The Black Forest region, located in southwest Germany, is full of spectacular scenery of mountains, forests, and rivers. We took a day trip in Rocky, our Mini Cooper, and drove to the village of Triberg, home to Germany’s highest waterfall. The Gutach River falls 160 meters through 7 cascades into the valley, and continues on through the village. It is an impressive sight!
Overall, the green of the trees, rushing water, and red-tiled roofs in town make for a fairytale setting. In fact, the Grimm brothers set most of their tales in the Black Forest. This region reminds us of north Georgia in the US, specifically the German-themed town of Helen. The views on the hike up to and around the waterfall are amazing.
There is also so much to do and see in Triberg. A good challenge is to try the Black Forest cake at the variety of cafés in the village, to see which has the best. We ate a piece at Café Adler, where the creaminess was good but the cake part was dry and bland. This recipe from Recipe Tin seems to have corrected for the dryness, so we’ll have to follow it and try making our own.
Triberg is full of cute shops, with literally thousands of cuckoo clocks, beautiful hand carved wooden items, Christmas-themed treasures, and the iconic red bonnet, a Bollenhut, part of a traditional Black Forest outfit. Just outside of Triberg, you will want to go see the largest Cuckoo Clock in the world. You can buy a ticket to tour the clock from the inside, or you can enjoy the show from outside. There is also a fun version of the clock outside that works for everyone at the touch of a button.
Germany’s largest birds of prey and owl park is in Triberg, and is well worth the visit for the Owl and/or the Flight shows in the afternoons. They are generally open Tuesdays – Sundays, with the Owl show at 2:00 pm and the Flight Show at 4:00 pm. Both the owls, and the eagles, hawks, and falcons, as well as their falconers, put on a wonderful show with these raptors flying right over the audience’s heads. The falconers share interesting and entertaining tales both in German and English, all in a beautiful setting in nature.
We ran out of time on our day trip to see other interesting things in Triberg, so we’ll have to plan another trip. We would like to see the Maria in der Tanne pilgrimage church, built in 1700. The Black Forest Open Air Museum is highly recommended, especially for families, and there is a fabulous interactive model railway system at Triberg-Land.
From hiking to cuckoo clocks and amazing scenery everywhere, we recommend a trip to Triberg in the Black Forest. It’s a nice get-away, offering something different from the cities and cathedrals of Germany.
Prost!
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