Cuckoo Clocks For Sale

If you are coming August, plan on hot weather. And that means not every place is air conditioned so you may sweat a bit. You want to buy a cuckoo clock and stay away from touristy attractions? Since I have sent 38 cuckoo clocks back to the US as gifts because for some reason that is what everybody wants from Germany(???) I can give you a few pointers. In Munich all the touristy(sorry) shops sell them. You can figure on 20 US Dollars for a cheapie(made in China) all the way up to thousands of dollars(Hand Made in the ‘Black Forrest’), of courses prices vary with the US Dollar/Euro Exchange rate. Your better class of shop will offer packing and shipping(with insurance) to your US address. The plus of these touristy shops is that they take credit cards. There are several of these shops in the main walking plaza of Munich, and the department store Karstadt has a good selection of cuckoo clocks. Your hotel may even have a dealer they can recomend that will give you a discount, or a special offer like free shipping.
About taking the less beaten path. If the restaurant has it’s menu only in German then you know it is a place that tourists do not visit, and they will more than likely NOT take credit cards. In Germany most restaurants have their menus posted outside by the front door so you can see right off if they cater to tourists. To visit Munich and stay clear of tourists just go off on to the side streets. For example wander off to the market plaza near the old city hall. You will see venders selling local produce and all kinds of foods, and there are many places to eat and drink(the beer is wonderful in Munich – tastes great on a hot day!).
Bavaria has many tourists because that ‘castle’ is always used in tour guides and whatever to advertize Germany. My rule of thumb? Drive somewhere and when you see a little town that looks good with no tour buses and no group of people with cameras, then you are off the beaten path.
Have a good visit and good luck!

the town of HAMM. good deli meats!

the tour buses do actually go to those little off the beaten track places………..not sure how far you are from this but Hamlin is a MUST…..just to see the rathaus when the clock strikes is amazing……………

Munich is really far from Freiburg. Freiburg is the black forest, Germany capital.

If you can, see if you can participate in a Volksmarch…I’m not sure of the spelling. When we lived in Germany, we went on Volksmarches and a few were through parts of the Black Forest.

Volksmarches were anywhere from about 5-12 km and many went through the smaller, less tourist-y German towns as well as the German countryside. At the end of the hike, one would receive a medal (out of bronze, pewter, and etc) with the town’s name and things the town was known for engraved on them. And, one would have a card where the day, amount of km hiked and etc were recorded.

Freiburg is in the middle of the Black Forest region but its quite far from Munich…not suitable for a day trip…from Munich try Nuernberg or Bamberg for a day trip..

Munich is southeastern Germany–The Black Forest is southwestern Germany–They are not day trip close..
The MUST DO Munich day trip is Neuswanstein (sp?) Disney like castle, Get the tour across from the main train station by Herti’s Department store..I know how you feel but the beaten path is actually to some of the best stuff…and in August there may be no "less-beaten path" in southern Germany, It’s their vacation month too….You can get coo-coo clocks and Lauenbrow (sp?) Beer Mugs on every corner….Let’s shoot for something more original like a nice goose down duvet. I know you will have a total blast, that is one of the coolest cities in the world…