We’ve gone away for the weekend to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary. Foolish people that we are, we decided to make it a family affair. The children and the dog are what we have spent most of the last ten years on, so why not celebrate with them? I suggested.

I am a fool.

At lot of the weekend has been a disaster. Holidays with children just aren’t the same as holidays without them, but a holiday with a toddler is just not a holiday. We’d forgotten about the tantrums, the food throwing and the constant dissatisfaction which manifests itself in crying, shouting, whinging and hitting.

Still though, in a way I am glad we came to this part of the Black Forest. We hadn’t been in this neck of the woods before and, while not as spectacular as the western side of the forest, it has a lot of charm.

We are staying in the town of Bad Liebenzell, a sleepy little town that seems stück in the late 1970s. On Friday, heading out for dinner, we passed what I thought to be a beautiful bungalow. Yesterday on passing it in daylight, we saw that it is a cafe and we popped in for a cuppa.

I am very glad we stopped here because it turned out to be a beautifully renovated house, stylishly furnished and oozing calm. The toddler did his best to ruin our coffee break. He wasn’t foooled by the air of calm, but I managed to get a few photos of the interior as I tried to capture him the seven times he ran away from our table.

The cafe consists of six or seven separate rooms, individually decorated with a combination of vintage and new furniture. Benches loaded with cushions line the walls of several rooms, creating a cosy feel. If it wasn’t for the toddler, I could have stayed here for hours with a book and my cappucino.

Throughout the cafe the walls are painted a pale grey and the woodwork is done in clean, glossy white. The furnishings are painted in petrol blue, white and grey, with yellows and reds in the soft furnishings and the flowers.

Where posible the original fittings or period fittings have been used, as seen best in the windows. Even the glass is partly old glass, which amazed the children by making the cars outside look wobbly.

Most of the rooms contain an ornate metal coatstand of some kind. The freestanding coatstand pictured below was my favoutite. (Bear in mind I was chasing a toddler at the time of taking the photo, hence the poor quality).

The staircase down to the toilets really impressed me – so worn, curved and elegant. It turns out the building is a three story split level building and not a bungalow as it looked from the street.

The river Nagold runs directly behind the cafe and on three sides there is forest, adding the general feeling of calm here.

The walls of the cafe are hung with art from local artists. The space doubles as an exibition venue. The cafe itself opens Thursdays till Sundays from 10am till 6pm and serves homemade cakes baked with seasonal produce.

We had a coffee, a cappuccino, a slice of apple & nut cake, a slice of meringue-topped pear cheesecake and 1L sparkling water for just under €14. Everything was delicious, the surroundings were beautiful and the staff extremely friendly.

If you are ever in the area, call in and enjoy the peace. I’ll keep the toddler well away from here in future.