We crossed the border into Germany (no manned checkpoints) late morning, under sunny skies. The forecast was for 22 degrees and we’d decided to spend the day in Germany, in Freiburg in the southwest. French breakfast downed and French lunch packed, we all now wanted some German culture, and we started by making our way to the Freiburg Munsterplatz town square.

The square sits outside the main gothic cathedral, Freiburg Minster, which towers over it. However initially we were more focussed on dodging the crowds, as there was a thriving fresh food market in full swing as we arrived. We eventually found a semi-quiet place in the sun and promptly ate our packed lunch, after which we wandered through the market and picked up fresh strawberries and raspberries for €2.50 per very large punnet.

We had planned to go into the church and look around, however there was a service in progress, so we turned our attention to the bell tower door immediately to the right of the main entrance. There was a €2 charge indicated, however no-one was in a position to collect the cash, so we entered and commenced our climb up a very steep, tight spiral staircase which seemed to go forever. When we finally reached the top of the first staircase, we had to take another staircase – more in the body of the church, which thankfully didn’t last as long before we arrived at the main observation point. It was here that a rather brusque lady requested payment of the fee – quite a neat way of asking for the cash given we’d just climbed 209 steps and were unlikely to turn back!

There were a number of windows from the observation floor (along with several brochures, books and maps of Freiburg) providing outstanding views of the city, however there were also two further staircases. Intrigued, we followed the first one, which led a short way higher and into the body of the bell tower, right next to the nineteen bells. They all have names, and the largest, Christus, weighs almost 7,000kgs.

We then climbed the second stairway, which if possible was even tighter than the original one, and thankfully no-one tried to pass us. Another 56 steps later and we were finally at the real summit, enjoying absolutely magnificent views in all directions. Freiburg definitely looks very pretty when viewed from above, however unfortunately we were only there for half a day and had internet issues, so we weren’t really able to explore the more attractive parts properly.

After descending the 116m tower (which incidentally somehow managed to survive the Allied bombing raids of November 1944 when all the houses to the west and north of the market were flattened), we took a moment to recuperate and rest our wobbly legs, and downed an ice-cream whilst overlooking the square.
Keen to keep moving, we then drove to the edge of the city and caught the Schauinsland cable car up Mount Freiburg. The cable car is the longest loop cable car in Germany, and it ascends 750 metres over 3.6kms, to reach a height of 1,200 metres. We all loved the cable car almost as much as the one in Grindelwald – it’s such a quiet, pleasant way to travel, allowing you to soak up the amazing views, whilst actually covering the territory quite quickly.

Once we reached the top the kids had a good play at the decent playground, before we saw a sign that seemed to point to a castle only 400 metres away. It lead to a secluded little track through the forest, which we followed upwards as it wound around the mountain. When we finally reached the mountain summit (1,264 metres) we realised that the “castle” sign was actually a sign for a triangular viewing tower! Only slightly disappointed, we tackled yet another climb with as much gusto as the first. This climb only involved around 50 stairs, however the walls were of wire mesh, so after gaining a little height we did really feel the height in a way that we didn't inside the stone tower. We all managed to make it to the top, and the views here even cleared the tall Black Forest pine, oaks and elm trees. It’s so difficult to compare views – earlier from the cathedral the views were of Freiburg itself, however up here the view was for maybe 100kms into the distance, with a couple of pretty little towns in the foreground.

After descending via the cable car again, the kids discovered a flying fox playground at the bottom station, and had loads of fun before we finally hopped back in the car for the 45 minute return journey. We ate out for dinner - Millie and I had peppercorn steaks followed by crème brulee washed down with some local red. Overall it was a great day, with ipads in the car keeping the kids silent the entire trip, compared to the racket we had to endure yesterday!