Day 41 and 42 - Daytripping around Donaueschingen (Captions are now added)
Having decided to spend 2 full days (3 nights) in Donaueschingen we spent Tuesday making use of the free train travel to go back into the forest to a large museum of buildings that would explain and illustrate Black Forest settlement and life over the past centuries. We took the bikes, without all our gear, making it easy to schlep them up and down the stairs in the stations. First we went back to Hausach where we could easily cycle to the Black Forest Open Air Museum.
To make sense of this map you will need to zoom in on the end points and middle point where we did the cycling. The train parts were not recorded and are just represented by a straight joining line
These manikans are wearing traditional Schwartzwald tracht or Black Forest clothing. The had with the pompoms was originally only worn it three towns but its distinct nature has resulted in it becoming a symbol of the Black Forest. The hat has 13 pompoms arranged in the shape of the cross. Once a girl has gone through her confirmation, she can wear the hat with red pompoms until she is married. Once married, the women where the same style of hat but the pompoms are black - are they in mourning???
The jeweled hat is worn for the wedding. As you can see, the Tyrolean dirndl that many are familiar with, is not the traditional dress of this area. The dirndl, however, has become symbolic of Germany in general just as the bobble hat has become symbolic of the Black Forest.
This and the following photo show the steps in making a basic cuckoo clock. Historically, farmers would look for ways to suppliment their income and do carving in the winter. Initially even the mechanisms were wooden and the clock face was smooth and painted with flowers. As mechanic workings became available more carving went into the face.
The lady in the foreground on the left was our guide for the tour we took. We are looking at a milk fridge. Most homes were built near streams or springs and the water would be directed to bubble up to a trough. The small cabinet was placed over the trough to provide a cool area for milk and food. The other end of the trough was used for cleaning and washing.
Historically, children would be sent into the mountains pastures in the summer months to tend the livestock. Capes made of reeds would be made to provide some protection in the event of rain.
These are cow bells that used to be placed on the cattle when they were in the summer mountain pastures. I remember seeing these on cattle in Austria when I was a child. They provided a gentle ring as the cattle grazed. The size of the bell varied with the size of the animal.
A few things of interest in this picture. First is the flax ready for weaving. Clothing was all made of wool or linen and were carded and woven by the women. The green item is a cackle oven. It is an oven that would sit provide heat for the front room/parlor but be feed from an opening that was on the other side of the wall in the kitchen. It was common for there to be a bench surrounding the oven so that people could sit and warm up. As central heading did not exist, the room above this one was usually the master's bedroom. Heat form the oven would rise making that the warmest bedroom in the house. To the left of Marvin is one of the original clocks with the flat painted face.
This is what was known as the black kitchen. The blackness was from the soot created by both the cackle oven and cooking oven. It is interesting to note that the pots actually fit into holes on the cooker top allowing the pots to sit closer to the coals.
Here the tour guide was demonstrating a bench that was used for doing wood work. A peddle would be lowered by foot and cause the upper part to clamp down on the item the carver was working on. She showed how tiles were made but it was used to making many different things.
When I saw this I thought, oh, the bath tub. No, historically, butchers would travel to farms to slaughter pigs. It was usually done in the winter so that the meat could be cured with the smoke in the kitchen. When the pig was killed, it was slaughtered in the large tub so that it could bleed out without making a mess of the house. The blood could then be used to make blood sausage.
The master's bed would be canopied to prevent dust from coming through the boards onto him as he slept. This farmers wealth was evident by the painting on the bed. The motif also indicated that the family was Catholic.
The houses were built into the hills. The barn would be on the lowest level and built into the hill. This would increase the warmth for the animals and the heat from the animals could rise and increase the warmth of the living area. Above the main living area would be the sleeping area. The master would be above the parlor for warmth, children and servants would be in the less heated area. Above the sleeping level would be the storage area. This area could be accessed from the ground level of the hill. That made it easy to bring in hay and equipment.
