Day 5: the Black Forest, Colmar, and Movie Trivia

After a quick breakfast in the ship’s dining room, we were ready for our first excursion: a bus trip to Germany’s Black Forest. We were in group A (of 5 groups, including L for “leisure”). Our guide was Julia Thornton from Chester, England. Our bus trip was wonderful, and she even sang us an Alpine folk song. 

We drove past a range of hills known as the emperor’s chair. We saw multiple farms along our route. According to Julia (and several other people over the next few days), the early June harvest was white asparagus, which is harvested from Easter through St John’s Eve, June 23rd. Germans eat white asparagus with schnitzel (a thin-cut fried chicken, veal, or pork steak) and lots of hollandaise sauce. The French also eat white asparagus, but they blanch it (briefly scald it in boiling water, then plunge it into ice water) and sprinkle it with lemon juice. Neither sounded terribly appealing, but Bill did try white asparagus later on our trip as a dinner starter.

The Black Forest was named by the Romans around 100 AD. It is a mountain range named for its dense deciduous trees and firs. The Romans thought it looked foreboding, so they didn’t spend much time in there. Celtic tribes also lived here. They brought grape vines with them, which led to the wine produced there today. Forestry was originally a major industry, but by the mid-1800s, deforestation had become a big problem. In addition to chopping wood for heat, other local industries, such as glassblowing and clockmaking, used wood in their trades.  The area was replanted, mostly with spruce and beech, which grow faster. 

One traditional Black Forest costume is for girls to wear Bollenhut headdresses, hats with giant pom-pom balls (Bollen) on them. Single girls got hats with red balls at confirmation, while married women wore hats with black ones. 

We learned that traditional Black Forest farmhouses were built with steep thatched roofs, which helped keep the house warm and allowed snow to slide off. Our guide lives at the foot of the Black Forest, and she uses a wood-burning stove to heat her house. She said it works very well.

Thatched-roof home

We passed the St Blasius Cathedral. It is built on the remnants of the original Abbey, which was built in the 11th century but burned down in 1768. The new church is enormous, the third-largest in Europe north of the Alps (note: we noted a division between “north of the Alps” and “south of the Alps,” which primarily refers to Italy). The church was consecrated in 1784. It is called a Cathedral because of its size, not because it is the seat of a bishop.

St. Blasius Cathedral

Trying to take photos through a bus window . . . 

We reached the Black Forest, and we could see how beautiful the area was. 

Beautiful scenery

We had the option to go for a hike, but with rain on the way, we decided to stay in the village to see a demonstration of how cuckoo clocks are made. Our craftsman’s name was Gregory. 

The first cuckoo clock was made in 1640 and was all wood with just one hand to tell time. Those clocks had to be wound at least twice a day. Owners had to estimate the minutes based on how far the hour hand had moved past its mark. He challenged us to guess what the exact time was on a one-handed clock. Guesses ranged from 2:10 to 2:45. He said everyone was correct, because it was very inexact; you couldn’t really say for sure. Not very accurate. Those clocks also lacked sound. 

The one-handed clock

The next evolution was Shield clocks with flat, square, painted faces. They were sometimes called Train station clocks. They feature an arched, shield-like top. They didn’t necessarily have an actual cuckoo, but they were part of the same history. 

Shield Clock

Today’s cuckoo clocks are generally made from Balsa wood because it is soft and easy to carve. There are 45 families in the Black Forest who carve parts of the clock. Each family has a specialty. One may carve the face, another the top. There are four mechanisms they use: wind every day, wind every 8 days, and each type with sound. The music box alone is quiet, but in the clock, the wood vibrates, amplifying the sound. They are driven by pendulums with cast iron weights, usually in the shape of a pinecone. Two pendulums control the time and the cuckoo. For music, you need a third pendulum. The shop had walls filled with cuckoo clocks of a wide range of sizes and a variety of carvings. They are set to different times, so they don’t all go off together. Absolutely gorgeous. 

Gregory showing us the weighted pendulums

There was a glass blower’s shop, but neither glass blower was demonstrating that day. One had a “free day” (according to the shopkeeper), and the other was ill. There were beautiful handmade vases, ornaments, and figurines from very tiny to very large. Every color of the rainbow. Gorgeous work.

Our next stop was a Black Forest Cake-making demonstration. The rain was coming down in sheets when we left the glass blowers for the restaurant. The lady working at the glass shop let us borrow a Viking umbrella a previous shopper had left behind. The umbrella wouldn’t stay open, probably why it had been discarded, but it kept us dry for a brief walk. 

We ordered a Viking special in the restaurant, €8,90 for a slice of Black Forest Cake (gateau) and a cup of Americano. 

Our Viking special

We settled in to watch a demo of how they assemble a Black Forest cake. They are comprised of chocolate sponge cake, fresh cherries, cherry liqueur (kirsch), and whipped cream frosting. We learned the cake is named for the black cherry liqueur rather than the region itself, and although there were versions as far back as the 16th century, the layered cake we eat dates to the early 1900’s. 

To create a Black Forest gateau:

1. Cut the sponge cake into 3 layers (make sure the cake is completely cooled before cutting, perhaps overnight) 

2. Cover the bottom layer with cherry jam and cherries; leave the center open because it will be easier to cut. Cover the cherry layer with cream. Our baker said, "Use exactly 3 cups," and scooped them out: "1, 2, 3, 3, 3."

