Triberg/Cafe zur Lilie/Black Forest Cake

 After seeing the Hornberg clock, we thought some cake and coffee wouldn't go amiss. We had heard there was a fabulous place to have Black Forest Cake located near the waterfall in Triberg,

Cafe Restaurant zur Lilie

Wallfahrtsstrasse 3

D-78098 Triberg

Germany

49 (0) 7722 4419

http://www.lilie-triberg.de/

It is a very large cafe and we headed to the older part of it to soak up the charm.

The new part is lovely as well, but we enjoy the ambiance found in the older rooms. If you don't enjoy that, head for the new part in the back of the building.

Old world charm!

We were fascinated by the carvings on these old chairs.

Enough about the chairs, we came for the cake.

Here is where some travelers make a mistake in choosing a Black Forest Cake.

A proper cake has kirschewasser (cherry water) poured over it which, sounds benign. I can assure you it isn't. It is a non-sweet cherry scnapps that packs a kick.

Most Americans will not find this suitable.

The cake from this restaurant is from a very old recipe the waitress tells us.

We ordered one Black Forest Cake mit (with) kirschewasser

and one cake ohne (without) kirschewasser. All four of us agreed that the one without tasted best to us.

Cafe zur Lilie is located very near the base of the Triberg Waterfalls.

These falls are 163 metres high (534 feet).  Mac and I agreed it wasn't a nice enough day to explore the wandering paths up to the falls with little Jonah as he is only 2, but we agreed we'd come back and hike the route so we can blog about it another time.

Mac gives  Zur Lilie and the cake a thumbs up.

Tomorrow I will post a recipe for Black Forest Cake so you can enjoy it at home.

Largest Cuckoo Clock in the World!

Triberg offers fun for the entire family. Whether you are here to enjoy cuckoos, try some Black Forest Cake, hike up to the falls or visit the museum, you are in for a treat.

Yes, you are seeing what you think. That building is a cuckoo clock.

It has been entered in the Guiness book of world records since 1997.

Clock Park Elbe

Schonachback 27

78098 Triberg

They tell me to put 78136 in your GPS to get here.

http://www.uhren-park.de/

You can go inside for a tour.  It is a nominal fee.  Notice the weight outside the window.

The sign says in German "Touching strictly forbidden."

As you head upstairs you are greeted by your automated guide.

You press a button and he will speak to you in English and tell you about the "workings" and the history of this giant cuckoo.

How did cuckoo clocks come to be you ask?

A story that is often repeated is that Franz Anton Ketterer invented the cuckoo clock in 1730. On investigation, this is not true. There were handbooks as early as 1650 which stated that the "cuckoo" had been placed in clocks. It took almost a century for the "cuckoo clocks" to find it's way to the Black Forest, where for many years it remained a niche item. The first Black Forest cuckoo clocks were created between 1740 and 1750.

It is undeniable though, that the Black Forest people developed the cuckoo clock industry.  They are still coming up with new designs.

Notice our guide has a  pack on his back.  He is an  "Uhrenträger" (Literal translation means Clock-carrier but, in this case, it is more like a clock peddler) At one time, these clocks were sold in just this way, peddling them door to door.  In fact, the Uhrenträgerweg (Clock-Peddler Path) is a very popular hiking route in the Black Forest.

The brown bird at the top is the "cuckoo" waiting for the hour to strike so it can go out and make its distinctive call.

The giant bellows that create the "cuckoo's" call.

The inner "workings".

When you are finished with the tour, it dumps you out into the cuckoo clock shop.

Look at this giant cuckoo clock by all the normal size ones.

The clock to the top and right is for my friends who hunt.

Guns and a poor little deer on the top.

Now for the smaller children and the big kids too. I recommend you head over to Hornberg which is only a few miles away.

This is the Hornberg clock. When it plays 20 life-size figures, spin, jump and move to music.  Children just love it. The beauty of  this clock is that you don't have to wait around to hear it play.  By placing 1 euro in a box you can see this delightful show on your child's demand.

There goes that son-in-law jumping for joy again.  He's not "typical" British is he? Not reserved at all.

I don't have an address for the clock but, you can't miss it as you enter Hornberg.

Jonah is our guest thumb upper today!  He LOVED Hornberg clock and gives it two thumbs up.

Tomorrow we will eat Black Forest Cake on the blog.

Lake Constance/Bodensee

 One of my favorite places in Europe is Lake Constance or as the Germans call it, the Bodensee.  This is the third largest lake in Europe. The first mention I can find of Lake Constance in history is AD 43. A Roman geographer called Pomponius Mela mentioned it in his findings.

The lake is located at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee ("upper lake"), the Untersee ("lower lake"), and where the Rhine flows into the lake, called the Seerhein.

The lake borders Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

These are some vineyards that surround Lake Constance. This area is known for it's fruits and wines.

My son-in-law jumping for joy again. I think he needs to go on Britain's next TOP MODEL!

 That's Meersburg in the backround. Those of you that know me, know that Meersburg is one of my all time favorite places to visit.

This is the promenade along the lake in Meersburg.

