FRIDAY, 1st SEPTEMBER : BRUCHSAL to HAUENSTEIN

We were up early this morning so decided to walk into town for supplies, Lidl opened at 7.00a.m. but we had coffee at the bakery/cafe opposite before doing our little bit of shopping.  There was some drizzle about but not enough to be a bother and we enjoyed the walk.  

Back at the 'house', we had breakfast outside which was a welcome change, then packed up, said 'auf wiedersehen' to our Osnabruck friends who left a little before us, then drove into town for a quick look at the Schloss Burchsal before leaving.  The 'quick look' turned into a very lengthy one....we knew nothing about the Schloss, had never heard of Bruchsal and were delighted by what we discovered today.  Construction of the Schloss (palace) began in 1722 and the design of the Baroque palace, consisting of over 50 individual buildings, was under the aegis of the art lover Prince-Bishop Damian Hugo von Schonborn.  We took many photos of this stunning palace and its contents!!

Also housed in the palace is the impressive German Musikautomaten Museum

and rather strangely, a large room dedicated to 'Barbie'.....hundreds of Barbie dolls dressed in all sorts of costumes!

Leaving Bruchsal, we crossed the Rhine River on our way to Edenkoben and the Sesselbahn (chairlift) which Mike had found on the internet and we can't pass up the opportunity to ride on a chairlift, or cable car, or funicular!  When we encountered heavy rainfall, we thought we might have to delay the ride until tomorrow but, as we drove along, the rain stopped, the sky cleared and the sun even made an appearance so we continued on, passing through some lovely little towns and gorgeous wine country.

There was a steep, rough path to the chairlift which was a bit tough on the old legs but we made it, 

The views were amazing

We were surprised to see a herd of deer

and before heading back down to the motorhome, enjoyed coffee and cake at the cafe in the partially restored castle

Going down!

An hour later, we arrived in Hauenstein, where we are staying tonight in a parking place behind a shoe museum.  We were too late to visit the museum today so will do so in the morning before we leave.  

Our planned entry today into France didn't happen but tomorrow is another day!