My husband and I will be leaving for Germany for two weeks in just a few days. While there, we want to get an authentic cuckoo clock, we will be staying in Boppard and Baden-Baden two nights each. Any suggestions within those towns? Or tips for buying one? We are looking for a smaller one and are willing to pay for quality.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19092 posts
Southeast of Baden-Baden, Triberg is considered the cuckoo clock capital, but you can find them for sale all over southern Germany, particularly in the Black Forest. In Boppard, not so much.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32206 posts
Rachel,
I was going also going to suggest Triberg. Have a look at....
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
I supposed when you say "authentic", you mean "Made in Germany", and mechanical, not electronic. Well, don't worry. Unlike nutcrackers and beer steins, where the cheaper models are almost invariably made in China, most of the mechanical wooden clocks come from one of a few manufacturers in Germany. Just about any souvenir store will sell them, but maybe not in Baden-Baden... the Russians tourists who frequent this town tend to prefer bling.
Posted by
Melbourne, Australia
85 posts
Several years ago when we were staying with relatives in Lahr we went to Triberg & bought a clock for a friend. Our friend wanted a small one (the size of my husband's hand). It didn't matter that we were only buying a small one, the staff at 1000 clocks were very helpful and treated us as if we were spending a fortune. Our relatives now take all o"seas visitors there.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19092 posts
There are hourly IREs from Baden-Baden to Triberg (actually start in Karlsruhe and go to Konstanz) by way of Offenburg. You can use the Baden-Württemberg (Länder) Ticket for this route. The stretch from Hausach to Triberg is called the Schwarzwaldbahn and is quite scenic.
Posted by
OP
Seattle, WA
3 posts
Fantastic advice, guys!
Thanks so much!
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
If the price is unreasonably low then it's made in China. It really turns my stomach to see unsuspecting tourists buy what they think is a real cuckoo clock when they're actually getting some piece of junk made in a Chinese Sweat Shop.
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
8942 posts
There is a large store right on the main drag of St. Goar that has cuckcoo clocks. That is fairly close to Boppard.
It has been my experience that store owners will tell you where a clock is made (or any other item) and it should have a label on it telling you this too. It is against the law in Germany to mislabel products, even food. It has to say where it comes from.
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
8942 posts
Go through any store in the US and you will be lucky to find anything that isn't made in China. I was so shocked my last visit. Seriously, everything in every store. Clothing, craft, utensils, cookware, everything.
Posted by
Oberpfalz, Germany
1290 posts
There are a few family stores left in Trieberg (Black Forest) for clocks, at least there were a few years ago. You can make yourself crazy shopping for cuckoo clocks around the Trieberg region as there are many stores selling them. You cold probably make a few days out of it!
You could take a look at www.ebay.de and search for Kuckucksuhr