Austria Trip 2019: The Castles

There were four of them!  And when you consider that two are the top two from all of Germany, you're really saying something about what we saw.

Here they are in the order in which we saw them:

1.  Hohenschwangau Castle, Füssen, Germany

It's a 19th century castle in Bavaria, the childhood home of King Ludwig II,

built by his father, King Maximilian II.

It was fun to see it up close and personal, as well as from far away.

This is what it looked like from the next castle that day, nearby.

2.  Neuschwanstein Castle, Hohenschwangau, Germany

This also is a 19th century castle, commissioned by Ludwig II in honor of Richard Wagner,

the great German composer and conductor of operas.

This is Germany's most popular castle, with 1.3 million people visiting it annually.

It's also supposedly the castle on which Disney's logo is based.

We spent our most time at this castle, walking up to it and even further up the mountain

to the Marienbrücke Bridge to get the views from above.

We were close enough to actually touch it.

Can you imagine living there!

3.  Vaduz Castle, Vaduz, Lichtenstein

Believe it or not, we went to this castle only because it was in Lichtenstein

and we wanted to check off another country on our Bucket List.  HA!

We drove from our home base in Ehrwald, Austria, to the western border into Lichtenstein, 147 km.

See how tiny a country Lichtenstein is, snug as a bug between Switzerland and Austria!

It's a 12th century castle that's now the private residence of the Prince of Lichtenstein.

Absolutely No Entrance!

But we got close enough to see some of the details...

and then from afar, on the side of the mountain.

4.  Eltz Castle, Wierschem, Germany

This is Germany's second most popular castle, which we saw on our way home from Austria.

We first saw it from above and afar, while walking down the pedestrian road to it.

It's a 12th century castle that's been in the same Eltz family for 33 generations!
But why it's there is beyond me.  How/why would anyone want to attack it with no easy outlet?

We actually had time to eat a brat and drink a beer while there, all of 1.25 hours,
and only 37 km out of our way while driving the 860 km home.
A total no-brainer!

Four castles in a week's vacation to celebrate Astrid's 65th birthday!
That's what I'm taking about.

For those of you who wonder, NO, we did not enter any of them:
Neuschwanstein was too expensive, lines too long, and no photos inside,
Hohenschwangau was a side show to the Neuschwanstein,
Vaduz was a private residence, and
Eltz...not enough time, except to eat lunch on the terrace outside.

Tecklenburg, Germany, with Philine and Mechtild

So, finally, we come to the end of all the posts from the end-of-November and early-December trips to Koblenz, Germany (3 days), and  then to Vasse, NL (four days)!  I knew I'd eventually get here but didn't know when.  HA!

It was during our Vasse trip that we took a day to drive the 85 km to Tecklenburg in the North Rhine-Westphalia area of Germany, on the western side of the country.  

You may recall that we have had several delightful visits with Münster friends, Philine and Mechtild, over the last years.  Once we realized how close we were to their neck of the woods, while in Vasse, it was a no-brainer to figure out a visit.  Philine has always wanted us to see the quaint town of Tecklenburg.  So the trip was scheduled.

You know how the journey for us is always an important part of our destination.

We already knew that Tecklenburg was a town of half-timbered buildings...and hills.

From our parking spot, we immediately saw the church tower, hallmarking the town's center.

As we entered the center, it was a sight for sore eyes.

And because we had an hour to "waste," before meeting up with Philine and Mechtild,

we headed straight to the tourist center to get our bearings.

We were there on a Tuesday, between two weekends of the Christmas Market.

We didn't have to walk far to get a feel for the town and it's hilly levels.

Remember that this was the second week of December, so Christmas was everywhere.

Have you ever seen so much mistletoe in one spot?

Or how about a witches' path?

Impressions everywhere.

Then Philine and Mechtild showed up and, because it was time for lunch,

we immediately went to the Three Kings hotel where Philine had already reserved a table.

It doesn't get better than that:  good God, good friends, good food.

Even lots of photo-op goodies inside the hotel.

Back outside, we continued "looking and seeing"....

...being good tourists that we all are!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Astrid and I still had another hour or so to kill before heading back to Vasse for dinner,

so the 4 of us took the short drive to the nearby Haus Marck, 2.5 km away.

It's a 12th century castle/mansion that is still a family home.

A young fella inside the courtyard graciously allowed us to peek.

Then we walked alongside the moat towards the back of the property...

and enjoyed the view as the sun was setting.

What a way to end our day with friends who have become dear to us!

Thank you, Philine and Mechtild.  We should do this more often 

(as daughter Amy loved to say).

And what a way to end these two trips, one week after the other, from last year, 2015!
Now it's this year, 2016, already February...and miles to go before we sleep.

The Koblenz, Germany, Weekend

If I'm not careful, things are really gonna pile up on me any day now, all because we've just finished two wee get-away trips two weeks apart.  What a nice predicament, right?!

First, we took the Friday-to-Sunday weekend after Thanksgiving to go far enough away (300 km, 3 hours by car) to forget I wasn't home with my family for the holiday.  It's still the hardest time for me to be away...but taking a trip seems to help.

Our home base while gone was in Koblenz, Germany, where we spent the day on Friday seeing as much as possible, before venturing out on Saturday and Sunday.

We knew we'd end up at the Christmas Market in city center, so we started first near the Rhine River.

This 10-meter history column at the Gorres Place greeted us outside our parking spot.

A short walk to the Rhine River offered a delightful restaurant stop to begin our (main meal) midday. 

Inside we actually overlooked the river...and other goodies.

These were our views looking across the river right outside the restaurant after eating.

If the sky lift had been open that day, we would have taken the ride to see the view from it.

But it didn't matter, of course, because we can't always see/do everything.

In fact, right there at the sky lift we could see the Basilica of St. Castor, which was next on our list.

How can you not be awed by such architecture!

By now you already know that I first take pics of the nave,

first towards the altar and then behind to the organ in the back.

Then I go for the pulpit and the font....

...followed by the usually amazing ceilings....

...and then the closer-ups....

...and other details.

There's always enough to find.  Something for everyone.

Just outside the church, we headed to the statue of Emperor William I at the Deutsches Eck .

The Deutsches Eck is the "German Corner" where the rivers Mosel and Rhine converge.

This is the point we were dropped off at while on our Viking River Cruise in 2013,

before being bused to the Marksburg castle nearby.

So if the statue looks familiar, that's why!

It's HUGE, 14 meters high....

...and tall enough to climb up and inside, seeing the views from a different perspective.

Back down on the ground, we walked along the Mosel River towards city center,

just as the sun was setting by late afternoon.

Looking inland we saw the basilica again, followed by other architecture and many impressions,

before then turning into the Christmas markets...all 7 of them flowing together.

We LOVE the German Christmas markets.

So many goodies to eat.

So many things to admire and/or buy.

And because the market is at the main square, there was another church to see:

the Liebfrauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) Roman Catholic church.

The back-n-forth pics of the nave...

...followed by quick impressions.

As we went back outside, there was St. Nicholas waiting to welcome us.

In the Netherlands he's called Sinterklaas.

And that was it.  Not so short and sweet...but with lots of short-of-eyes impressions,

both coming and going.

That was just the first day...HA!
See what I mean about things piling up?!