Jonah and his Mom playing hide and seek on the promenade.

I just had to take a picture of this local for our Kaitlyn. She loves "Gilligan's Island" type outdoor decor.

Jonah wandered around the tree while a man played happy music on his accordian. Jonah was quite taken with his playing. Say, my Dad plays the accordian.  Maybe we'll have another player in the family someday.

We stopped into Hotel Strand-Cafe for a coffee.

What a find this little place is.

I would definately go back and stay here.

Staff was excellent, attentive, spoke English and the setting was superb as it is on the promenade.

Seepromenade 13

88709 Meersburg

Telephone: 07532 9222

http://www.hotel-strandcafe.de/

Jonah and Mac clowning around at the Strand-cafe.

Looking over to Switzerland from Meersburg.

Mac always gives Meersburg and the Lake Constance a thumbs up.

In up coming blogs we'll be out and about in the Black Forest and celebrating another birthday German style!

Hotel Restaurant Adler/Oberstaufen

Hotel Restaurant Adler

Kirchplatz 6

87534 Oberstaufen

Telephone: 0 83 86 93 21-0

http://www.adler-oberstaufen.de/

When we arrived in Oberstaufen we headed for the Fussgängerzone.  These pedestrian zones are usually in the oldest part of the city, where you can walk around without worry of traffic. We have happened upon the nicest restaurants by watching to see where the locals are congregating and finding the Hotel Restaurant Adler was no exception. The staff was friendly, spoke excellent English and were very good with children. Not to mention, the restaurant was clean and quaint.

Adler means "eagle" in German, as you may guess by the sign.

Jonah is ready for his lunch.

We decided to check out the specialities. Mac and I always look to see if they have local dishes on the menu. We love to try specialities of the area when we visit new places.

I had the Bärlauchknödel which is a wild garlic knödel.  They served it with a large salad. I was especially pleased with my choice. The sauce was yummy and the knödel very tasty.

Our daughter and Mac had the Spinatspätzle ( Spinach Spätzle)

They said it was delicious. 

Our son-in-law tried the Maultaschen filled with meat in a lovely sauce. This dish is a Swabian specialty. I had a taste and it was excellent. Maultaschen are similar to ravioli, with the major difference being that they are much larger, usually 3 to 6 inches across.  They are filled with a variety of things such as ground meats, spinach or sometimes onions.

I have heard a funny story about Maultaschen.  Apparently, on Good Friday when Catholics aren't supposed to eat meat, sometimes the Swabians eat Maultaschen.  Since the meat is concealed under the pasta supposedly, God cannot see the meat.

 Because of this, they have earned the Swabian nickname Herrgottsbscheißerle.  That means Little cheaters on God.  I am just sure they all really know God CAN see the meat! 

We ordered one dessert with 5 spoons. We found the Germknödel in this restaurant stuffed with cherry filling instead of the usual plum filling.  It was DELISH!

The prices were also very good. Lunch for four with french fries and one dessert was just under 50 euros.

Mac gave this lunch two thumbs up.  Remember to open yourself up and try new things in life, like specialites of the area you are visiting.  Life is too short not to reach out and just TRY new things.

Tomorrow we blog about Lake Constance also known as the Bodensee.

Road Trip from Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the Viehscheid Fest

We left Garmisch-Partenkirchen and headed east on 187. We were headed to Oberstaufen

area where ten years previously, Mac and I had encountered a wonderful fest in September called Viehscheid. It is a celebration of the "cows coming home." All the cows go up into the high meadows in the mountains during the summer and come home in a quaint celebration. Owners don their lederhosen, dirndles and decorate their cows.  They bring them back down into the villages adorned with flowered headdresses and parade them through the streets.  Children of all ages enjoy this fest. This is not to be missed if you are seeking "cultural" experiences in Germany.

The Viehscheid fests dates in the Upper Allgäu for this year in case you are interested.

•September 10, 2010 Oberstaufen

•September 11, 2010 Schöllang, Bad Hindelang

•September 13, 2010 Oberstdorf

•September 15, 2010 Kranzegg

•September 17, 2010 Gunzesried, Balderschwang, Thalkirchdorf

•September 18, 2010 Obermaiselstein, Wertach, Immenstadt

This is the Tiroler Zugspitz golf course.  The club house has a very interesting sod roof.

Imagine golfing with this as your backround!

Tiroler Zugspitz Golf

Am Rettensee 1

6632 Ehrwald, Austria

43 (0) 5673 22366

My son-in-law jumping for joy!  He loves to golf.

We went through the beautiful village of Lemoos and we all agreed that we would love to come back and stay here someday.

We took the 199 through the Gaichtpass and stopped at the lovely Haldensee.

The son-in-law loved this too.

See he's jumping for joy AGAIN.

Here we are in Oberjoch just a short distance up the road and look at the snow.

The son-in-law looks like he wants to jump again!

We stopped in Bad Hindelang to take this picture. Amazing scenery on our road trip.

Mac gave our trip a thumbs up. Tomorrow we'll talk about Oberstaufen.