Black Forest Thursday 30 June 2011

Once again we are away by 09:00 and today could be a bit of a mystery tour as I haven't been to either of the towns we are visiting!
We are going to the north and east of the forest and the scenery is different to what we have seen before which is the whole idea for doing something different. By the time we have finished today we would have had three very different days out.
Variety is the spice of life!
I love going to and exploring new places. I feel a little apprehensive as I don't want to look a fool by not finding the town centres, coach parks etc but sat nav has taken a lot of the worry away. The two towns we are visiting are Altensteig and Calw and I have spoken to both toursit information centres and obtained addresses and directions which is a great help.
There must have been a nasty accident somewhere behind us as we pass ambulances and police cars screaming along in the other direction.
Our first port of call is Altensteig and as I approach the town my sat nav keeps wanting to send me away from the signposts so I ignore the sat nav and follow the signposts to the centre os the town. What was I saying above about sat nav making it easier?! The road name we want has about 14 letters and I think something has got lost over the phone! As we near the centre I come across the car park I am looking for (by the park and opposite Chinese restaurant) and pull in but it seems further than the 100m from the centre I was told. I drive out and drop off in a bust stop in the centre which in reality isn't much more than 100m from the parking area.
Altensteig is an old town perched high up on a hill overlooking the new town, where I have dropped them. Not a massive town but pleasant enough to spend an hour in.
I walk back to the information centre to thank them for their help over the phone and ask for some information about Altensteig. I don't think they have many English coaches here as there is nothing in English amongst all the information.
From here we drive the 40 minutes to the ancient town of Calw. Again it is a nice ride except for all of the interruptions due to roadworks.
Once in Calw I find the bus/railway station to drop off and it is only a short walk across the road to the old town.
I have to go and park at the old railway station, about a ten minute walk away.
The walk back into town is not too strenuous but it is becoming hot again and I get a bit of a sweat on! Calw would look a whole lot better if there were fewer roadworks especially the way I walk in where the road is completely dug up with temporary walkways for pedestrians and the few shops along this part of the raod have had to close for the duration as there is no access to them.
To confound this in the centre of the town they are erecting a large stage that takes up all of the square it is in, in readiness for a Suzi Qautro concert at the weekend. I am writing this on Sunday morning from my notes and Can the Can by Suzi Quatro has just come on the radio! Spooky!
Once you are away from the obstructions the town is gorgeous with all the streets lined with twisted timbered buildings. There are lots of cafes and shops as well as a nice river running through. I decide against having something to eat in the town as there is a self service cafe in the old railway station so I wlak back up the hill to where I am parked only to find the cafe shut! Bum! There is a type os supermarket nearby that has a bakery so I end up with a couple of ham rolls. Exciting eh!
Calw is said to be one of the prettiest towns in the Black Forest, and I can see why, but it would look much better without the building work and Miss Quatro's stage. Glad I came though.
As I am waiting for the passengers to load I strike up a conversation with a cleaning lady and her friend. Well I don't exactly say anything except Gross Brittania and then they are off, chatting away to me but me not having a clue what they are on abouT! We say our goodbyes, I shake their hands and we are off.
We leave at 14:15 and we make our way back via a slightly different route that takes us through the forest itself. You can't see for trees!
On the way back I stop at one of the cuckoo clock tourist shops for any last minute shopping before on final stop at the world's largest cuckoo clock.
There is an entrance fee of €1 and they are quite cute here as you cannot see the front of the clock (unless stood on the main road 100m away) unless you pay to walk through the clock.
It is well worth the euro as a young lady gives a short explanation in English before we are ushered outside to see the clock, which is the size of a small house or large shed. Depends where you live I suppose!
It is now 16:53 and we eagerly await the cuckoo at 17:00. It is a slow seven minutes but I'm sure the young lady speeds up the final minutes because it is 16:55 and less than five minutes later the cuckoo cuckoo's!
I am very impressed with the clock but the cuckoo, well that's another thing.
He was a bit shy as you could only see his beak but he was an unusual looking cuckoo, he looked more like Rod Hull's emu! Probably was his emu doing a bit in his retirement! And the language barrier doesn't seem a problem as German cuckoo's sound the same as English cuckoo's!
We are back at the hotel by 17:15 and I take the opportunity to quickly wash the coach in readiness for the journey home.