We took a long day trip today and planned on seeing two castles. Well, there are A TON! of Castles/Schloss'/Burgs along the Mosel. WOW!! We saw probably 4-5 castles from afar and actually took tours of two of the more famous ones. They were so lovely (if you don't count the uphill hike with 4 kids to actually REACH the castle! LOL)
Burg Eltz
This is the view from the top of the hill... yep! We hiked all the way down to the castle. Burg Eltz is owned by the Eltz Family Company. It is actually three houses in one. Each brother of the Eltz family had their own section of the castle. So total it had 80 rooms, 40 fireplaces, 20 bathrooms and 3 kitchens!!! It was quite nice, and the family descendants still stay there for holidays if they choose! 
A little bit closer pic! Gotta love zoom! ;)
From inside the courtyard area
This is the base of the castle. Just a rock wall the girls sat on while we took a potty break.
The arch right before the courtyard with the castle in the background. Thanks Jessy for the family pic!!!
Inside the courtyard - isn't it lovely!
Wall ruin on one side of the castle
Apparently this is one of the only castle that was NEVER bombed in ANY of the wars. The tour guide joked that the family was always on the 'right' side and had sons in certain armies, so their castle was never touched. LOL!
Cochem Castle - Reichsburg
This castle was so GORGEOUS!!! It was totally destroyed from 1689-1889 when it was acquired by Mr. Louis Ravene and reconstructed as a 'summer cottage' He did stay true to the original plans though, with the hidden staircases and symmetrical construction. They had one room with a false door because there was a door on the left, so they made a false one on the right to make the room symmetrical! LOL! The brochure says its a medieval castle from the outside and an 19th century chateau on the inside.
Entry way up to the castle. This one we were actually able to park close and only had to hike a bit to get to the actual castle.
Lovely chateau!! I want a summer cottage like this!!
Okay! I think that is enough pictures for now! We are planning on the Dino Park this week, next week is Rome - so you'll probably get those pictures on Saturday. And then Jessy and I are going to the Zell Wine Fest on Sunday the 29th, so hopefully we'll have some great pictures of the Mosel River!!
3 comments:
How beautiful. I bet the girls will talk about those forever. Can't wait to see your layouts with them.
Wow, those are beautiful castles! It looks like everyone is having a great time. I'm glad you're getting to see some of the beautiful country before you come back to the states. Thanks for sharing.----Mom Wills
Wow...those are some awesome castles...when i get there you are going to have to tell me which ones to go see!! Did you go to Lichtenstein yet?
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