Thursday, January 11, 2007
TT #36
One of the nice things about living in Germany is the castles. And it's not just the big, touristy ones either. And yeah, I know--a few of them are palaces rather than castles. Here are 13 I've been to:
Neuschwanstein. Might as well start with the big one. This is what everyone thinks of when they think of castles in Germany. We've been a few times--mostly whenever someone came to visit from the States--though not lately. On our first trip, back in 1985, with a group of friends, the actor Richard Mulligan was in line just ahead of us, but none of us was brave enough to approach him.
Linderhof. When you go to Neuschwanstein, there are 2 other royal castles nearby, all built by Ludwig II. We went to Linderhof and skipped Herrenchiemsee. Linderhof is small, but it's the only one that was completed, and the interior is amazing.
Heidelberg. Even though we lived in Heidelberg for three years, the only time we visited the castle was during our previous tour, when we were in Landstuhl. Silly.
Frankenstein. This is just a ruin, but, well, it's Frankenstein! It's close to Darmstadt, where my husband grew up, mostly, and they used to ride their bikes up the hill and play there. Every year, there's a huge Halloween fest there. It started decades ago with some Americans from the nearby military base, but now it's a major event. We went to the fest about 20 years ago, when it was still small enough to be manageable. The rest of the year, it's a nice place to just wander around, and we've done so periodically.
Auerbach. *sigh* This castle caused me more trouble... It's located not all that far from where my in-laws lived, and there are very nice trails around it, so for a while, nearly every single time we visited, we'd go walk around the Auerbacher Schloß. So finally, one visit, I was in a ... mood, and rolled my eyes and said "again?" And got a reputation for disliking castles in general. It took the longest time to convince my mother-in-law that I didn't hate castles--I was just tired of walking around the same one over and over again. Still, we haven't been back there. *sigh* Part of that is probably because she's moved in the meantime. Probably.
Lichtenberg (Kusel). I'm specifying that this is the one in Kusel, because there are dozens of Lichtenberger in Germany. There's a restaurant in the castle that is very popular with Americans--the food's not bad, but the point is--it's in a castle! If you click on the picture, it's my mom and two of my kids outside the castle.
Starkenburg. We've only seen this one from the outside, but I'm including it because it was built by my husband's ancestors on his mother's side. For an all-American mutt with no clear heritage, I find this very cool.
Erbach. The Count's family still lives on the 2nd floor, if I remember correctly. The town of Erbach is very close to where my mother-in-law lives now, and we visit the town fairly frequently. It's a gorgeous medieval town (click here for pix), but I have to admit, the main reason we go there is this: 
.
Zwingenberg. I'm not sure why we only went to this one once--it's apparently a pretty popular place, and my mother-in-law lived in the town of Zwingenberg for a while.
Alsbach. This one is in Bickenbach, my mother-in-law's husband's (step-father-in-law's?) hometown. Another one we didn't visit often.
Breuberg. Another one near the in-laws, and the boys' favorite... not least because there are sheep in the erstwhile moat. They spent a lot of time discussing the defensive capabilities of the fortress.
Hohenburg (Homburg). Again, there are a whole bunch of Hohenburgs. This one is just 15 minutes west of us, in Homburg. I couldn't find an English page for it, but there's a link on the page if you want to see it in French... given the location, that's hardly surprising. Anyway, this is an interesting ruin, and the picture shows my kids in front of it.
Nanstein. This is the first castle I saw in Germany. It's in Landstuhl, where we lived the first time I was here, and where my husband works now. We still go there occasionally--it's a nice walk-around, and it's pleasant to eat at the restaurant in nice weather--outside, overlooking the town.
Links to other Thursday Thirteens!
- Gattina: Egyptian taxi rules
- Carmen's having a birthday
- Tink's past
- Caylynn's travel plans
- about Skittles
- Shannon: Arizona
- She: pre-travel checklist
- Scooper: intro
- Laura: a whole-hand birthday
- SciFiChick: literary detectives
- Lara Adrian: upcoming books
- Christine: her TT is about 2006, but better yet, she sold her first book!
- Frances's week
- about Annie
- Candy Minx: Emerson
- Julia: booking through Thursday
- Chris: blog tips
- Alyssa Goodnight: favorite books of 2006
- ANCSweetNSassyGal: healthy foods
- Dawn: TV shows
- Leah's job
- Doug: college, part 3
- Scribbit: family activities
- You're next!
