Thanks for the thumbs up John.

Map of where we went.

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This was a full day that included two excursions. We docked in the morning at Breisach Germany, had breakfast and then departed on the included 4-hour tour. The Viking description is as follows:
“Explore the dense, lofty fir forests of Germany’s Schwarzwald, the fabled Black Forest. Meet your guide at your ship, then embark on a scenic motor coach excursion through a mythical land of cuckoo clocks, glassblowing and timeless fairy tales. You will begin with a drive into the woods, passing the wine-producing villages of Ihringen, Gottenheim and Bötzingen, each of them cradled among the soft, undulating hills and prolific vineyards of southwestern Germany. After a photo stop, continue to the beautiful Hofgut Sternen hotel, a loyal keeper of Black Forest traditions. During your visit, you may choose your immersion into Black Forest culture: take a forest stroll, attend a demonstration of cuckoo clocks or glassblowing, or learn to make the decadent Black Forest Cake for which this region is known. After, you will return to your ship via Freiburg, a major university and ecclesiastical center.”

The drive through the Black Forest was beautiful. When we got to the main stop in Titisee-Neustadt, we attended the cuckoo clock demonstration. We wandered around the gift shop after the demonstration and yes, we bought a clock. We didn’t get a cuckoo clock, as we already have two of them, but got a different kind instead (a glass dome type that now sits on the mantle above our family room fireplace). We then had some of the delicious Black Forest Cake in the Black Forest. We wandered around the glass blowing shop and outside, took some photos and then returned to the ship via a scenic drive.

My previous post can be found at https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-806210-1.html, while the first post of this series (that includes a map of all of the places where we stopped) can be found at https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-801137-1.html

Next up: Colmar France

Driving through the southern part of Germany on our way to the Black Forest

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Getting into the Black Forest

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The cuckoo clock demonstration

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A beautiful piece of woodworking. Note that it’s for sale at approximately $5,300 (USD).

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Outside of the shops

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Thank you CCPhotoist, I appreciate it.

Thanks Don, I appreciate your comment.

Thanks Laura, I'm glad you enjoyed the trip. We've been having a good time together for over 50 years.

Thanks for the thumbs up Longshadow.

Thanks Mark. You do what you can with the rain. We actually had two small umbrellas, but left one of them on the tour bus. My wife took the first two photos with her iPhone, as I didn't want to risk getting my lens wet. The rain did make it interesting though. After the first part of the walk to the restaurant, we gave up trying to make the small travel umberlla work for the two of us and I let Kathy use it and I just got wet. The camera was in the bag and stayed dry though. The rain did give us a different perspective on Lucerne though.

Thanks NMGal, it was beautiful and we enjoyed it very much. Many more posts to follow.

Beautiful photos of a scenic drive; well done Mark.

This post will finish our visit to Lucerne and begin our cruise to Amsterdam on the Rhine.

As we were ready to leave the Chapel Bridge to walk to the restaurant for lunch, the skies opened and we only had one small travel umbrella. We got wet! After an excellent meal, we had a few minutes before we had to walk back to the tour bus, time that we spent in a souvenir shop where I bought a small Swiss Army knife and we also got a few post cards.

We then rode the coach for a little over an hour to the Rhine in Basel Switzerland, where we boarded the Viking Eir for our week on the Rhine. The dock was right on the Swiss-German border. Unfortunately, we did not have time to see any of Basel. The rain stopped and we enjoyed the start of our first river cruise. Eir is the Norse Goddess of Healing. It was an eventful day, starting at Lake Como in Italy, driving across all of Switzerland from south to north and ending with cruising the Rhine in Germany.

My previous post can be found at https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-806122-1.html, while the first post of this series (that includes a map of all of the places where we stopped) can be found at https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-801137-1.html

Next up: Breisach Germany and our first full day on the Rhine river cruise

We’re about to get wet!

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Walking to the restaurant – with one small umbrella

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The restaurant where we ate lunch - inside. It was still raining, but we had taken this photo before we left to wander so we would know where to go for the lunch arranged by Viking

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Lucerne to Basel

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We have arrived in Basel at our home for the next week

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Evening cruising on the Rhine

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From our veranda on the upper passenger deck

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Thank you for your kind comments Reuss. We really liked what we saw of Lucerne. I'll have to ask my doctor if he can prescribe some good chocolate and see if my insurance will cover it. You have an interesting connection to Lucerne.

Thanks Don. I hadn't thought of the Laderach shop in that context, but it works.

Thank you Eugene, I appreciate it.

Thank you for the triple thumbs up tcthome. I'm glad you are enjoying it.