My wife really wants a cuckoo clock. We will be traveling from down the Rhein to Basel to Lucerne to Lauterbrunnen and back to Basel to fly out.
Suggestions on stores for quality, selection, and price?
I would presume will run $500 or so but with some much higher than that?
Thanks
Posted by
Green Bay
20099 posts
Best place to buy is in Triberg, Germany, in the Black Forest where they are made.
I know in Orson Welles famous adlib from "The Third Man" he says "In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, and they had 500 years of democracy and peace. And what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."
Welles recalled, “When the picture came out, the Swiss very nicely pointed out to me that they’ve never made any cuckoo clocks—they all come from the Schwarzwald in Bavaria!”
He even got that wrong, as the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) is in Baden-Wuerttemberg, not Bavaria.
Posted by
Green Bay
20099 posts
I see that the Viking cruise makes a stop at Breisach for a day. There is a 4 hour shore excursion of the Black Forest that includes a cuckoo clock demonstration, and I'd be surprised if you did not have an opportunity to buy one. Otherwise you could make your way to Triberg on your own with a Baden-Wuerttemberg regional ticket. Takes a couple of train changes and finally a local bus as Triberg train station is down in the valley and Triberg is up on the hill. Leave at 9:35 and get there by noon. 2 hours to shop and then a 2 1/2 hour bus/train trip back to Breisach by 4:30 pm. Cost is 32 EUR for 2.
We stopped at this shop. You can peruse their price list. They will ship home for you.
https://www.ticktack-shop.de/
Posted by
Faribault
211 posts
We took the Viking cruise last year, and went on the black forest excursion. They sell a lot of cuckoo clocks there in all sizes.
Posted by
Los Angeles
4412 posts
Be sure to factor in shipping, it would likely be easy to buy one online after your trip