Saturday 1st October - Bad Schussenfried, Germany

When we were planning our trip early in September, I had found mention of a prehistoric lake village museum (Pfahlbau Museum) on the shore of Lake Constance. Close to us in Somerset, archaeologists discovered the Glastonbury Lake Village and the Sweet Track, uncovered during peat extraction on the Somerset Levels, is the oldest known trackway in the world. We were therefore very interested in the museum and, given that it was so close to Zurich, it was put on our 'must visit' list.

Once again it was very misty and there was no chance of enjoying the views over Lake Constance on the way. However, when we arrived at the museum in Uhldingen the murky weather added to the atmosphere and it was easier to imagine the Stone Age and Bronze Age people going about their daily lives.

The museum consists of a collection of reconstructed Stone and Bronze Age houses set on piles above the lake close to the shore. They are based on finds from the hundred or so settlements found on or by lakes in the Lake Constance area. Uhldingen itself had a huge Bronze Age settlement of some 80 houses surrounded by a palisade although this appears to been on dry-ish land on the lakeside.

The guided tour took us to two of the reconstructed Stone Age houses where the guide explained in great detail, unfortunately in German that was well beyond our understanding, about life in the Stone and Bronze Ages. We were however able to see the construction of the houses with kitchens, storage, working and sleeping areas. The houses were full of reconstructed artefacts such as pottery, furniture, cooking utensils, ovens, fishing nets and traps and many other tools. The houses were themed by trade such as 'The Potter's House', 'The Weaver's House' etc. although it was made clear that this was done to assist in organising the tourists visits. There is no evidence that individuals followed a single trade. The tools and techniques were demonstrated by the guide and these we could understand. Flour was produced using a pair of grinding stones, fire produced by striking flint with a piece of fool's gold, hand axes were drilled to enable them to be fitted to a wooden shaft (a slow process at 1mm per hour!) and flint was knapped to produce knives, scrapers and arrow heads. A stone axe hafted to a long wooden handle, used for tree felling and shaping, was passed around and it was great to be able to feel the weight and balance of an authentic recreation of a Stone Age tool.

After the guided tour we were left to our own devices to investigate the village although the interior of the themed houses could only be seen on the guided tours. Three of the houses in the Bronze Age section were open and had scenes with life-sized figures demonstrating prehistoric life on the themes of living and crafts, environment and animals, and cult and religion. Here there were short descriptions in English and this aided our understanding. After a conversation with the guide before we bought our tickets, we purchased a guide to the museum in English and we were able to refer to this as we walked around. Some time later I was able to read the rest of the substantial guide and I must say that it is excellent, providing a wealth of information and well worth the €4 price tag.

One of the most interesting exhibits was a cart based on excavated finds including a complete wooden wheel found in waterlogged conditions north of Lake Constance. By experimental archaeology it has been determined that the cart would only take two days to make and that it could be dismantled in 30 minutes for storage! At the entrance to the museum were a few rooms of interesting finds and reconstructions with descriptions in English. I was even more impressed when I found a model reconstruction of a wooden trackway with the note “ Model 'Sweet Track'. Somerset shire Southwest-England (GB). Age of the original: 5800 years.”

I can thoroughly recommend the Pfahlbau Museum if you are visiting the area and don't forget to buy the excellent English guide book.

We had identified a stellplatz at a brewery museum in Bad Schussenfried, a town famous for its beer and this, in my humble opinion, seemed like a very good place to spend the night. When we got there, it turned out to be the weekend of their Oktober Fest. This was even better news as we had seen many advertised on our journey and were hoping to be able to experience one. The bad news was that, unsurprisingly, the stellplatz behind the brewery was heaving and we couldn't squeeze Henrietta in anywhere. Jane had identified another Stellplatz in the town so we plugged the coordinates into the Sat Nav and set of. It turned out to be on the edge of town close to a lake and across a few fields from the biggest beer tent that I have ever seen. Music drifted, or rather stormed across the fields and invaded the van. It wasn't going to be the quietest pitch but there was plenty of room and it was only a short walk to where all of the Fest action was happening. Early in the evening we went to investigate to festival tent and found a large crowd outside. It appeared to be a chargeable event and the tent was full with bouncers preventing anyone else entering. We walked on into town which was interesting but there didn't appear to be any other events happening there. We found the Schusserieder Brewery Museum bar which we would call the Brewery Tap – the pub attached to the brewery. Obliged to sample to local brew, we found some seats amongst the traditionally dressed locals and ordered two beers. Jane was going to order a 0.3 litre glass but I persuaded her to have half a litre so that I could have some of hers. The beer was very good and, much to my disappointment, Jane easily managed to drink the whole of hers.

When we got back to Henrietta, the festival tent was still pulsating to the music. The entertainment was one of the many Bavarian oompah bands and after every few numbers they sang the standard drinking refrain joined, it seemed, by the whole of the audience who were presumably raising their glasses full of foaming beer – not that I was jealous, you understand.

Photos: The Bronze Age houses; The Stone Age village taken from the pallisade that surrounded it – the main building was though to be a village meeting house on the original excavations; The cart; The Schusserieder brewery tap bar.