Black Forest, Drubba Cuckoo Clocks and Rhine Falls, Germany - August 2008

A Picnic Lunch in the Black Forest... so called because the pines and firs are so dense that at any time the ground looks black. In winters there is heavy snowfall and the tree tops are white capped. That is where the Black forest pastery/cake gets it’s name from too!!!
Because winters are very harsh, woodcarving developed as an alternative profession for the farmers when they were locked up inside their houses.
Post Lunch we went to the Drubba Cuckoo Clock Factory. The shop itself is in the form of a cuckoo clock and at every hour the window at the top opens and a cuckoo bird comes out and cuckoos. This is followed by music and the figures just below the window dancing…very, very cute.

We had a demo at the factory and as the person described some of the clocks we just couldn’t help smiling at the ingenuity of some of the designs.

This one above has the most intricate woodcarving and among the most expensive ones.

In this one the concept is a man at work and his wife standing behind him with a rolling pin to make sure he is working. When the clock strikes an hour, she hits him with the rolling pin :-)
There was a selection of Romantic Cuckoo Clocks. In one at the hour, the man and woman sitting on the bench come closer and kiss…

In another one there is a ladder and the man climbs up the ladder and kisses his ladylove who is standing at the window!!
And so many more…can’t describe them all here…but each was better than the other and it was do difficult to decide which one was THE best.

After some impulsive shopping, we went to the Rhine Falls. These are actually on the border with Switzerland. The first view as we descended the steps was awesome. There was also a boat that took you to this rock in the middle of the falls. Climbing up was easy, but once at the top if you look down it is SCARY!!! Very steep and I was so scared while coming down!


And the best was this bit…vada pavs, idlis here too!!!