Heidelberg Schloss Again

Here, another day of my life was spent visiting the beautiful Heidelberg Castle remains. This day I enjoyed the surroundings with my sister, Kim. It was a cold and lovely December day, and after getting lost for a bit on the roads, we managed to find the castle in time for the English tour.

Our guide was the best so far of all the guides I've had in my four visits here. He was detailed and seemed to take great interest and pride in the history of the grounds and of Heidelberg itself.

Here, we found the bath house made for the young wife, Elizabeth, in the yard of the backside of the castle. A few steps beyond, and we came upon the next view below.



Following the path, it lead to the outer walls and gardens to the estate, and lead to this view from the side, that will continue to the road and woods.

The inner courtyard was quiet and serene when we arrived. They had a Christmas tree displayed, only adorned with simple white Christmas lights. The beautiful facade of the ladies' quarters shown in the morning sun, and I got a fantastic photo of it below. The statues here are of the family members of the Palinate Elector and those who married into the family.

Can you say Neckarsteinach 3x's fast?

This trip was made with our dear friends, Allen & Denise, who were visiting us in August 2006. The Neckar River flows through this part of the countryside, which is just down the street and over the next mountain from us, about 20 minutes. It is a beautiful drive, with castles and little towns nestled along the river. The Neckarsteinach is very pretty. They call it the Vierburgenstadt, which means the Four Castle Town.

The first place we actually stopped was at the Hirschhorn. You can drive all the way to the top, and they have a restaurant and hotel, and a small courtyard that you can have a wedding in. They were hosting one while we were visiting. It was very pretty and quaint.

We then found a parkplatz and found a path to the 4 castles. We found that we didn't want to attempt the stairway up the mountain for the first castle, and so we walked past the path for that one. The trail we did take took us past a castle that is a residence, and not open to the public. But, on the outer part of the wall was a place of worship that looked neat. Not sure if it was a meeting place, a shrine, or what, but neat nonetheless.

The one castle we did find that was open to the public was in ruins, and it was very cool. It still had it's lookout tower, and so we took a climb up to see the view over the river, town and farmland. It was very pretty and we even saw a tourist boat coming down the river. It would be a beautiful sight in the fall with the changing of leaves.

After our adventure in the ruins, thru the woods we went again. We followed the muddy trail down the mountain and into the town, where we passed by shops, modern sculptures and evidence of the altstadt. It was a lovely walk, and we found ourselves down by the river, and very hungry, so we stopped for lunch at one of the restaurants and were pleased with the cuisine.

All in all it was a good day with gorgeous weather, good company and beautiful views in romantic Germany.

Hohenzollern in Hechingen

November 2006

Hohenzollern is the name of ancestery of Prussian Kings and German Emperors. It has been dated to 1061 in writing, and therefore has survived history with importance for the German peoples. The family was extensive at one time, and they have left their mark on territory in many places. But the one we have seen so far is the Hohenzollern Castle, located in the Black Forest.

It is a marvelous castle, though recently reconstructed in the last century from war damage and age. The view both heading towards the castle, and from the castle top overlooking the world, is wonderful.

Since we went in the fall, we got to see some color and the crisp air made the adventure fun. Since it's located on such a steep incline, we opted to take the private bus up to the top, and we were welcomed by a layer of snow on the shaded side of the castle. Because it was a VERY mild fall and winter this year here, it was nice to throw some snowballs, and a bit unexpected for that early in the winter season.

My mother-in-law and her sister came with us, and we had fun chasing the kids around all the pathways and exploring the towers and little gardens. A very fun day trip for us, and I especially enjoyed it with the autumn show that displayed itself. I miss these colors from living in Michigan and the beautiful shows I used to see growing up.