Thursday Matt and I spent the day driving up and down the Rhine River viewing castles. There are so many along the Rhine its hard to fit them all in, so Matt had the difficult task of narrowing it down. With a whole day in front of us and a short list of castles to see we just barely completed our list (there were just three castles on it -- there was a lot to see).
The first castle we saw was on the west coast of the river. It is called Burg Rheinfels. It was built in the 13th century and today is just in ruins. Surprisingly a lot remains and you can get a real sense of life in that time. We were a bit nervous at first that the castle would not be authentic because our first view was of the hotel and restaurant on the property. We were glad to see this did not compromise the authenticity of the ruins. Check out the photo album from this stop along the river.
The second castle is just outside Koblenz (where we would cross one of the few bridges across the Rhine and head home. It was called Stolzenfels. This castle (schloss in German) has been destroyed and rebuilt many times. Though we were impressed with the initial views of the property the castle itself was a bit fairytale-esque. Our favorite spot is the first picture in the album: the narrow stone bridge that sits in the hillside. We actually had to walk to the top of the hill where the castle was. Our tour was in German and we were given fact sheets in English to help us through the tour. The only problem was that while it took us just a minute or two to read the description provided in english the tour guide talked in length about each stop. We definitely felt like we missed a lot.
With just an hour to go before the castles close this time of year we made it across the river and to the Marksburg, the third and final castle on our list for the day. This castle made the list because it is the only Burg along the entire Rhine river that has survived intact. It was an impressive castle but again our tour was in German and only a brief fact sheet was provided. If we had thought about it sooner we would have bought a whole book on the Marksburg at the gift shop before the tour. By the time we did think about it, the gift shop was closed. Still, the trip was worth it as there was lots to see and occasionally our tour guide would provide some additional insight for us in English.
One thing to point out about the Marksburg is that it has the 3rd best collection of armour in the world (second only to Paris and London (I think)). Here are our pictures from the tour.
The most unusual thing of all is that nothing is really roped off. Gun slots in the walls are left open for little kids to fall through, ruins are left in the open to climb on and pick apart, and dark holes/stairways are not covered, guarded or advised against exploring. With all this the ruins have stayed in tact and have not been defaced and there is no news about lawsuits because someone fell in the dark and was injured. I don't know why it is, but it was refreshing.
We must start with the Cathedral (or Dom). Right when you leave the train station it towers over you. It was pretty amazing inside. We were fortunate to get a tour in english so we learned about the history, its survival through the wars, and the changes its going through over the centuries.
We also climbed 509 very narrow steps to the highest point in the cathedral. What a view!
We spent the rest of the day exploring some of the other 14 churches/catherdrals and more roman ruins. Our last stop of the day was to try a Kolsch, the local beer of the area.
