. The house is not entirely suitable for young children but our grandchildren love it here, and, if this blurb speaks to you, then you probably will too!

About the location

Happingen is a perfect getaway with its forests and meadows and a view that is second to none. You can walk from the house and explore the tranquil parish of Dachsberg with its scattered villages and well-marked footpaths. In the summer, we swim in a small lake nearby called the Klosterweiher where there is also a restaurant. Nearby, Sankt Blaisen with its impressive cathedral, has a large number of cafes, restaurants, farmers market and shops to suit all tastes. A car is useful here, but there is also a good bus service connecting all the significant places and transport hubs, such as the railway stations of Albbruck and Seebrugg which link you to Basel and Freiburg. Day trips by train are possible to both of these larger cities, and some of scenery on those railway lines is amazing. Bikes, e-bikes and e-cars, can be hired in the area. The village itself has a bit of bustle about it during the week, with its 3 farms, 3 carpenters, dry stone waller, sculptor, artist, garage, and other trades. Fresh unpasteurised milk can be collected from the small farm across the road, bread is available from the farm shop in nearby Wilfingen, and a lovely schnapps is produced a km away in a tiny distillery in Wolpadingen. Dachsberg (badger hill) rises to 1000m, but, if you want to go higher, the highest peaks of the Black Forest, up to 1493m, are very close by, and are beautiful. Two of the most spectacular long distance walking paths in Germany, the Albsteig and the Schluchtensteig, cross in Dachsberg. All in all, a very nice place.

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