Last weekend Rick, Jersey, and I spent a night in Germany's Black Forest. Known as 'Schwarzwald' in German, it's located in the southwest corner of the country near the border of France and Switzerland. We were there to see
Germany's highest waterfall in the small town of Triberg (pronounced
Treeberg in German), which is a short and easy three hour drive from our house.
As we approached our destination it became very apparent that we were heading into the land of the cuckoo clock. Every establishment boasted that they in fact had the 'Original Schwarzwald Kuckucksuhr' or 'Original Black Forest Cuckoo Clock' for the non-German speaking visitor. It soon became overwhelming and once we started looking it was apparent that they were all extremely overpriced as well.
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| They really do... |
We had a hotel room right in the middle of town that was on the fourth story above a bank. Rick and I couldn't help but giggle when we had to fit us, our bags, and Jersey into a very tiny elevator. Jersey, being the world-traveler that she is, just took it all in stride while turning her head back and forth trying to figure out all of the noises the elevator was making. For the duration of our stay, we laughed every time the three of us squeezed into the ancient elevator to go up and down from the hotel.
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| View from our hotel balcony |
Upon our arrival, we checked into our hotel and had a quick lunch at another hotel before making our way to the waterfall. The waterfall didn't disappoint and it was breath taking. There were multiple paved walkways and bridges criss-crossing the different tiers of the waterfall. Even though there were lots of people making their way up and down the paths, it was easy to get lost in nature's spectacular beauty. There's something so calming about the loud rush of the water cascading down the rocks and we could have stared at it forever. The air was warm but you could feel the cold from the waterfall and it was such a pleasant contrast. Even Jersey sniffed at the cool air while we stood and took it all in. The forest surrounding the waterfall was also a sight to see, with many different shades of brown and green and trees so thick that you couldn't see the sky above. The dense tree cover came in handy a few times as we tried to stay dry from some rain showers while we were on the mountain.
That night we had dinner at a cozy place that was having a wedding reception, a high school reunion, and another party all under one roof. We could hear music coming from various locations throughout the restaurant as we enjoyed a Rothaus beer (brewed in the Black Forest) and some delicious food. Jersey was exhausted from the day, so she snoozed quietly under the table. (Side note - I love that German restaurants always welcome your dog. Jersey isn't going to know what to do with herself when we're back in the States and she can't go out to dinner with us-ha!).
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| Beer garden next to the stream created by the waterfall |
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| Hotel/guesthouse where we had lunch on the first day |
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| Fun with hats! |
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| The colors of Deutschland's flag |
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| 'Original' Black Forest Ham |
The next morning we climbed back up to the waterfall and this time the sun was shining, which makes for much better photos. We found a secluded area high above the waterfall where we let Jersey off of her leash and the three of us had a blast playing in the stream and on the rocks. We enjoyed a nice lunch at an outside beer garden, did a little souvenir shopping, and then headed home. It was a wonderful 24 hours in the land of cuckoo clocks, ham, and cake!
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| Directional signs for the different mountain trails |
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Self portait with the timer on the camera.
We had a wonderful time on our trip! |
