Agenda:
- Rhein Falls
- Cuckoo clock visit
- Black Forest views and cake
- Heidelberg University & Castle
In the morning we left Lucerne and headed for North Switzerland towards the German border. We passed the lovely Rhein Falls in Schaffhausen.
The weirdest thing about Europe is that there aren't any proper borders between the countries, so it was difficult to figure out where I was. I thought Rhein Falls was in Germany and wondered why there were so many Swiss flags all around until I realized we still were in Switzerland. Duh, and I thought the German are so pro-Swiss.
Our destination was the Black Forest in Germany (Schwarzwald). The region is most famed for its densely forested areas (hence the root of many myths and legends of witches and dwarves), cuckoo clocks, its beautiful scenery, and of course its world famous black forest cake. Indeed, the country landscapes are quite extraordinary and beautiful, but once in Germany, I can't help but think of all the things this country endured and did during the war. Even though I was far from the concentration camp sites and any actual relics from the war, it was one thing I found hard to overlook. We had a brief photo stop to see the lovely Titisee Lake, a almost fairy-tale like natural lake in the midst of the Black Forest, and then we went to a large house which is both a cuckoo clock shop and a cuckoo clock itself. Every hour the figures on the porch would do a little dance and the small door on the top would open to reveal a cuckoo bird who hooted the correct hour. It was cute. During lunch, I tried the Black Forest cake. In my opinion, I've had better and it tasted like any other black forest cake.
Following lunch, we drove to Heidelberg, a favorite destination for the writer Mark Twain. Here lies a grand castle, and Germany's oldest university. Heidelberg Castle was first built around the 1400s and developed up until the 1600s. War and lightening has caused damaged to the castle over the years, but it is still quite beautiful with quaint parks. On the bottom of the hill lies a small town with cafes, restaurants and souvenir shops. More about this place can be found at http://www.cvb-heidelberg.de/index_eng.html.
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