Breisach and the Black Forest

Backblip

A busy day today and the temperatures again in the high 20s and very humid. We arrived at 6 am in Breisach, an important small town historically, but more of a peaceful haven now. The Rhine used to split in two here and whoever had control of the hill in the middle controlled the river and its trade. However, in the 19th century the river was straightened and Breisach's strategic advantage was lost. However, the town has lost none of its charm and is overlooked by its beautiful cathedral high on a hill.

Just time for a quick lunch back on board and then it was on to the coaches for a tour of Lake Titisee and the Black Forest region. The scenery changed again to rugged valleys and roaring waterfalls as well as the thick dark forests that gave the area its name in Roman times. The brothers Grimm set their fairy tales in this area and it's easy to see where they got their inspiration.

The little spa town of Titisee (allegedly named after the Roman Emperor Titus) allowed a short stop to partake of the region's speciality - Black Forest Gateau:-) Well, it would be rude not to, wouldn't it?!! We managed to resist the thousands of cuckoo clocks beautifully carved by local farmers during the long winter months, each farm making a small section of the design of the clock and skilled clockmakers putting all the parts together. Some cost thousands of euros and must take many months to complete and each is a work of art (unlike the cheap copies made in China!)

As in all the regions of Germany and Switzerland, there are local costumes based on old legends and customs and the ladies of Titisee wear woollen pompoms on their hats, although they were once painted wooden balls!! The red pompoms, as seen here on our charming local guide, denote that the wearer is single, whereas married ladies have black pompoms!

We had our first rain of the holiday at Titisee and when it rains here, it really pours! Nobody had come prepared, so the local shops did a roaring trade in umbrellas:-) However, it soon stopped and the heat dried it all up very quickly and the blue skies returned, as did we to our lovely ship which felt more like a luxury holiday home every day.