Thursday, January 11, 2007
Burg Eltz
I got an email from Mike & Elaine back in the spring saying they were going to travel from Washington state to Europe for a three-week tour through Austria, Switzerland and Germany, and wanting to know if we could meet up. I hadn’t seen them since Benjamin was a newborn, so I figured if they were going to travel more than 5,000 miles in my direction, I could travel a few miles to visit with them and join them for two days during their journey.
We met for supper in Trier on a Friday night, then on Saturday spent the day together exploring the beautiful German countryside. Our first stop of the day was to Burg Eltz, which is is one of Germany’s “dream castles.” It's a 12th century castle with modifications made in the 16th century, and is one of the most perfectly-proportioned medieval castles in Germany.
The first glimpse of the castle is breathtaking and unique. Instead of being perched atop a hill or mountainside, it’s nestled into a secluded woodland valley. I also found it interesting that it’s remained in the hands of the Lord and/or Count Eltz family members for more than 800 years. We managed to arrive just in time to join another group for an English-language tour and to see the interior’s heavy Gothic furnishings.
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We could only get there by foot, which wasn’t so bad walking downhill toward the castle. Returning uphill was a bit more taxing, although Steven and Elizabeth ran up the hill and waited at the top for the rest of us to catch up (I guess there’s something to be said about increasing your stamina while on the junior high cross-country running team).
We met for supper in Trier on a Friday night, then on Saturday spent the day together exploring the beautiful German countryside. Our first stop of the day was to Burg Eltz, which is is one of Germany’s “dream castles.” It's a 12th century castle with modifications made in the 16th century, and is one of the most perfectly-proportioned medieval castles in Germany.
The first glimpse of the castle is breathtaking and unique. Instead of being perched atop a hill or mountainside, it’s nestled into a secluded woodland valley. I also found it interesting that it’s remained in the hands of the Lord and/or Count Eltz family members for more than 800 years. We managed to arrive just in time to join another group for an English-language tour and to see the interior’s heavy Gothic furnishings.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXWe could only get there by foot, which wasn’t so bad walking downhill toward the castle. Returning uphill was a bit more taxing, although Steven and Elizabeth ran up the hill and waited at the top for the rest of us to catch up (I guess there’s something to be said about increasing your stamina while on the junior high cross-country running team).
Labels: Benjamin, Germany, MacKenzie, Travel, Zachary
