The 10 Best Shopping in Black Forest, Baden-Württemberg

Reviewed By glenmann - Montville, United States

I was at the kuckuckhur in 2016 ! I had a nice Sunday to take a ride to Triberg because i had planned to buy a koo koo clock when in Germany and did a little research and found that Triberg was only a little over 1 1/2 hrs away from my location in Baden Baden where i was staying !After making the trip to this beautiful wonderland with my Nephew we parked the car at the parking garage and started our trek to browse all the beautiful clock and wood carving shops heading up the hill!I stopped at all the shops before stopping at Ollies (which is the Ex son in law of Gerald Burger which owns the shop directly next door ,Ollies shop had nice clocks but was small and did not have a big selection , as we walked next door and was met by Gerald burger at the Kuckuckhur he greeted us and began asking us if we liked the clocks after we walked in !As i started to say yes they are beautiful he told me they are junk! I was a little taken back by this response as then i was wondering why he would call his merchandise junk! After giving us a little history in clockmaking he would tell us about what was handmade and what was made in the factory,s for the tourists which of course he sold but after a while it was evident that there was a bigger picture 1He did,nt let us past the hallway until we passed the test that we were in the market for a real clock since most people as tourists are there to browse and he probably see,s 2-300 people pass through his shop a day and only 4 or 5 really buy the expensive ones to ship home ! Well after 1/2 hr i guess we passed the test and he let us into room #2 off the hallway ,There he showed us the Master Carvers Club book with signatures going back to the 1800,s on past and present Master Carvers which was quite interesting to say the least ,after showing us all the differences between mass made and hand made he showed us his designs ,Yes he was a carver but now is a designer and has his team of master carvers bring his drawings to life ! The real Cuckoo clock is just a bird that sings ,all the other stuff he said is just a show ,like the water wheel turning or the dancers that dance to music or the 2 guys pounding beer steins on the table ,all the things that make these clocks fun but he said you just pay more for all that stuff when you really came for an authentic Cuckoo clock that just sings every quarter hr !He helped me choose my clock along with my nephew and the purchase i couldn't be happier !After returning back to the states it took about 8 weeks from DHL to receive my clock in perfect condition and with directions for an easy set up !I am very Happy that i took the time that day to visit all the shops and make my final choice with Gerald Burger , he speaks also English which is great and since my clock is still keeping perfect time i will be headed there again when it's safe to travel and i will be definitely getting another one of his creations when i return to that beautiful place in the Black Forest called Triberg!