BRUHL CASTLES

 It was just beginning to get dark. The time was minutes past four in the afternoon, but the winter of Germany loves to pull the curtains off the daylight too soon. The quick visit was unplanned and we got to know about this location while we were about to board the return train from Bonn to Dusseldorf. With the day train pass covering North Rhine Westphalia for three of us, there was no harm in getting down at Bruhl on our return from Bonn. After all, Bruhl is just the next station on the Bonn to Dusseldorf route and is hardly ten minutes from Bonn Central. EM had just read that Bruhl has two lovely castles, Augustusburg and Falkenlust, which are beautiful and historically significant enough to find their names in the revered list of the UNESCO world heritage list.

So, with almost no knowledge about the place, we got out of the Bruhl station and found our way out. Christmas was just a few days back and it was not an easy affair to negotiate the December chill even with loads of winter wear on. Daylight was beginning to fade away fast and we walked fast, following the few people who looked like tourists with cameras in their hands, trying to locate the Bruhl Castles. Barely a few minutes out of the station, what we saw in front of our eyes was sheer magnificence...a strikingly beautiful structure, sitting right in front. The dim light of the sunset further added to the beauty of the Castle. We moved close and took out one of the leaflets, which were so delicately arranged  on one of the wall racks. Thus we got introduced to the Schloss Augustusburg. Schloss refers to castle in many of the North European languages. The Falkenlust was just nearby.

We read more into the leaflet while trying to catch the last glimpse of the expansive gardens all around, knowing very well that we had just a few minutes to absorb the experience. Darkness was taking over. The Castles are normally closed during the time of the year and we had to satisfy ourselves with the pictures of the interior of the Augustusburg. We read that these 18th century built palaces, with their French gardens, were built by the then Archbishop of Cologne and were designed by a host of designers. The interiors are said to be one of the earliest and most ornate examples of Rococo creation in Germany. During the era of the divided Germany after the World War II, Augustusburg hosted the state guests of the President of the Federal Republic of Germany. 

After walking through the Castle, we decided to continue our walk into the Bruhl town. It was pleasantly dark with a few street lights on and with a few people on the street...and the last lot of Christmas markets being dismantled. The town was lovely and we kept walking for about an hour on the streets lazily before walking back to the station. 

The next train was to Cologne and we boarded it...no harm in dropping by Cologne Cathedral again on the way back to Dusseldorf.. Inside the train, as we relaxed for the next thirty minutes, until we reached Cologne, I was so glad to catch a glimpse of the Bruhl Castles. At the same time, I left behind the desire to revisit the place again during the non-winter months when the interior of the Castles are opened to public. 

Indeed, travel is like life. Sometimes we plan a lot and don't get to visit places and sometimes some places just pull us for a quick experience without any serious plans from our end.

This post is for alphabet ‘B’ of the #BlogchatterA2Z 2020 challenge:
 B for Bruhl