Black Forest - not a cakewalk!

I have few regrets of my German sojourn. Not even of not carrying a camera with me to record for posterity. But one thing I really miss doing was making a trip to the nearby Black forest - a major tourist attraction in those part of Germany. Administratively, the Black Forest belongs completely to the state of Baden-Württemberg to which Endingen also belongs.
Black forest is also the famous German cake originating from that part of Germany and named after this forest, now available in most popular Indian bakeries and restaurants.
I asked my hosts in Germany whether I could do a bit of hiking in the Black Forest. I particularly asked them whether it would be dangerous with snakes and ferocious wild animals which I should look out for, like maybe wolves or wild dogs. My host laughed out loud and commented that there were no snakes in Europe - at least of the venomous kind, and none of the wild creatures one would expect in a jungle. And he added that the only thing I should be afraid was of getting lost.
I found that strange. A forest with no ferocious creatures! And getting lost! And about smoking, my host had said there were no restrictions unless you were responsible for a forest fire!
One Saturday evening, when I was off work, I decided I would at least try to see if I could make it to the fringes of the Black Forest. I walked to the outskirts of town and I could see the hills comprising the famous Kaisertuhl (seat of Kaiser). I started sweating as the temperature was unusually high for a German sumemr. A few kilometers and I would be well into the black forest. I wished I had someone to accompany me as I neared the hills when I remembered with a start what my host had said - nothing to fear, except getting lost.
I chickened out. I didn't want to get lost in a forest in a strange land. I had hiked in many a Indian jungle, but I knew what to expect. But not here. So I gave up my plans for the Black Forest hike and glumly returned to the safety of my room to cook my evening meal with a late night German TV show for company.