LUNCH UP AT TAMBORINE...

I did so well at catching up on this blog and now I seem to be behind again.  This is never good as I am then always scrambling to catch up and I forget to record things, or I am in a rush and don't bother recording the details....

A couple of weeks ago whilst we were in Brisbane looking after our grandchildren, we caught up with our good friends Ian and Kathy and headed up to the beautiful little village of Tamborine, up on the Gold Coast Hinterland.  We have often been up this way but not stopped in the little township.  We did that today but we were not there long enough to explore it properly as Kathy had to be back home by 2.30pm as she had a dentist appointment at 3pm.

We dropped our kiddly winks at school and headed to their place with the beautiful Cheesecake that Sarah's friend Anna had gifted us as a thank you gift for picking up her toiletry bag that she had left at the Hotel they were staying at on the Sunshine Coast.  It looked pretty impressive and was very rich so we  knew there was no way we could eat it all, so shared with both Ian and Kathy and both our girls and their menfolk...

Beautiful cheesecake that Anna had gifted us..

We had a quick cuppa and some morning tea, a quick look around Ian and Kathy's garden before heading off for our little adventure and lunch up in the hinterland...

Ian and Kathy's front tree was a mas of colour.  It looked quite magnificent...

The drive up to Tamborine was beautiful.  We have had quite a bit of rain lately and the countryside was lush green, and such a lovely picture of rolling green hills.  We arrived up at Tamborine around 10.30am and parked not far from the "German Cuckoo Clock Nest", an amazing shop selling authentic German Cuckoo Clocks and Beer Steins and lots of other European and German knick knacks as well...

Tamborine is a beautiful little village set in the Gold Coast Hinterland and it is a place where you encounter breathtaking scenery and views, abundant wildlife and clean mountain air.  There is also a strong cottage industry there including many local arts and crafts, a host of natural and man made attraction, award winning wineries and top class restaurants, and country markets etc.

There are lots of other wonderful attraction up here as well, some of which we have done in the past and many more we are yet to visit.  We had previously been and seen the Tamborine Rainforest Skywalk, so didn't worry about checking it out this visit, but we are interested visiting the Tamborine Glassblowing but that will need to be left until another day. 

It is hard to put in words the beauty and tranquility of the Tamborine Mountain plateau (also often referred to as Tambourine Mountain, Mount Tamborine, Mt Tamborine, or Tambourine Mtn), located only 30kms from the Gold Coast and 70kms from Brisbane.

The German Cuckoo Clock Nest is located at the Gallery Walk on Mount Tamborine in the beautiful Hinterland region of the Gold Coast.

This is a family-owned business with over 20 years of experience and is now operated by second generation clock enthusiasts, sibling duo Anton Schafroth and Stefanie Wernekinck who have continued to preserve the mechanical forms of time in an ever changing technological world. 

 

The famous Bavarian Chalet features grand displays of Cuckoo Clocks, Mantle Clocks, Grandfather Clock, Contemporary Clocks and Watches. It features one of the biggest ranges of grandfather clocks and Black Forest cuckoo clocks in Australia. This beautiful store also has a wide range of Italian, Dutch and historic clocks.

 

The  Germain Cuckoo Clock Nest store has been dealing with German clocks for over three decades.

The Black Forest cuckoo clock was developed in the early 1600s. However, today’s German clockmaker’s combine historic clock making skills with modern techniques to create both traditional clocks that can match the needs of every homeowner.

This shop is packed with every kind of clock that you can imagine. It also features some stately and historic grandfather-style clocks. The various clocks on display are designed to show different times, meaning that you will always find a number of cuckoos on display.

Though the exact origin of the cuckoo clock remains a mystery (the two main theories are still debated today) the fact that the black forest region in Germany first brought the cuckoo clock to the world is not disputed.

Genuine Black Forest cuckoo clocks start from around $40 (Quartz movement), while genuine German made 1 and 8 day mechanical cuckoo clocks can cost up to $3,390 – worth every cent when you consider the incredible artistry and intricacy of these timepieces.

