As we continued along the appointed Gate 1 itinerary, we found ourselves repeatedly saying, "I wish we could stay here longer." The Black Forest was one of those places, and we only got a tiny tour-bus-friendly taste of it. I would have loved to explore some of the actual villages and towns of the Black Forest, but our one night there was special in itself and a whole lot of fun to enjoy as a small group of travelers.
As we left Bregenz the morning of May 21, once again by 8:30 am, we enjoyed going through several long, long underground tunnels as we traveled north towards the Black Forest. I worried to think what would happen if there was an accident in there, or if we came up on stopped traffic (you obviously don't voice those concerns at the time, haha), but thankfully vehicles flowed along smoothly.
Yellow rapeseed plant fields provided beautiful color along our journey. The rapeseed is used to make Canola oil.
I don't know the name of this building, or the town, but it just jumped out at me to photograph as we zoomed on by.
The morning ride was just over two hours, and we did stop for a quick restroom break for part of that. Somewhere in these posts I'll talk more about the bathrooms (I have a video too, haha), but not today. Thinking of lunch, we parked our bus right alongside a dozen other buses in the tourist town at Lake Titisee.
Now since we ARE actually tourists, I thought this was a fun little stop for a couple of hours, although it did have that feeling of a "designed tourist destination" ... for those local, think of something like Helen, Georgia, only smaller. But the lake was beautiful, the weather was perfect, we were all excited, and I don't have one single negative thing to say. For a long lunch break stop, it was fantastic!
(One quick story I'll insert here, because it fits okay, and Jim just reminded me about it..... I think it was the next day after this that we were on the bus going somewhere and I jokingly told our tour director, "Don't take us to a tourist trap!" He responded with, "But you ARE tourists. Would you rather I take you to a business trap?" haha! Well no, in that case, carry on!! haha!)
As we'd learn that day, the Black Forest is THE hot-spot for cuckoo clocks!! According to Google, "The Black Forest region in Germany is home to a number of cuckoo clock makers who use the traditional craftsmanship started in the 1700s — when the cuckoo clock was first invented."
They even had a giant cuckoo clock on the side of one of the buildings. Every half-hour and hour, the cuckoo bird up top would chirp the time and then the wooden people would circle across the balcony while the music played. We saw renditions of similar ones in other cities on the tour, but this one was the best. (I do have a video of it also, but the noise from people in the background is too distracting.... dang folks, I'm trying to document here! haha!)
During the Lake Titisee stop, we were doing "lunch on our own" and everyone was spread out at various restaurants. As we walked along trying to decide on one, our tour guide Farid saw us and suggested Treschers. It was a lovely restaurant/hotel right on the lake and we were taken to a shaded table overlooking the water. I was very happy with the atmosphere and the food... and the wine! haha!
"Please ma'am, can I have a crust of bread?"
This is salmon with white asparagus. The white asparagus was the "in season" crop during our week there and everyone was featuring it. With the hollandaise sauce, it was delicious!! I think I prefer the white over the green asparagus.
I didn't notice it on that day, but just now, the "hat" that the deer is wearing (with all the red balls), we were starting to find on various items in the stores and weren't sure what it was. Traditionally, the hat with red balls indicated "single ladies" while solid black decor meant they were married.
After lunch it was back to the bus and just a short drive to our destination for the night ... Hotel Hofgut Sternen at the foot of the Ravenna Gorge in Breitnau.
This is an older photo of Hofgut Sternen that I found on their Facebook page. Since I obviously didn't have a drone with me to photograph aerial views, this is the best way to give you a sense of the place itself. The red roof on the left side was the hotel building that we stayed in. And this is all one destination ... providing the hotel, restaurant, shopping, hiking, etc., in one place, just off the highway in the Black Forest. We got there close to 2 pm and just stayed overnight, but we did a lot during that time!! I can't imagine you'd need more than one night there. It was a great place, although more touristy than authentic probably. But the weather, ahhhhh, probably the absolute best weather day of the whole trip! I could just sit next to the stream (photo at top of post) and soak up that clear, clean, cool mountain air.
This was another working cuckoo clock and the figures would come out and dance around the balcony every half and full hour. The cuckoo clock business was there, and the building to the right side was where the glass blowing demonstration and shop were.
When we arrived, our group went straight to the shop and watched a demonstration on cuckoo clocks. The guy showed us several parts and the different kinds of clocks (some you wind daily, others weekly; some do only the "cuckoos" on the hour, and others play music as well; some you have to manually wind and others are electronic.)
