Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [389]
To get there by car, exit the A5 at Weil am Rhein. It’s a 15-minute walk from the museum to Weil am Rhein train station, an easy trip from Freiburg (€10.30, 50 minutes, hourly).
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NORTHEAST OF FREIBURG
St Peter
07660 / pop 2500
The folk of the bucolic village of St Peter, on the southern slopes of Mt Kandel (1243m), are deeply committed to time-honoured traditions. On religious holidays, villagers (from toddlers to pensioners) still proudly don colourful, handmade Trachten (folkloric costumes).
The most outstanding landmark is the former Benedictine abbey, a rococo jewel designed by Peter Thumb of Vorarlberg. Many of the period’s top artists collaborated on the sumptuous interior of the twin-towered red-sandstone church ( daily), including Joseph Anton Feuchtmayer, who carved the gilded Zähringer duke statues affixed to pillars. Guided tours (€6; in German) to the monastery complex include the rococo library.
The tourist office ( 910 224; www.st-peter-schwarzwald.de, in German; Klosterhof 11; 9am-noon & 3-5pm Mon-Fri Easter-Oct, 10am-noon Sat Jul & Aug, 9am-noon Mon-Fri, 3-5pm during school holidays Nov-Easter) is under the archway leading to the Klosterhof (the abbey courtyard). A nearby information panel shows room availability.
By public transport, the best way to get from Freiburg to St Peter is to take the train to Kirchzarten (13 minutes, two an hour) and then bus 7216 (24 minutes, two an hour).
St Peter is on the Schwarzwald Panoramastrasse (Black Forest Panorama Rd; www.schwarzwald-panoramastrasse.de), a 50km-long route from Waldkirch (26km northeast of Freiburg) to Hinterzarten (5km west of Titisee) with giddy mountain views.
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Triberg
07722 / pop 5400
Home to Germany’s highest waterfall, heir to the original Black Forest cake recipe and nesting ground of the world’s biggest cuckoos – Triberg lays on the superlatives with a trowel. It was here that in bleak winters past folk huddled in snowbound farmhouses to carve the clocks that would drive the planet cuckoo; and here that in a flash of brilliance the waterfall was harnessed to power the country’s first electric street lamps in 1884. Josef Keller’s original recipe for the must-eat cake now takes pride of place in Café Schäfer.
ORIENTATION & INFORMATION
Triberg’s main drag is the B500, which runs more-or-less parallel to the Gutach River. The town’s focal point is the Marktplatz, a steep 1.2km uphill walk from the Bahnhof.
Triberg markets itself as Ferienland (Holidayland; www.dasferienland.de) to visitors.
Post office On Marktplatz next to the Rathaus.
Tourist office ( 866 490; www.triberg.de, in German; Wahlfahrtstrasse 4; 10am-5pm Nov-Apr, 10am-6pm May-Oct) Inside the Schwarzwald-Museum, 50m uphill from the river.
SIGHTS
Niagara they ain’t, but Germany’s highest waterfalls ( 2724; adult/8-16yr/family €3/1.50/7; Mar-early Nov, 25-30 Dec) do exude their own wild romanticism. The Gutach River feeds the seven-tiered falls, which drop a total of 163m. It’s annoying to have to pay to experience nature but the fee is at least worth it. The trail up through the wooded gorge is guarded by tribes of red squirrels after the bags of nuts (€1) sold at the entrance.
Triberg is the world’s undisputed cuckoo-clock capital. Two timepieces claim the title of weltgröste Kuckucksuhr (world’s largest cuckoo clock), giving rise to the battle of the birds. Triberg’s underdog World’s Biggest Cuckoo Clock ( 4689; Untertalstrasse 28; adult/6-10yr €1.20/0.60, 9am-noon & 1-6pm), complete with gear-driven innards, is 1km up the hill in Schonach, inside a snug chalet. Its commercially savvy rival ( 962 20; www.uhren-park.de; Schonachbach 27; admission €1.50; 9am-6pm Mon-Sat, 10am-6pm Sun Easter-Oct, 9am-5.30pm Mon-Sat, 11am-5pm Sun Nov-Easter), listed in the Guinness World Records, is at the other end of town on the B33 between Triberg and Hornberg.
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THE CHERRY ON THE CAKE
Claus Schäfer, confectioner at Café Schäfer (below)