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I just bought two cuckoo clocks!
Ever since I got here I thought it would be cool to get one because they're so neat and distinctly German. So, today Angie took me to a cuckoo clock outlet in Kaiserslautern (called House of Clocks Gifts and Collectables--www.houseofclocks.com) and we looked at the clocks.
While looking at the clocks, I learned a lot about them. The store we were at had 3 types. The two more traditional types with all the gears in side that need winding every once in a while are called one day and eight day movement clocks. They sound the best and they have the traditional "tick-tock" sound to them. The one day movement ones have to be wound every day, and the eight day movements only have to be wound once a week.
The other type of clock is battery operated with a quartz movement, so they don't have all the gears inside, and they sound a little different when they hit the top of the hour. They are cheaper, and they don't weigh as much, so I ended up getting two of that kind. I would have liked to get the more traditional kind, but these are less work, cheaper (both were 89 Euros--that's cheap for a cuckoo clock) and they were the right size to tote back to the States. A lot of the more traditional ones were showy, and big. Especially the eight day movement clocks. The battery ones are just as pretty--both are hand carved from Black Forest wood, and one of them plays music. I got two because I wanted one for my apartment, and I got one (the music one) for my parents.
Another really awesome thing about buying the cuckoo clocks was that even though the total came to 178 or so Euros, Angie and Joe have VAT forms, and tomorrow when Angie and I go to Paris (!!!!!!!!!) her husband is going to take a VAT form in and get the tax back for me; the tax was included in the display price and it was around 30%. The other great thing is that they took down my credit card info for me, so they're going to put the VAT tax back onto my card for me. Yay cuckoo clocks!!
In other news, Angie and I leave for Paris and Versailles tomorrow. WEEEEEE!!! We're super excited for Versailles. Our train tickets to Paris cost more than our hotel, so that's really funny. Stay tuned!
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Brittany
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I love coocoo clocks as well. :D My step-grandparents brought one over for my mom and I've wanted one every since. Maybe I'll get lucky enough one day to get over there. I got your postcard by the way. It definitely put a big smile on my face. Love you lady. Hope you have an amazing time in Paris. <3