TITISEE, BLACK FOREST AND CUCKOO CLOCKS with the DRUBBA FAMILY

Opportunities Today : February 2008 Issue

TITISEE, BLACK FOREST AND CUCKOO CLOCKS with the DRUBBA FAMILY

 

 

The history of the Drubba family began when Klaus and Ursula Drubba came to the town of Titisee and started to work with the Hansen company in the Titisee Hotel, which was then combined with a small shop and boat hire. In 1973 the Drubba family became self-employed and enlarged the shop and added on a restaurant. The boat hire started off with the boat "Götz von Berlichingen" in 1976 and in 1980 the new boat "Titus", the replica of a Roman Galley was launched. In 1978 the Restaurant "Zur Mühle" and the Black Forest Clock Center were built, which today holds the shop "Peter Drubba". In the eighties hotels were built. In 1983 the Alemannenhof was opened and in 1986 the Hofgut Sternen Hotel. In 1988 a shop and glassblowers shop were integrated into the Hofgut Sternen complex. Klaus and Ursula Drubba passed the business on to their sons, Olaf, Juergen, Peter and Thomas in 1996 and in the year 2004 a second retail business was opened in the town of Regensburg and in 2006 a further hotel, the Maria von Marschall became part of the Drubba company. The company "Drubba Hotels & Tourism" started off as a family business and now is a business with a staff of over 100 persons.

At one of the travel events in Prague, Czech Republic, our Editor Subhash Motwani spoke to Ursula Drubba and here is what she had to say -
 
How old is Drubba and what is Drubba all about?
Drubba was founded around 1955 in the Black Forest- Germany's most popular holiday destination. It started as a shop selling souvenirs and offering boat trips on Lake Titisee. Today we have two hotels and there are several groups which stop over at Drubba for lunch and for souvenir shopping in the region of Regensburg. The clocks available at our Black Forest Clock Center offers a wide selection of cuckoo clocks, wall clocks, grandfather clocks and here you can also see a 15 minute demonstration of the story of the development of the making of the cuckoo clock. The Cuckoo clocks are made in a place around 6 kilometers away from Titisee known as Hönes cuckoo clocks. They are very famous and they make original black forest clocks.

The basic thing we started was selling cuckoo clocks for the first time. We first started in a little kiosk in Titisee, selling souvenirs and then we started selling cuckoo clocks. That was the basic beginning of our business. And also very important that the clients who arrive in Frankfurt and on their way to Switzerland don't go thru' Germany but stop at Titisee, so they have 2 hours to enjoy the very fine nature, the valley and the Black Forest region. We get almost 30000 tourists per year and most of them shop to have lunch and shop at our souvenir shops.
 
What kind of cuisine or food is generally served?
We have choice of European, Indian as well as vegetarian cuisine. We also have an Indian chef who can cater to the needs of the Indian traveller. And if we are told in advance that there is a group of 4 to 6 Indians coming for a meal, we could organize the same on prior intimation.

What is the best time to come to this region?
I would say from end of April right upto the end of October. That's the main spring and summer season until autumn. The weather is nice, it is pleasant, you can go out and see the beautiful area, in the winter time everywhere there is the rain and snow of course, but it is still lovely. And the lake freezes over in the winter and it's beautiful; the lake is frozen and you have blue sky above and it looks great. You can even go ice skating during winter.
 

As summer is the time when most Indians visit Europe, what are the activities one can do in the region of Titisee?
In summer, you can go swimming and then you can go on the boat around the lake. We have two boats. One of them is a replica of the Roman galley, because a Roman was supposed to have found lake Titisee over 2000 years ago and he gave it his name and that's why one of our boats is a replica of a Roman galley. And you can go around the lake, it is a battery run boat, there is no oil or motorboats on the lake. And then you can also get a small paddle boat or battery run boat to go around the lake yourself if you want. To experience various activities I would recommend that the visitors to the region spend atleast one or two nights to enjoy the area and see the different places around. We are quite centrally located and after stopping at Titisee, you can go to either Switzerland, Austria or even France. You can go to Lake Constance as it is not far away either, and we are not very far away from Freiburg which is a beautiful city, very historic located on the western edge south of the Black Forest.

 
And is your entire family involved in the business?
Yes, Klaus and myself, we started it and now our three sons are also in the company - one of them looks after the hotel and the other two sons take care of the shops and the incoming tourists.
 
TITISEE - The Pearl in the Black Forest

Titisee is a world famous morainic lake which is believed to have been a glacier left over from the last Ice Age. The village of the same name nestles on the shore of the lake where you will find Drubba. Besides, it's cuckoo clocks and the boat trips along the lake, the region is famous for its culinary delights including the world famous Black Forest cake as well as the cosy “zur Mühle” restaurant serving traditional German cuisine. Titisee lies in the heart of the Black Forests, surrounded by dark fir trees, fairly tale woods and flowering meadows. It draws it's name from a famous Roman General who discovered the lake Titisee around 41 A.D.

Currently, the area has the Hofgut Sternen, a Best Western Hotel and the Alemannenhof Holiday Apartments by the Lake comprising of family apartments and suites which are fully equipped with kitchenettes and free use of pool and sauna for the residence of the hotel. The region of Titisee is one of the most popular holiday destinations in Germany. It is located in the south western state of Baden-Württemberg.The capital of Baden Württemberg is Stuttgart- one of the important cities of Germany.