These cogs were used to take advantage of the strength of oxen. They would walk the circular track while the mechanism could be used to load feed, grind. etc
Farms were quite isolated and so often had their own chapels. The bells on the chapels were a way of communicating with those working the fields. It provided the time and would be used to summon help in emergencies. As you can see here, the alters were often elaborately painted. The alter and additional icons or painting also indicated the wealth of the farm.
This is the original farm house to this site. The Vogtsbauernhot was built in 1612 on the spot it stands on today. The family lived in it for generations up to the 1963 when it was restored and turned into a museum. The family actually continued to live there for several years even after the opening of the museum. The other houses on the site have been moved there from other parts of the Black Forest.
Thatch was not used in the high lands. There shingles would be used as it was not possible to grow the rye that was used for thatching. Thatching only was done in the valleys where grain crops could be grown.
These are the old bee hives made of reed. The bees would live in the front and collect honey in the back. At harvest time, the farmer would cut the honey comb from the back area and rotate the hive so that the bees would move to the empty side and start developing honey comb in the other side. In the picture you can see the notch in the wooden shelf that would give the bees their doorway.
This was a raft of logs that would be brought down wild mountain streams to get them to the Rhine River. I am pointing at the braking mechanism they would use to slow them down in wild sections. At the front is the steering mechanism. It was pretty dangerous work. What is also impressive is that they were completely held together by willow rope.
After finishing at the museum, we caught the next train heading south again toward Donaueschingen but got off two stops earlier at Triberg, a very touristy Black Forest town where they have a lot of stores selling Black Forest stuff.
Our next stop was Triberg. Quite the climb to the main part of the town. At the top of the hill is the access to what is supposed to be the tallest waterfall in Germany. We will need to trust them on this as Marvin was not interested in paying the admission fee.
Steve Miller/GrampiesThe Haus of 1000 Uhren, whose sign is just visible in this shot, is where I got my cuckoo clock. I need to ask them why it sometimes goes berserk and will not stop cuckooing! Reply to this comment 5 years ago
Marvin PaxmanYes, we think of you every time we see a cuckoo clock shop, especially that one, although I didn't know it was where you got yours. They had one in there that was on sale for about half price, would have only cost us $5000 CAD Reply to this comment 5 years ago
We stopped at a pub style restaurant on our way home. Our Da Brims got the attention of the other patrons. That got a lot of chatter happening and they were excited to learn we are Canadian. They were all very friendly. It was a true neighborhood pub and a lot of fun.
This guy came over to our table, sat with us and chatted up a storm with Erika mostly, a few words of English here and there to me. He was a retired master painter who had a lot to say about the lack of education and training of painters in America. He was very proud of his expertise regarding his craft.
This morning (Wednesday) we decided to just go out and ride the bikes around a loop that led out to some little towns to the north. It was really enjoyable, especially since we didn't need to haul all our stuff with us.
Through out the area there are lovely bridges specifically for pedestrians and cyclists. There really is a lot of support for alternative forms of transportation.
Aufen was the first small town on the route laid out by the Quellregion Donau. We got the booklet at tourist information. It contains 9 suggest scenic routes in the Donaueschingen area. We chose route 3 a 22 Km loop.
On any route it is easy to get drawn off the path to explore the villages. Because today's route was so short, we cheerfully noodled around all the towns.
Cemeteries in Germany are always very picturesque and well maintained. So much nicer than cemeteries that have flat headstones so that lawnmowers can drive over them.
The church in Aufen was quite humble. However, I really liked that they had not painted over the old frescoes. It would be nice if things like that were easy to restore.
Back in Donaueschingen we had a few things we wanted to see and we needed to make a trip to the bank. It was a very hot day. Marvin and I had just used the fountain to cool off our arms and faces. When this lady brought her baby over we quite enjoyed watching him enjoy the cool of the water.
After getting the other musicians set up, Marvin spent quite a bit of time trying to help the flutist get his flute to his mouth. Eventually, he gave up. I guess the flutist was getting ready for his solo that had not come yet.