This one was one of my favourites...

While the cuckoo clocks are amazing, I am personally more partial to the longcase, or grandfather clocks as they are now commonly known. English clock maker William Clement is widely accepted as the first creator of the grandfather clock in the late 17th century. Despite their English origin, all grandfather clocks sold by Cuckoo Clock Nest feature German made movements by Hermle or Kieninger.

For me, the grandeur, elegance and imposing scale of the grandfather clocks win out over the intricate and beautiful cuckoo clocks in this Anglo-Teutonic showdown.

Grandfather clocks start from around $1,290 and get up to $17,990 for the top of the range products. There are a multitude of other options in between.

Cuckoo Clock Nest also offers wall clocks, mantle clocks and wristwatches and a range of German inspired souvenirs, including an impressive array of beer steins.

 They also have a huge range of German Beer Steins.  These Beer steins are a tradition in many German areas and where a part from the  German “Gemütlichtkeit” coziness. But to be used in beer halls and pubs / bars they had to have a calibration mark, for the volume what was able to be put in.

We learnt quite a bit about the German Beer Stein.  Identifying old German beer steins requires a keen eye. The first thing that you have to look for is a Made in Germany label on the bottom of the stein. Most imitations have Made in China or Made in Taiwan labels on them. An authentic German beer stein will always have a Made in Germany label, so beware of any steins that don’t have any mark at all. The mark may say Gemacht in Deutschland, which means Made in Germany. Some steins may also have the artist’s name or the company’s name that manufactured the stein.

Old German beer steins usually feature metal lids. The lid is usually ornately decorated with something that complements the painting on the stein. In most cases, the inside of the lid is lighter than the outside of the lid. This is because the inside of the stein generally oxidizes slower than the outside since it is better protected from the elements. The exception to this rule is that if the stein is displayed open, the inside and outside may look the same. In that case, both the inside and the outside will appear dark.

If you look at the inside of the stein while holding it up to sunlight, you'll notice that a  German beer steins will have a lithophane on the bottom. However, the presence of a lithopane doesn’t mean it is an old stein. If the picture contains any nudity or provocative scenes, it is a new stein. No old German beer steins contain nudity or provocative scenes. Also, old German beer steins may have awkward angles on most of the lithopane. This is because the lithopane is hand-painted.

Examining the exterior of the stein can tell you a lot about the stein also. All old German beer steins have hand-painted pictures. Most of these depict historical scenes. Some may have raised edges. If the stein is a Regimental stein, it will contain names of soldiers. However, if any of the names contain a first name, the stein is new. Old regimental German beer steins contain only a rank and a last night.

New German beer steins have a bump in the handle. Old German beer steins don’t. However, the absence of this bump isn’t a guarantee of an old beer stein. Somewhere between 10 to 20 percent of new steins don’t have the bump.

The shop also contained many other authenic German masterpieces, including German toy and bells and we enjoyed checking these out also...

 They also had a large range of Babuskla dolls,  which are a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size place one inside the other...

Babuskla dolls are a traditional representation of the mother carrying a child within her and can be seen as a representation of a chain of mothers carrying on the family legacy through the child in their womb. Furthermore, the Babuskla dolls are used to illustrate the unity of body, soul, mind, heart, and spirit.  We found all this rather interesting...

Not only did they have an assortment of dolls, but they had many other different Babuskla, including dogs and animals, and some of the super hero's.  Steve was quite impressed with these ones...  I needed to photograph some of them, as I have decided this is now the best way to have souvenirs these days.  I can look back and enjoy them, without all the work of taking care of them, dusting them and storing them...

They also stock an assortment of German hats and also beautiful German dressed dolls and teddy bears.

They had some beautiful soft toys, all dressed in their nationality costumes and they were ever so cute.  All I can say is that I am glad that I didn't have the kids with me.  Knowing how much they love soft toys, it would have been hard to walk out of there without having a bit of a splurge.

