Marksburg and Burg Eltz

Another Saturday in our German experience led us to two unique castles.  The first was Marksburg, located above the Rhine River,  In fact it was the only hill castle on the Rhine that was never destroyed or seriously attacked.  It was built in the 12th century and gave a true glimpse into life in the middle ages.

This was one of my favorite castle tours!!!

This castle is very rustic and authentic!

This castle even has a  torture chamber!

The view of the Rhine from Marksburg...

Part of the kitchen:

Then it was on to Burg Eltz, Rick Steves favorite European castle.  It is on the left bank of the Rhine on the Moselle River.  It is one of three castles never destroyed.  It has been in the same family for 33 generations.  Originally, 3 families built their castles together with a shared courtyard on a 70 m rock spur.  It was built from 1157 to 1472 and still looks the same.  It was a long hike from the parking lot but when we first caught a glimpse it was WOW!!!

 The Interior courtyard

We took the English tour but were not allowed to take any interior pictures!

A few more exterior shots...love the pile of stone cannonballs!

Another fabulous day touring gorgeous Germany!!!!

Wurzburg and Rothenberg

Another weekend adventure took us to Wurzburg, about an hour away.  This city has one of the most important baroque palaces in Europe.  Construction began in 1720 and was completed in 1780 and was built by one of the prince bishops.  Originally it cost 1.5 million florins (1 florin was a week's wage).  The Residenz, as it is called, was 90% destroyed in 1945 but the country spent 20 million euros to rebuild it.  

Paul snapped this photo of the grand staircase before being informed that pictures were not allowed on the tour.

Paul did sneak this photo of a ballroom at the end of the tour.

The grounds were gorgeous!!!

From  the Residenz we could get a fabulous view of the 

Marienberg Fortress!

A fort was built on this hillside in the 8th century and the 

large castle in the 1200's.  The cars give an idea of just 

how large the wall is surrounding the fortress.

The interior of the fortress...

The view of the city and bridge from the fortress

The gardens and Handsome Paul

We then continued driving south another hour to the town of 

Rothenburg, considered the "most German town in Germany"

It is a perfectly preserved medieval town from the 

17th century...quaint and charming!

Here is the city hall:

There is a famous Christmas Shop in Rothenburg where 

every room looks like this one

The "thing to do" in Rothenburg is to take the 

"Night Watchman's Tour" at 8pm starting in the town square.

There were about 100 people gathered for the English tour but

we got a picture of me and our guide.  He led us through the town like 

a pied piper, telling us stories of life in the middle ages.

We finish our tour of Rothenburg with the setting sun on the city gate.

Next week it is a journey to Marksburg and Berg Eltz!!!