A Secret Castle In The Hills

We all know that one of the greatest perks about living in Europe is the plethora of castles at every turn. For me, I see one at least every few days. They are just everywhere and not to mention, most are preserved quite well. Thankfully, I’m not yet desensitized to seeing these massive architectural masterpieces. The magic is still very much alive!

Recently, Toblerone told me he had a surprise to show me and I always get pretty excited for these! We parked in the middle of the woods, and we walked quite a distance until appeared, from behind the thick trees, ruins of a castle built long ago.

There was something really eerie and heart breaking about it. And although it was ruins, you could still imagine the people living here long ago.

The history of the castle is stated on a small sign that also shows you what each room was used for.

It Reads:
Michelstein was built in 1100
Imperial City of Rottweil destroyed it in 1377
Acquired by the Lords of Ifflinger-Granegg in 1535
Later abandoned and in 1831 it was bought back
Bequeathed by the last Baron of the Catholic Church in Rottweil
Transferred from the Swabian Hiking and Preservation Club.
In 1931 ownership granted to the club to keep the castle from further decay.

The Residential Tower

Nestled high up on a mountaintop, far away from anything else, this castle had the perfect view of the small village below.

It’s still so amazing to me how much history is here in Germany. How lucky I am to be surrounded by it all. Reading about this in school holds no candle to actually experiencing it in real life. FIELD TRIP!!!!

Until next time, Readers!!! xoxoxo

Let’s Go For A Walk, Shall We??

Every morning, it’s become habit for Harley that he needs to go outside and run and play for an hour or so. After that, he comes inside…drinks a gallon of water and passes out for a few hours. This allows me to get all sorts of things done around the house without him tailing around behind me!

So, as I mentioned before there are many walking trails everywhere…connecting to each town, etc. It’s like an active person’s dream. Notice I said active person…this is not me. However, I’m getting into the swing of things and starting to really enjoy going to explore the world around me. Of course, I bring Harley as my trusty watch dog just in case there are crazy people or wild boars. Not that he would hurt either of those in my defense.

This morning I went on the walk solo (since Harley is visiting his Omi and Opi until Thursday!) and decided to bring along the camera so you all could join me! Here’s a glimpse of it all. I literally walk out of my door, and bang a left straight up the hill into the woods (to grandmother’s house…yes, literally I could walk to Omi’s house.) Keep in mind, these paths are always there, beaten down into perfection, and I never see people on them! Crazy talk.

Do you remember when you were a kid and you found that special tree or built a fort and felt completed isolated yet totally secure at the same time? This brings me back to that magical time and I really do wish I could share it with everyone.

Side Note: Since WordPress is really starting to annoy me with the fact that when I place pictures into my blog and then save, somehow half of them get erased. SO…another slideshow it is! Sorry about that!! :-))

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Until next time, readers!! xoxoxoxxoo