They also had some incredibly expensive clocks too which we were a bit mesmerized by.  None of us could get over the prices though.  These couple of clocks ranged in price from $20,000 to $24,000.  I can really imagine anyone playing that sort of money for a clock...

This clock was the most expensive clock they had for sale.  It was an actual limited edition clock and retailed for $24,990 and it just blew us away...

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This particularly clock was perhaps both Kathy and my favourite but at a hefty $19,990, we were definitely not taking it home with us.  We were impressed with the mechanism though and it had us quite fascinated.  We could have stood and watched it for quite a long time...

By the time we left the Cuckoo Clock Nest, it was almost lunch time, and we thought it best to grab an early lunch as we had to be home by 2.30pm at the latest so that Kathy could make her dental appointment.

The walk down the street was really lovely and we wished that we had more time to explore the many quirky little shops, galleries and boutiques along the way...

There were a few winneries to explore

The fudge here is to die for.  I bought some from here last time we were up this way...

Lovely little open air cafes along Gallery Walk

We wandered down the street checking out a few of the Cafe's, Galleries, and Winneries before deciding to have lunch at the Gallery Cafe.  This cafe was really quite lovely with a lovely fireplace inside as well as breathtaking internal timber architecture.  It has both and indoor and outdoor eating area. 

A lovely indoor fireplace which is always lit in Winter

The menu is printed on a board, including the special of the day. There are also printed menu to browse. Make your order and choose your table.

Gallery Cafe indoors is fullof light which comes from the big glass windown on the side and at the back. The views are directly into the green garden outdoor. The ceiling is arched and made with polished timber, reflecting the light coming from outside and gives the place a certain warm and charm. 

There is plenty of sitting place indoor, with a couple of sections. One area has sofa with small tables and the outdoor area is a tropical oasis with tables and chairs in between palms, plants and flowers. 

Steve and Kathy enjoyed hot drinks whilst the rest of us had a cold drink...

Steve's hot chocolate - it was delicious...

Kathy had a cappuccino...

Our meals were huge.  I thought that Steve and I were sharing a meal.  He ordered the tropical grill for me which came with salad and chips and he ordered a toasted, ham cheese and tomato sandwich.  In the end he ended up eating half of mine as well.

Ian also ordered the same as I did.

Steve ended up having to share this meal with me...

Kathy ordered a Chicken burger with salad and chips and likewise had trouble trying to get through it all...

Steve's toasted sandwich

Ian's meal...

There was a gift shop attached to the Cafe as well as several art pieces for sale in the Cafe itself.  Our lunch was lovely.  We lingered for a good hour enjoying the food and he company and then realized that we wouldn't be able to do any more exploring today as we needed to hurry and head for the car so that we wouldn't be late for Kathy's appointment..

Art work at the Gallery.

There were many beautiful gift and boutique shops along here as well and we were quite disappointed that we didn't have time to explore them all further...

On the way back to the car we came across the Whistling Duck Village..  The Whistling Duck Village is made up of seven individual business’s each one unique in its own way. Their wares are quite diverse ranging from the Treat Shop which sells Australian produced treats, chocolate and condiments.  Summitt Custom model cars sells collectable diecast cars from all eras.   Vera Rose Vintage Curiosity and Collective shop sells all sorts of beautiful vintage things.  I remember last time I was up here, she had a black lace and rose tea set just like the one my grandmother had.  It bought back lots of special memories then.  The Quillow Craft and gift shop sells a lot of local arts and crafts. Other stores stock unique jewellery and local artistic endeavours along with gifts and homeware from places like India and Asia.

These are friendly old style small businesses that you could easily spend a day exploring and we definitely want to come back and do that sooner rather than later....

Whistling Duck Village

We've had a lovely day up in the Hinterland.  Actually we always have a great time, when we get together with our good friends Ian and Kathy.  Life is one big adventure..

Next time we visit, I'd also like to check out some of the many waterfalls up here also.  Some of the better know falls are Curtis Falls, Cedar Creek Falls, Cameron Falls and Witches Falls.  Apparently, they are are all within an easy walk so I will add them to my list of places to check out in this area.