Breakfast and Driving to Triberg
We packed up our luggage and took it out to the car and then had breakfast on the patio outside our hotel. Then we drove out of Rothenburg and got on the highway on our way to Triberg. We once again ran into a closed highway and a detour that had us stopped in a small town for several minutes. J. R. found an alternate route that got us moving again. We blew off our plans to stop in Villengen-Schwenningen in order to get back on schedule.
Triberg Waterfalls
We parked in the center of town and walked up to the waterfalls, which are the highest in Germany with a descent of 163 meters. We walked the so-called "Squirrel Path", so named because of the yellow signs with squirrels marking the walkway. While the path was uphill and relatively steep, it was smooth and paved and passed by the main viewing platform as well as the two bridges higher up the cascades.
Triberg-Land
Triberg-Land features model construction layouts exhibited over an area of 300 square meters from the world-renowned company Faller from Gütenbach including an exact replica of the original train station in Triberg during the Black Forest railway time, where several trains were on the move at the same time. We were able to set cars, trains and cable cars in motion by pressing switches. An eye-catcher was the funfair, which stands out with its striking light effects and the replica of the Triberg Christmas Magic, which is held at the Waterfalls after Christmas.
Black Forest Cake
The waterfall walk didn't take as long as we expected and the train museum was smaller than we thought so we had some spare time in our schedule and we used it to stop in a small cafe advertising Black Forest Cake. We had some drinks and a couple slices of cake for lunch.
Black Forest Open Air Museum
The Open Air Museum features historic farms showing how people lived and worked in the Black Forest 600 years ago. There were 15 outbuildings, such as mills, saws and storage facilities, cottage gardens, a herb garden and numerous animals of old breeds. The Vogtsbauernhof is the only farm in the museum still standing in its original location. It was built in 1612. It represents the Gutach type of house and the little parlour of the old retired farm couple has remained more or less unchanged from how the last owners left it in 1965. Another main exhibition in the Vogtsbauernhof is that of the "Störhandwerk", the typical work carried out by travelling craftsmen. Allotted to the Vogtsbauernhof as outbuildings are a knock and drop sawmill, a bakehouse with distillery and a mill. In addition to the typical farm garden there is also a medicinal herb garden. The 250-year-old half-timbered Ortenauhaus from the well-known wine village of Durbach in the Ortenau district, which used to be part of a winegrowers' farm, represents the Ortenau as a region of origin in the open-air museum. The Rebhof was built in 1775 in the middle of Durbach, a typical winegrowing village to the northeast of Offenburg. The name for this type of house, the "Ortenauhaus", refers to its region of origin. The Ortenau is located to the right of the Upper Rhine and stretches from the Rhine valley up through the foothills and on to the western slopes of the Black Forest. The Ortenauhaus is the only building that was built purely as a dwelling. Stalls for the animals were in an outbuilding opposite, together with all the equipment needed for winegrowing and farming. Between 2021 and 2023, in a highly complex relocation and restoration process, the building was brought to the Black Forest Open Air Museum. A reconstructed barn was added to complete the ensemble. The house's appearance today dates back to 1961, when, during extensive renovation work, the timber frame was completely restored and the house was given a new roof of interlocking tiles. The colours of the walls, doors and windows have also not changed since then.
After the Open Air Museum, we drove to Baden-Baden, running into some serious traffic. We parked at the ibis Styles and then walked across a small park to have some dinner and beer before turning in for the night.