Cuckoo clocks originated in the Black Forest area and today there are still many families who work in the business. He told us that typically each woodworker will make several of just one part of a clock. Once all the parts from the various woodworkers are combined, then the finished cuckoo clock is assembled. They've been doing that in this area since the 1700s. The details on the clocks themselves were exquisite, as reflected in the pricetags!
After some time admiring the things for sale, our group walked next door for a glass-blowing demonstration. The artist was working on a glass bird while a lady told us all about the business and the items that were for sale in that store. At that location, they also make their own glass, not just blow it into art! I thought that part was pretty cool.
When that was finished, we were able to check into the hotel and had a couple of hours to just relax before the evening fun began. I do love a good afternoon nap! Our room was great and we opened these two big windows to let the cool breeze in. We slept with the windows open that night too, and it was so nice!
I thought it was funny that there were just fitted sheets on the bed and then a single duvet for each person folded up, but most of our hotel stays were like that. Before the trip, I also read online that many places do not provide washcloths, only bath towels and hand towels. We found that to be true at about half of our stays, so I was glad I brought some washcloths along myself.
There were a few different buildings on the property that were part of the hotel. This was ours.
After some time to refresh, our group of 10 gathered again, this time to go into the bakery ... but we weren't going to eat, we were going to work. haha!
Jim getting it done! Also notice the mannequin at the far end in the background ... she's wearing the hat with red balls. If you read the info on one of my photos above (of the menu at lunch), the tradition says that ladies with the red ball hats were single & available! Sorry chic, this fella is already taken! ;-)
We all partnered up and each team worked to assemble a traditional Black Forest Cake. The cake itself was cooked the day before, because it has to cool completely, but we were in charge of putting it all together. Our instructor was fabulous, quick witted, and funny! She had to help each group of us in some parts of the process ... especially getting the icing to lay just right. It was such a FUN hands-on event though!
The clear glass bottle of liquid is cherry schnapps, which had to be drizzled on one layer of the cake. Of course Jim had to taste it. Then he's mixing cherry juice with the schnapps for an improved flavor. And eating cherries, or tasting the icing. Get this man outta the kitchen! haha!!
Somehow though we finished our masterpiece!! Everyone's cakes were put into the refrigerator and after our dinner that night, we got a slice of one for dessert. Although it's pretty to look at, the taste was just not to our liking. The icing is not sweet. It's just cream with nothing added to it. And the cake itself wasn't sweet. The schnapps were so strong too. I guess it's a cake that has to grow on you! Don't worry, I won't be adding it to my Thanksgiving table. But it was sure fun to make!!
Jim was concerned as to what would happen to all the cakes we made. The girl told us that legally they couldn't sell them, because we weren't employees. But they eat some of them and then give several away to food bank groups. I'm thinking they probably just trash them, but maybe not. haha!
From making cakes, we moved across the building directly to a table for drinking! She talked about each of these different kinds of local beverages ... wines, liquors, schnapps, and we got to sample each of them as much as we wanted. But after a few sips of each, I could certainly feel the appeal. haha! We also learned the word, "Prost!" which means "Cheers!", and we used it throughout the rest of the trip ... carefully though as we didn't want to "screw" it up. The girl told us that if you didn't look the other person directly into the eyes while saying "Prost!" that both people would suffer seven years of bad sex! haha! No one wanted to risk that!!
Our dinner followed in the same building. The grill was going outside and the two guys cooking had put out a tremendous buffet spread of food just for us! We had the whole restaurant to ourselves. We even had a local fella come and sing while playing the accordion. It was an evening of lots of food, lots of beverages, and lots of group laughs for sure. And I could have totally gone to bed and slept after all that. But, we were only there for one night and the weather was the best, so Jim and I decided to take a short walk and enjoy a bit of the outdoors.
And it was so nice. Totally. Some in our group had hiked up to a waterfall that afternoon, and my initial thought was to do that, but then I saw the steep hill and after all that food we just finished ... haha, nope, not for me! So we wandered around the river area (loved), saw the goats on the side of the mountain (love again), and stood under the incredibly high train overpass as one actually passed by. Can you see our tiny selves under the bridge?
This black & white one looks like he's laying on his side, but he's actually standing on an almost vertical part of the mountainside.
This is Jim's "rock climbing" face. haha!
Closing out today hand-in-hand with my fella and so thankful and grateful to be able to explore such beautiful places in the world! Tomorrow it's out of the woods and back to the city for us!