A very busy day!

We’ve seen and done a lot today, from visiting an old castle to zooming high in a modern elevator, and from checking out cuckoo clocks to walking to the top of Germany’s highest waterfall.

Burg Hohenzollern was our first stop. It’s a castle perched on top of a hill, whose many turrets can be seen from miles away. A castle was originally built in the 11th century but the latest one is 19th century.

We entered the castle on a wide, enclosed cobbled road, which spiralled upwards. It brought us out at a great viewpoint over the surrounding countryside.

Once through the gate tower into the courtyard, the buildings towered above us.

We visited one of the chapels then went into the main accommodation building where the Prussian royal family once lived. It was magnificent.

Back outside, we discovered the courtyard was full of bubbles from an entertainer, much to the delight of the many children visiting, including me! We then went down into the ancient cellars and casements (armoured structures). Amazing to think how long there’s been a castle here, as the ancestral seat of the Hohenzollern family.

We then wandered around the outside of the castle, looking up at the towers, down at the valley below, and miles away to the horizon. What a great place!

Another blogger, Clune Gap Years, advised us to visit the Rottweil test tower as we were passing. We’re glad we did. As with Hohenzollern Castle, we could see it from a long way off, towering above the town.

At 246 metres high, the tower has the highest public viewing platform in Germany (232 metres). The tower is used to test and certify new elevator systems. It was fascinating to hear how the tower was built and how it’s used.

We were whisked to the top in the panoramic elevator, travelling at 8 metres per second and arriving at the viewing platform in about 30 seconds. The views were fantastic and Bertie was tiny in the car park below us.

We then headed for Triberg where we’re staying tonight. The scenery has become more hilly and forested , and the buildings are more alpine.

Having parked Bertie in the stellplatz in the town centre and had lunch, we headed out to see the sites. First, as Triberg is known as the capital of cuckoo clocks, we visited the cuckoo clock shop. We had considered taking some home as presents until we saw the price tags!

We originally intended to do the waterfall walk tomorrow, but the sun was now shining, so off we went. The path was really busy but not so busy we couldn’t get to the best viewpoints.

Triberg Waterfall is a series of seven waterfalls and one of Germany’s highest. We walked to the top and back down again so we earned a large slice of original Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte (Black Forest Gateau).