Wednesday 22 August 2012

The Worlds Largest Cuckoo Clock

Tuesday 21 August


Another excellent breakfast. Having packed the car the first stop was the local wine cooperative in the village. A modern building that shared its premised with the tourist information office. Various wines were sampled and we concluded by buying 8 white, 4 red and 2 rose. The wines safely stored it was then off to Triburg home of the cuckoo clock.











About 3 km out of town we passed the world's largest cuckoo clock. We retraced out steps for a closer look.  The guide book tells us 2 clocks in the area claim to be the largest but this one is recognised by the Guinness Book of Records. Looking at the outside of the clock is free but for a more detailed tour of the works involves 2 euro fee and an automatic turnstile. We arrived too late to see the cuckoo in action as it only comes out on the hour. The tour concluded with the shop and it was then on to Triburg. Kate was happy because we were back on route. We parked in the town centre. The town is set in the middle of 3 mountains and has Germany's largest waterfall. 3 euros gains you entrance and then is a 15 minute walk takes you past the 7 falls. The walk can be extended with additional trails in the woods.









Nut Cracker Bird

It was then time for a late afternoon snack as we missed lunch having filled up on breakfast. Refreshed Lyn set off to buy a cuckoo clock. The cheaper clocks have plastic parts and are machined carved. We had a detailed explanation of what to look for in one of the shops, "Home of the Master Carvers". The better quality ones are manufactured in the Black Forrest and are hand carved. A cheap clock was around 79 euros , one that was hand carved around 200 and more elaborated examples fetching  over 1000 euros. We frequented several of the shops included one that claimed to have over 1000 clocks. Lyn eventually tried of trying to find the "perfect clock" and we opted to go round the museum instead (5 euros entrance). What appeared to be a small building from the outside expanded like a tardis and took us though 16 rooms dedicated to the history of the area. Several of the working exhibits required a small fee if you wanted to see them in action. We left Triberg at around 5:20 for the 40 minute drive to Pension Baarblick .  Kate taking us straight to our destination. Our large room is on the top floor and includes basic cooking facilities. The only disappointment is you cannot eat in the village and have to drive the 6km to Braunlingen. This turned out to be a pleasant little town. We ate siting outside and had a good meal at Hotel Lindenhof . On a future visit we would consider staying there. After our meal Kate suggested a short detour to try and find the "Donauquelle" , the source of the Danube. After 10 minutes following her directions and then a short walk down some unlit steps and we were there. Much to our surprise! Photos were taken but would be clearer in daylight.




Most normal visitors obviously visit during the day. We returned to the pension just after 11 and quietly made our way upstairs.

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