Triberg: The Heart of the Black Forest
Triberg is one of my favorite cities in Germany. It is located in the heart of the Black Forest. The forest is so-named, because from a distance, the evergreen trees take on a dark appearance. Triberg is small, quaint, and cute with its traditional timbered houses and architecture. A river flows through the city from the waterfalls, under buildings and next to streets. It adds a certain kind of charm to wherever you walk, because there is always the flowing and rushing river nearby. There are also various tourist attractions in Triberg.
The first attraction you can see on your way to Triberg. It is the world’s largest cuckoo-clock! It sits on the side of the incoming highway next to a river, and is attached to a store that sells, surprise surprise, cuckoo-clocks. They also sell many other types of clocks. You can purchase various things inside of the shop, and even for a small fee, go inside the large cuckoo-clock to see the spinning gears and how it all works, and how it was handmade. It is somewhat set up as a museum. They have several different models of different clocks from different time periods.The big cuckoo clock chimes every hour, so be sure to arrive slightly before the hour to hear it go off! When it chimes, a wooden bird pops out and chirps a few times. I think it would be really cool to be inside the big cuckoo clock when it chimes!
The whole thing is actually a bit anticlimactic, but it is still pretty special. It is just so amazing such a large clock was built all by hand, and that it has continued to work this long, and that you are allowed to see the inside! How often do you get to say you have been inside a cuckoo-clock?!
Another big attraction in Triberg is the waterfalls, situated right in the heart of the town! They are the tallest waterfalls in Germany, and they were the first instance of a German town using hydropower. The generated hydro-power was originally used to power the street lights of the city, and even then they generated more power than they could actually use. Now they generate enough energy to power 1000 houses and the street lights of the city.
During the opening hours of the waterfall park, there is a fee to enter, and if you go later in the day you can even see the falls lit with lights (the falls are open 24/7, but only charge a fee during their opening hours, we think). We recommend getting there early (like always) to avoid the masses of people. It’s a pretty smart idea to use the morning to hike to the top of the falls. It takes about 30 minutes to go up, and about 10 minutes to go down. It is a bit steep, and not necessarily handicap friendly. The main trail is paved, there are some bumps in it, but I really think the incline would make it a challenge.
As a side note, the entrance also allows you to buy peanuts to feed the local squirrels. The park even advertises how people-friendly the red squirrels are, but for some obvious ecological conservation reasons, we don’t really support doing that, and so no squirrels were fed by us.
Afterwards, you can reward yourself with a piece of Black Forest gateau (Black Forest cake). It can be enjoyed from many cafes and restaurants, but we prefer Cafe Schäfer. It is home to the original Black Forest cake recipe. The recipe was actually invented by a man near Bonn, a master cake maker. The father of the current owner was an apprentice to the original cake creator, and was eventually given the recipe. The recipe has been handed down, and still withstands the test of time.
Black Forest cake has a crunchy bottom crust, with three layers of black chocolate cake alternating with thick layers of whipped cream. In between the bottom cake layer and cream is a cherry filling that is mixed with cherry liquor (German: Kirschwasser). What differentiates Black Forest cake from Black Forest gateau is the use of the cherry liquor. Black Forest gateau has the liquor, while Black Forest cake does not.
When we visited Cafe Schäfer, we found the cherry liquor to be a bit strong, but I remember having this cake years ago from the same place, so maybe it was just that particular cake, on that particular day- who knows…? Interestingly, the current owner makes at least 10 of these cakes a day, so they are always fresh and delicious, assuming you like the liquor that is.
Another specialty from this region is the cuckoo-clock. Southern Germany is big into using wood as a resource and commodity. There are even schools dedicated to learning wood craftsmanship! Triberg contains a lot of specialty souvenir shops, and so it usually isn’t too hard to find a hand-crafted cuckoo-clock or 3D shadow box to hang on your wall.
Also, there are some wooden statues erected around the town, dressed in outfits typical to the region. More specifically, they have hats with fabric balls on top of them. These hats with balls (Bollenhüte) are typical to this region. Hats with red balls meant you were available to marry or date, while hats with black balls meant you were spoken for. In some cases, women would wear the black hats just to keep men from bothering them!
Triberg really is lovely. If you ever make it to this city, you will not be disappointed!
Watch the video below!
Comments are closed.