Black Forest Cake
Is there a better way to start any Black Forest experience than getting stuck into some Black Forest Cake for lunch? I don't think so. Schäfer proudly proclaims that it uses the "original recipe" of the famed Black Forest Cake and unfortunately Australian interpretations of it just don't do it justice.
The cake itself was unbelievably light and airy, but still very chocolatey, the cream was loaded with brandy and the cherries popped with cherry-ish goodness. A truly magnificent piece of baking. It disappeared very, very quickly.
A"High" Waterfall
On our second day in the Forest we took the Hiker's trail up to "Germany's Highest Waterfall". The trail, which was a few steep uphill kilometres, isn't really designed for sneakers and jeans. A nine tenth cuff didn't only provide instant relief, it also made waves in the hikers' world of fashion.
However the trek was beautiful taking us nice and deep into the Forest and providing some great views of the waterfall on the way back down. The only disappointment was the lack of squirrels, of which we were promised when we paid for a bag of peanuts.
A Taxidermied Dinner
Dinner at Zur Lilie was an interesting experience. Surrounded by animals that once were (and quite possible ended up on the menu here) we tucked into wild deer ragout with Swabian noodles (note the stray chip) and roasted wild boar with red cabbage and dumplings. Both were decent but nothing special. You get the feeling that it's more about the where rather than the what here.
A Big Investment
One of the Forest's other big draw cards is Cuckoo Clocks. After wandering through a couple of different clock makers' shops on the day before we kept going back to one particular clock (the one on the left below). And notwithstanding it's a little bit of a tourist trap (and you pay accordingly) we dropped a few $$ on the one below and it's currently being made and will be sent back to Oz. We've been on bread and water ever since...
Triberg
Most of our time in the Forest was spent in a little town called Triberg and although it's a bit touristy because of Black Forest Cake, Cuckoo Clocks and "Germany's Highest Waterfall" it's a very nice, quaint (did I really just say that?) little place which is particularly nice if you can secure a B&B with a view like the one below that we were privy to each morning.
 |
| The view |
 |
| That's us |
N.B. we consumed a bucket load of smoked up Black Forest ham. V good.
Pugs do not exist in Southern Germany - however if we had a dollar for every sausage dog we've seen...
The Beers - nope, time for some wine (in 1 litre bottles!)
