Castling

Saturday December 30

(Note - due to poor internet connection at our current house, my Google photo library isn't syncing with my laptop.  I will be adding photos later.  The photos included below are ones I was able to find online and download).

We found a website listing the Top 10 Castles to see in Germany.  The number 1 listed was Neuschwanstein castle which was a couple hours drive from our Farm Airbnb.  We had decided not to visit it due to limited access in the winter.  Now we see that the #2 and #3 castles are both within an hour of our place on the Mosel.

Cochem Castle from the parking lot below.  

Imagine an invading army having to rush this

hill...

We decide to make an early start for Cochem Castle, which is down the river about 40 minutes. The castle opens at 10 am and we wanted to get there early enough to hopefully get one of the dozen parking spaces at the base of the castle.  Otherwise, it appeared that a hike from the town below up over 400 feet of steep walkway would be necessary.

When we arrived, we discovered that even from the parking lot, there was a steep climb to the castle entrance.  We walked up to the entrance and were informed we could drove those not able to walk to nearly the top and then turn around and park below. 

After successfully getting our whole crew to the entry, we were able to get a discount as  group of more than 12.  Cochem Castle (aka Burg Cochem) was originally constructed over 1000 years ago.  It went through a series of phases of construction and growth until it was nearly completely destroyed in 1689.  The castle sat in ruins until the 1860's when it was purchased and rebuilt by a wealthy merchant from Berlin.  The exterior was restored to its original state, but the inside is "modern" to 19th century standards.

Our guided tour was conducted in German by a guy with an accent so thick that Donovan and Jessie could only understand a fraction of what he said.  Fortunately, they had printed descriptions of each room in English so we could all follow along.

We left Cochem after our tour and continued down river towards Castle Eltz, one we knew from reading up was closed for renovation, but we hoped to get some photos of the outside.  The further away from Traben-Tracham we got, the fewer open places we encountered.  We wanted to stop for lunch and ended up having to backtrack about 10 km until we found a Greek restaurant that was open and serving a full menu.

Castle Eltz - view from the observation point
walking down from the parking lot.  The castle
is closed for renovation - note the scaffolding
on the right side. 

After a tasty lunch, we again headed downstream, until we reached the turn-off for Burg Eltz.  Unlike Cochem, which sits atop a mountain on a bend in the Mosel river, Burg Eltz was inland.  I recall visiting here more than 25 years ago and recalled it being deep in a forest.  Visiting in winter, the forest was bare of leaves, but the castle still seemed to be set in a very unusual location.  We reached the parking lot and then walked down a long hill until we rounded a corner. Suddenly, far below us in the middle of the forest was the castle with a stream surrounding it on three sides.  We all took photos from an observation point far above.

We took a long, lazy ride back along the river, arriving home and capping off a wonderful day with a dinner of hamburgers and chips.

Suits of armor in the weapons room. They say
the tall suit was for an Austrian Knight whom
was 7-feet.  

Hunting trophies and stained glass crests of the various
families that have inhabited the castle.

Examples of the wood carvings and ceiling art
visible throughout the castle.

View from the Castle courtyard

Looking up at the Keep.

Dining hall