28th December 2025

Bergheim

Woke on the last day to do any real sightseeing and greeted with a nice 2 degree day after frost left its mark overnight.

Headed out for breakfast in a cash only cafe who served both a tasty and decorative scrambled eggs on brioch. 

Lots of others out having Sunday breakfast and an early start to touring. Luckily we just beat the crowd for tickets on the cable car and then old funicular railway.

It went through three stations on the way to 1809 feet at the top of the hill.

We opted to jump off at the castle first and surprisingly it was a free tour. The external walls and facade generally are in good condition and a few of the internal rooms have been restored and repurposed as museums and exhibition halls.

The Pharmacy Museum was a hit with Jane given her Dad’s background. There was a raft of old equipment and some great literature about the evolution of pharmacy.

Deep in the bowels  of the castle was a wine cellar with 2 barrels 10 metres long and about 5 metres in diameter – there was plenty to go around for everybody.

There was an interesting offering at the bar which was hard to resist.

Up on the castle wall there was a breathtaking view all the way down past Manaheim with its coal fired power station belching out plenty of steam.

It was also a lovely view down into the old town and the river with its mix of old and new bridges.

The castle had been just to a range of musical favourites, with more to come.

Out of the castles it was another cable car ride which rose steeply up to the next station That silver strip of cable definitely had my attention after the Lisbon incident.

It was straight out of the new into the 5 carriage wooden funicular with operational equipment still looking like that used in the 1900’s. It chugged away at a snail’s pace to the top.

The top of the hill view was just as spectacular as from the castle, but it was decidedly chillier , that much so that the frost on the table provided an ideal cooler for our beers.

Top of the mountain provided lots of opportunities for walks and bike riding. Two guys in their 30’s seemed to be revisiting their childhood with remote controlled 4WD vehicles.

Tossed up whether to walk down, but decided to take the return journey and visit the Market area again. It was still abuzz, but with a few more people imbibing in the gluhwein.  On the way down passed a beautiful house which had been paint bombed.

Popped over the beautiful old bridge and decided to tackle the much vaunted ‘Philosophers Walk’ high up into the hills amongst the mansions on the other side of the river.

There was no philosophising on the way up , just plenty of huffing and puffing before reaching the top and discovering the Philosophets Garden. Amazingly the climate on the hill is such that some tropical flora survives- even palm trees.

At the top you basically looked straight across to the castle and down on the old town dotted with its church spires. A couple of rowers were enjoying a very peaceful time in the downstream current.

Enjoyed the down hill walk a little more than the uphill and walked along the riverside park. It seemed to be a favourite spot for people to sit and soak in the afternoon sun, with no chair staying vacant for more than a minute. There was plenty for kids to do including a sand pit the size of a football field.

Enjoyed an interesting cup of coffee, infused with a one Euro coin after the barista dropped it in when giving change. Did nothing to the flavour and gave me a bit more change to spend later in the day.

Continued along the river, passing the Beach Club which had a few late afternoon customers.

Had another couple of bridges to cross and frost to crunch before heading home, passing a bell tower with no church- go figure.

Dolled ourselves up and went hunting for a last typical German dinner which evolved into the best meal on tour- it was all Italian.

Meandered home a bit melancholly that the trip was nearing its end , but happy with an experience that will linger on in the memory for a long time.

Thought we would catch a late night view from the rooftop terrace, but track conditions were not suitable.

Tomorrow will be a day of hop on , hop off , wait – rinse and repeat as we make our way back to Frankfurt.