Day 13 Black Forest

Our final day was spent in Schwarz Wald, The Black Forest. When it comes to forests, we couldn't imagine there being anything better than our own, North American, woods with giant sequoias, banyans, and cypress trees. What does The Black Forest have that we don't have? Magic. Besides being a veritable playground for geologists with its unique sandstone, granite formations, and the remains of the Hercynian Forest, giants live here, along with witches, and other fairytale characters.

Schwarz Wald was the inspiration behind the Grimm brothers' Hansel and Gretel, Sleeping Beauty, and Rapunzel fables. It was the Romans who gave the woods their name; they were afraid of the pine and fir trees that grow so high they block out the sun. These days, The Black Forest is famous for its Black Forest Cake and cuckoo clocks. Admittedly, the rolling hills and countryside studded with classic German houses is spectacular, but once you're surrounded by these massive trees, it's easy to imagine how someone might see giants and elves (especially if they've visited Amsterdam recently).

We arrived at the Bavarian Clockwork factory and showroom after two hour bus ride through the scary forest. Our tour spilled out of the bus and hurried toward the cafeteria where free Black Forest Cake and coffee were waiting. The cafeteria was through the gift store, up the stairs, and through their Christmas shop. This, of course, served to slow the foot traffic down as we had to stop and marvel at the cuckoo clocks, ornaments, and music boxes. The cake and coffee were good, but the Christmas ornament we bought and stories told by our tour guide about the forest will be what we remember. Worth mentioning, our tour guide turned out to be Andrew Locke from the 70's band, Edison Lighthouse (Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes). See I told you there was magic in that forest!

Hope you enjoyed our photos and commentary and that you might be inspired to travel beyond your borders.