3. Add the next layer of sponge cake. Squirt cherry schnapps over the layer (as much or as little as you prefer).  Cover with cream (again, “3 cups, 1, 2, 3, 3, 3). 

4. Add the third layer of sponge cake, add cream on top, and smooth. Add remaining cream around the sides. 

5. To garnish, scrape dark chocolate into pieces onto the cake, then pipe a rosette of cream on each slice, and add one cherry on each rosette. 

Our baker shows off the final product

The Black Forest cake we purchased was okay. It was not very sweet, but it was moist. 

The bus took us back to the ship for lunch. We were greeted with shot glasses containing Virgin Sunrises (grenadine and orange juice)

 

For our afternoon adventure, we chose a paid excursion to Colmar, part of the Alsace region of France. The Alsace region has been part of northeastern France since 1945, but historically it has changed several times between German and French control (Colmar was even under Swedish rule for a couple of years in 1632), so it features a blend of French and German cultures. Alsace has its own language, Alsatian, but the people living there speak primarily French. We’d learn lots about Alsace during our trip to Strasbourg tomorrow, but for now, we’ll focus on Colmar. 

One thing Colmar is famous for is being the birthplace of Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, who designed "Liberty Lighting the World," better known as the Statue of Liberty. In honor of the 100th anniversary of his death, Colmar erected a 12m replica, which we saw on our drive. 

We drove through New Brisach on our way to Colmar, with our guide Rosie, who sounded American, though we didn’t ask where she was from. New Brisach was built beginning in 1697 after France lost the town of Breisach on the opposite bank of the Rhine to Germany. The region is located between the Vosges mountains in France and the Black Forest in Germany. It is famous for wine, especially Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer (one of Grampy’s favorite wines), and Crémant d’Alsace, a sparkling wine named for the region.  

We always see shops named for Bill.
Finally a shop with my name!!

The city of Colmar dates to at least the 9th century and was an important medieval trading town within the Roman Empire. It was conquered by France’s Louis XIV (“the Sun King”) in 1673, then given to the Germans in 1871 after the Franco-Prussian War. It returned to France in 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles, was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1940, then was returned to France in 1945. So anyone born in Colmar in 1870 who lived to be 75+ years old would have lived in Germany, then France, then Germany again, then France again, without ever having to move. The city still has a well-preserved old town with medieval houses, wooden framing, and pink and yellow sandstone. Although Colmar is one of the driest cities in France, which makes it ideal for grapes, it rained throughout our tour, and we spent a great deal of time ducking into various shelters. We made it across old town to the area called “la Petite Venise” or Little Venice, where the streets are crossed by canals of the Lauch River. 

Half-timbered houses in Little Venice

A canal in Little Venice

Storks are considered the symbols of the Alsace region, and Colmar is particularly proud of its storks. Although storks typically migrate, Colmar builds nesting areas to encourage them to remain year-round to protect the species.  There is a famous nesting pair of storks called Martin and Martine who return each spring and nest near the rooftop of St. Martin’s church. We saw a nesting stork at our group meeting place. 

A stork!

St. Martin's Collegiate Church (Our guide Rosie in front)

Fontaine du Petit Vigneron (Little Winegrower Fountain)
(created by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi who designed the Statue of Liberty)

Lazarus von Schwendi introducing grapes to the region
(Also by Bartholdi)

Colmar is also famous for the beautiful wrought-iron shop signs, many of which were designed by a local artist known as Hansi, who was John-Jacques Walz. There is a museum in Colmar devoted to his artwork, but you can see his signs throughout the old town.  

If you look at the stump the monk is sitting on as he reads to the pig, you can see Hansi's "signature"

His name is in the lower left of the Lion

The Hansi Museum

We saw the Maison des Têtes or the House of Heads. The style is German Renaissance, and the name comes from the carved masks throughout the facade. 

Carved masks on the window frames including the huge window in the center

Église des Dominicains (Dominican Church)

Bill in front of the Maison Crooked (the Crooked House)

There is a legend in Colmar that the pretzel was invented there by an Italian baker from Brescello, who immigrated to Colmar after the 30 Years' War. He was imprisoned by German officials, and to avoid being put to death, he was challenged to bake bread in which the sun could shine through three holes three times. He succeeded and was given his release. He named the treat the bretzel after his hometown. The pretzel was said to represent arms in prayer, and the 3 holes represent the Holy Trinity.

Pretzel shop

Colmar was lovely, but between rain, Jeannie’s sore hip (Bill bought me some Advil from a pharmacy in Colmar), Bill’s dead phone, very crowded streets, and people on bikes putting you in fear for your life, it was a bit exhausting. The upside was we saw lots of very cute, well-behaved dogs. 

Back on the ship, we had dinner with Jeremy and Celia from our Swiss excursion. Jeannie had chicken (again). Bill had perch.

 

After dinner, they were having a movie trivia contest in the lounge, so I dragged Bill upstairs and forced him to be my plus one, thankfully, because he got a bunch of the answers. There were only two of us on our team, but we represented Panic! at the Quiz Bowl well. We ended up with 230 points out of a possible 300 and finished with the second highest score.  When Bill went up to accept our prize (some chocolate pralines and a bottle of wine), he played the theme song from Rocky on his phone into the microphone. Again, we did not win. Our travel director, James, thought it was very funny and asked for an additional round of applause for Bill. I was embarrassed, but what can you do? The best part of the story was we met Margie from Chicago and her clan. She was very funny, and we would have a few more adventures to share during our trip. We called Abby to share the story and then headed to bed. 

Our second-place prize