We celebrated Zander’s 13th birthday in the Black Forest in southwestern Germany. It is known for its cuckoo clocks, black forest cake and The Grimm brothers’ fairy tales. From afar, the forest appears black because the trees grow so densely.

Triberg and tourism

We spent most of our time in the tourist town of Triberg. After we showed our Covid certificates, the owners of the hotel and restaurants received us very friendly.

I admired the most beautiful traditional clothes of the sales and service staff. The men wear leather pants with suspender belts and waistcoats. The women wear colourful skirts with white lace blouses rounded off with an apron. We could understand the area’s German quite well, and the people politely tolerated our efforts to speak it.

Cuckoo Clocks

The area is known for its cuckoo clocks. It is quite an experience to visit such a shop since the clocks play the most beautiful tunes, and the cuckoo sounds remind you of the forest. We also viewed the largest cuckoo clock in the world. It is therapeutic to look a the giant gearwork. Some of the cuckoo clocks are unique and sought-after collectable items.

A German clockmaker, Franz Ketterer, invented the first cuckoo clock with the cuckoo bird and sounds during the 1600s. Double bellows that send air through small pipes create the sound.

Forest and waterfalls

Germany’s highest waterfalls are in Triberg, and we visited the park. Several footpaths lead you to the 164m falls. The atmosphere is calm with the green forest that shows signs of yellow. I loved the sound of falling water mixed with beautiful bird sounds. We even saw some squirrels excited about the peanuts that the visitors handed out. The squirrels in Europe are much darker in colour than the South African squirrels.

Black Forest Cake

We promised Zander a big slice of black forest cake for his birthday. It is a popular treat, and guests can order it with or without alcohol. It consisted of several layers of chocolate sponge cake interspersed with cream and cherries and was rich and delicious.

The Hotel that was once a clock factory

We stayed in St. George on Saturday night. The hotel interested me because it used to be a clock factory for 130 years. In 2016 the new owners converted it into the hotel FederWERK with the restaurant FeinWERK. In the corridors, black and white photos of people working in the factory hang on the walls. 

We kicked Zander’s 13th birthday off with coffee on the veranda while we watched the sunrise over the Black Forest. I always feel a little emotional and deeply grateful on my children’s birthdays for having them in my life. Zander’s wisdom, compassion, and sense of humour are like sunshine in this Switzerland period. The weather was gracious with us because an hour later, during breakfast, it started raining with thunder.

The outing and the weather worked out perfectly.

regards

Emsia