Our next stop was one that truly surprised us. We headed into the Black Forest to a little road side stop in Hollsteig, Breitnau, famous for their cuckoo clocks. When we were told about where we were going to stop I expected a very touristy area with shops and demonstrations but we were wholly unprepared for the beauty of the Black Forest  surrounding it. (click on photo to see the larger version)

 This little walkway leads down from the main shop into the forest. The building is abandoned but more than one of us enjoyed fantasies of living here.

 With the wildflowers in bloom it was incredibly picturesque. I do believe we spent more time on our walk than we did in the shops.

 However the main shop was a wonderful place. They did have an artisan working on a clock while we were there and you could watch them and listen to all the steps that go into making these clocks. There is much more there than just clocks. We went home with several German hand crafted gifts for ourselves, family and friends. Legend has this place as one of the stopping points for Marie Antoinette when she was leaving Vienna and heading towards Paris for her marriage.

We did have lunch there. I had the spaetzle which was very good but the dessert display is what made our mouths water!

 From there we headed toward Switzerland. Sites like this one were everywhere. Just breathtaking.

 On our way we stopped briefly at the Rhine Falls. Said to be a mini Niagra Falls, this was an amazing place, I would have liked to have spent more time here. There are castles on each side of the Falls. This one is now a tourist stop and boat dock for tours. The other one is a hotel.

This will give you some idea of how massive these falls actually are. The boat is actually quite large but looks very tiny against the Falls.

 I have to say that, while I admire their courage, you could not have enticed me out onto the viewing platform! 

Fahrt means something like "to go". In this case "to cruise".  The funny usage of this verb is at an exit to the freeway, parking garages and such...it's Ausfahrt. And, yes, it is pronounced just like you think it's pronounced. It brought many juvenile giggles to our group as we toured Germany. Our tour guide told us that we could, indeed, say that we'd been "Fahrting all over Germany" !!

Saturday we'll head to Luzern and the amazing views of the downtown area. Hope you can join me!

Cat