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The only castle which I know is that from Heidelberg ! But that's very long time ago at least 35 years ! Must have changed a bit. I still have a german passport and speak german too but live in Belgium since over 40 years !
I'll keep these in mind for when I plan my trip to Germany. I don't know when I'll go, but it's on the list!
I loooove castles! I know them all, but unfortunately didn't visit any of them (yet!).
Thanks for visiting my TT.
Thanks for visiting my TT.
Great list! There are certainly plenty of palaces and castles in Germany. So far, we've been to the palaces at Neuschwanstein, Schleißheim, and Nymphenburg. We plan on visiting Linderhof and Heidelberg at some point.
Thanks for stopping by and have a good day!
Thanks for stopping by and have a good day!
Great post and pictures. I love castles although I've never actually been to one! Thanks for dropping by :)
I love castles. My husband just bought one for his business. It's not as grand, but it is called THE CASTLE!
Happy Thursday!
Happy Thursday!
Wow! I didn't realize there were so many castles in Germany. I guess whenever I think of Castles I tend to immediately think of Scotland.
# posted by 
: 1/11/2007 3:22 PM
: 1/11/2007 3:22 PM
I love castles and after my kids are grown plan to travel just so I can explore them.
I see why you go to Erbach if that's what you get to eat. Yummy!
I see why you go to Erbach if that's what you get to eat. Yummy!
what beautiful castles. more places i must see after i visit the family castle in england.
thanks for visiting my tt this week.
thanks for visiting my tt this week.
How cool!
Someday... actually, I'll have an opportunity to visit Germany this year. Hoping it works out.
Someday... actually, I'll have an opportunity to visit Germany this year. Hoping it works out.
Darla, these photos are great! I love German castles, but I've never been to a single one. Sad fact, when you consider that my mom is from Bavaria.
My TT is up. A further list of books I'm looking forward to this year.
My TT is up. A further list of books I'm looking forward to this year.
WOW! I love castles but haven't had a chance to visit one. Thank you for sharing these pictures. They are amazing.
And thank you for visiting my site.
And thank you for visiting my site.
Here in New York we get all excited if a building is just 200 years old.
I'm imagining myself waling around one of those castles late at night.
Shivers.
Thanks for visiting,
Frances
I'm imagining myself waling around one of those castles late at night.
Shivers.
Thanks for visiting,
Frances
# posted by : 1/11/2007 5:23 PM
: 1/11/2007 5:23 PM
Castles!! Fantastic!! I love that you went to Frankensteins castle how cool.
Great list. Please forgive me for missing coming to your blog last week for TT...I had so many errands picking up passport doctors appts, it was one of THOSE weeks that I almost didn't do TT.
So I am back in the game...and always like to come to your blog.
Candy
Great list. Please forgive me for missing coming to your blog last week for TT...I had so many errands picking up passport doctors appts, it was one of THOSE weeks that I almost didn't do TT.
So I am back in the game...and always like to come to your blog.
Candy
WOW didn't realized there many castles in Germany! I love castles and it one of the thing I like to tour someday :)
Great list - I'll have to send this to my sister, she's been to Neuschwanstein & some of the others...
# posted by : 1/11/2007 9:47 PM
: 1/11/2007 9:47 PM
All I can say is WOW! I'm so jealous--those are all beautiful! I've been to the Edinburgh Castle in Scotland, but that's it. Thanks for the fix!
My T13 is up at http://www.alyssagoodnight.blogspot.com
Alyssa
My T13 is up at http://www.alyssagoodnight.blogspot.com
Alyssa
Wow. Those pics are amazing. I had no idea there were so many castles in Germany. I thought most of them were destroyed during WWI and WWII. That was a great post.
# posted by : 1/12/2007 1:43 AM
: 1/12/2007 1:43 AM
they're beautiful. I didn't realize there were so many in Germany.
Happy TT
Happy TT
# posted by : 1/12/2007 5:16 AM
: 1/12/2007 5:16 AM
There really is a Castle Frankenstein! Woo-hoo! Does it have the platform & crank & lightning rod, too?
# posted by : 1/12/2007 6:11 PM
: 1/12/2007 6:11 PM
I'll have to show these to my daughter who's taking middle school German and in love with all things German.
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