Organs, who’d have thought

Thursday 10th September 2020

Now that Hayley’s pulse rate has calmed down after yesterday, and Dels’ shoulder has stopped aching from carrying the bag all day it’s time to move on. We are nearing the end of our first week in Germany’s Black Forest, next week the Mosel Valley. A quick breakfast in our free overnighter stop in Botzingen and we are off. Today we are going to a town called Waldkirch. Waldkirch is famous for Organs, who’d have thought. They are famous for the old mechanical street organs that you crank by hand as well as the big fairground ones that used to be all the rage from the late 1800s through to the early 1900s. However, the town is also famous because it is the home of MACK rides who own Europa Park and build fairground rides for the international market. Very crafty Hayley. Very crafty.

In less than an hour, we are in Waldkirch and in a very nice shaded spot in a free “parkplatz” which is a couple of minutes walk from the town and right next to a very nice lake with a cafe and restaurant right on the shore side. Very nice here, lots of vans with some English.

Once settled we have a drink in the warm sunshine by the lake, it’s a lovely day, clear skies, and warm temperatures.

It’s the last week of holidays for the people in Baden Wuttenberg so everyone is out taking advantage of the weather before the weekend.

It may sound sad but we are off in hunt of the organ museum. This town is world-famous for them, the funfair type, from the small street, hand-cracked versions to the huge machines that sat in the middle of carousels. This town is all about that. In fact, they have the world’s biggest organ cylinders as you come into the town. So while we are here we should have a look.

The museum was excellent. Fascinating, with demos of the different types from the small to the large. We latched onto the end of a guided tour, the lady was very kind to us and helped us out along the way. We got a demo of the fully automated machines, the type with the book of punched holes in the pages, fully automated, amazing to watch. The first computerised music?

Time to get some provisions so it’s off to the nearest Lidl. What’s this? Quite by chance, MACK Rides the roller coster maker has their factory in the street at the back of the Lidl so Hayley diverts us to see if she can see anything remotely interesting. Nothing.

Oh well too bad. Back to the van, drop off the shopping, and time for a walk in the town of Waldkirch.

A very nice, clean, and tidy town, very pretty and busy but with a nice safe feel unlike Lahr a couple of days ago. It’s 5 pm and we can’t help but notice that this is the time when the Germans all sit outside in the sun and partake in a nice cold beer. Well, when in Rome…

After a small beer, it’s back to base for a light simple dinner and bed. We have decided to stop another day as there is still more to see here and the weather is holding until after the weekend so why not.