Window shopping up the hill, we found a little tucked away shop, Bruno Roth's carving shop. Entering a tight walkway, there was a stack of planks on your left and then a small courtyard with a bird feeder. On the right was a covered wall with little shelves of Christmas ornaments. Walking through another door we found a hallway covered with cuckoo clocks all clicking loudly. The hallway split into stairs going up a level and a workroom to the left under the stairs. That is where we met Mr. Roth and his wife. They were both very friendly and as I looked around at all the wooden figures and ornaments displayed on the tables, Mr. Roth lent us his upstairs key. Heading up stairs we found a room full of wonderful wooden treats. There were Eastern German nativities that have a fan on top and candles around the bottom- they spin when the candles are lit- very clever! Hanging on the wall was an amazing assortment of cuckoo clocks all going off at random times and on one shelf we saw nativity music boxes.
Now I had plans to pick up a nativity and a music box while in Germany. My mom had a beautiful music box which she got from Germany, and now was the chance for us to find a perfect match. Our nativity music box plays Silent Night- now we just have to remember to get the stamp from customs so we don't have to pay the German tax. Before we left the shop, Mark asked Mr. Roth about the chalk markings above the entryway- most homes and business that we pass had the chalked writing "20-C+M+B-05" above their doors. Mr. Roth said that on January 6th (when the 3 Wiseman came), people who donate to charities get their houses marked to demonstrate their good deed. We also got to see some pictures from last winter- wow- they get an amazing amount of snow.
Continuing up the street, we entered the City Shop where tucked away in the back, we found a copy of Zicke Zacke Huhnerkacke- a chicken matching game with beautiful wooden chickens- and it was on sale! There were also really cute displays for "sheep", "pig" and "cow" life- rather like the frogs that were so popular in the Hallmark stores here- each animal with a different pose/saying. Tackling the steeper part of the hill, we entered the House of 1000 clocks- and it really was! In the entry way was a really large- Mark height cuckoo clock across from an odd manikin. After a quick tour of many cuckoo clocks and some more traditional grandfather clocks upstairs, we headed for the peaceful streets to the Bakerei by the Rathaus. I had a salami, cream cheese, carrot, and lettuce wrap while Mark tried a chicken sandwich. Note to self- we should make our sandwiches out of the long rolls when we get back home!
Across the street from the clock shop was a packed wood working shop with a beautiful wooden pferd (horse) that I fell in love with. I carried it around with me for a bit and even took a picture of it, but an unpainted wooden horse for 25 euros was a bit much. In the shop there were also very realistic 3-D scenes that Mark was captivated with- every little shop was replicated, including the bakerei’s that we ate at so often. There were also lovely wooden rose plates, but these were meant to be wall hangings, so no go.
Across from the waterfall was the Schwarzwald (black forest) museum with all the history of Triberg and the black forest area. Inside we took a pictorial tour of the settlement and development of the town. We saw hats with pompoms that were all the fashion long ago. There was also beautiful wheat plating which helped revitalize the town when they were strapped for cash- I hope some of my pictures come out- I would like to give it a try some time. There was also a room dedicated to a famous wood carver who also did the town's rathaus- a stairwell, doorframe, chest and many odds and ends. We played several of the player orchestras- one in the main room had manikins beating on drums while in the clock room there were slightly out of tune player pianos. Passing through a small dedication to winter sports in the area (toboggans and such) we walked into the cave-like geology exhibit- they even had black lights for the fluorite. Exiting the cave we saw a large train model of the area- and had a glimpse of how precarious the trains look riding along the side of the steep hills.
After the museum, we continued left down the street to the Master Cuckoo Carvers (MCC) guild. When we entered, the energetic owner told us all about the difference between the mass-produced clocks and their handmade clocks. Namely a good clock is deeply carved with wooden hands and face showing more realistic animals and wood life. All of his MCC clocks are handmade in Triberg and looking around we found our perfect clock. Ours does not have any animals, just beautiful Linden leaves- in some ways it almost looks like a road sign or a birdhouse. The store ships the clocks too- so we should get a wonderful surprise in 3-4 weeks.
On the happy high from purchasing the perfect cuckoo clock, we decided to tackle the waterfall. At the entryway you can purchase peanuts and we saw little kids throwing the legumes to very dark red and black squirrels- they were about the same size as the ones in the states, but much more apprehensive- kids must have gotten too close some times. As we walked up the path we also was some birds with white and black spots- Mark got a good picture of them- they reminded me of blackbirds from here- happily grabbing peanuts, but never getting too close or sitting still for very long. The path along the waterfall was very well maintained, it would stay close to the water for a bit and then wind away for a less steep path, then come in close for another good view. There were about three really nice spots to see the waterfall and we only went 1/3 of the way up- we were still horribly sore from yesterdays travels and the idea of 700+ steps was not appealing just to see the top… The hike itself was rather steep but cool and misty, with oodles of people speaking every language. There were also interesting little factoids about famous people who have visited the falls, and that this preserved location still keeps the original mixture of spruce, ash and beech trees where elsewhere logging had changed the black forest to contain mainly spruce trees.
After that nice bit of exercise, we walked past the entryway and straight to the Pfaff restaurant across the street (a great recommendation from our guide book). Mark got a pils (furltenberg) with 2 rolled spinach ravioli topped with diced bacon and onions with a side of german potato salad and a salad with creamy haus dressing. I got a sprite and Bratwarst with great smoky sauce and amazingly wonderful French fries, a matching salad and a spot of mustard. Our meals also came with a cute pile of matchstick carrots and what we think was a pickled radish- it was really good (and I got to eat Mark’s). Now for desert, when in the black forest… I got the black forest cake (a very light cake- soft on the chocolate layers and the frosting was almost like eating air- the cherries were really mild too- like cherries that were preserved, but put in a water mixture) and since Mark couldn’t get that since it has almond extract, he got warm apple strudel with ice cream and whipped cream- so good!!
With full tummies we headed down the main street to the City Store and hired a taxi to our hostel- the best 5 euro spent! Once in our humble abode, we finished washing and drying our dirty clothes- and while that was doing its thing, we took a quick hike across the street up a logging road. The method of logging was very interesting, the trees are thinned out and then lined up next too the road so that the roadside trees hold up the newly cut lumber. The undergrowth was trod rather badly, but the forest maintains a healthy look. We found a path going around our hostel and followed it around the backside to find a small sitting area and further up a seesaw. Everywhere you walk in Germany you get the feeling that someone else has walked there before you. As we walked up to the road the path got steeper and someone had put in convenient steps to reach the top.
As we waited for our laundry to dry, we pulled out Ziche Zacke and played two rounds- it is really a beautiful game fun for kids and adults! Once our clothes were done we packed up, leaving behind Mark’s “Game of Thrones” novel in hopes that someone else will enjoy.
