July 27- The Black Forest, again

We woke up and had breakfast in the gasthaus. We were right. Apparently we were the only guests there last night. We went back to the tavern that Julie’s ancestors owned and the church and took a few more pictures in the different light that the morning offered.

We were starting out a short distance from Zurich, really, so we didn’t have to rush there and had most of the day to kill. We decided to revisit the Black Forest, since we weren’t that far from it. We drove towards Freudenstadt, where we stayed back on July 9th, but instead of heading west from there, we drove south, through a part of the forest we hadn’t visited before.

Around lunchtime we were approaching the town of Gutach and needed a bathroom break. We were near an open-air museum the exhibits houses and other buildings from the Black Forest region. We weren’t interested enough to visit the museum, but they did have a restaurant and a gift shop area out in front. We decided to eat lunch there. This stop was also Julie’s opportunity to eat Black Forest cherry cake in the Black Forest again, and she did. She said the alcohol in it was very strong-- too strong for her tastes.

From the parking lot of the museum we could see what the two girls wanted to find the most (or maybe second most, after fairies)-- another bobsled run. Since this ride was going to be their last for a while and since we’d spent a while in the car, we bought the tickets that allowed for six rides each. All three girls had a ball and Dad photographed and videotaped the experience. Emma and Anna think that we should build a luge run at home.

We continued down the road a short distance when we saw a huge cuckoo clock. If you put in a Euro, the nearly life-size figures came to life. One pulled the rope for the bell. A small band marched across the highest level. Water from a millrace began pushing a waterwheel around. Two men began drinking beer as an old frau threatened them with a rolling pin. Dancers circled. One guy started chopping wood and a few animals were frolicking at the bottom. It was enough to bring us into the store next to it, certainly. We had some final shopping to do anyway. Julie found a shirt that says “European Memories” and it we’ve been to each of the countries that are pictured (except for one, England). This store was actually the first of several that had large cuckoo clock displays, but we had our fill at this one and passed by the others.

We found the town of Triberg, which looked like an interesting tourist town near a large set of waterfalls. Unfortunately, Emma had fallen asleep, so we just continued on to the hotel.

We went back to the autobahn and were shortly in Switzerland. We were a bit puzzled by the hotel’s address where we had reservations. It is a bit unusual. The check in is done electronically, with no receptionist. The hotel itself seems to occupy the 2nd floor of a business complex. There is no key for the room, but a pin code you punch in the pad at the door. One thing we’ve learned about European hotels, though. If you ask for a “cot,” you get a baby crib. Looks like Emma will be spending a night in that now. At least it’s a big one.