Yes, I agree, the descenders hint themselves, which makes it more enigmatic. About the "f", no, I firmly believe it to be an "s", if you look at good zoom, you'll see that the supposed crossbar is in fact the ascender of the "m".
"probieren" suggested by Helmut is a more appropriate reading, in my opinion
"probieren" suggested by Helmut is a more appropriate reading, in my opinion

