Burg Eltz

This outing was once again with our good friends, the Walkers.  Our Director, Gabi,  had suggested we see her favorite castle, Burg Eltz, so off we drove--less than two hours away!  In fact, most castles we've seen up to now have been under two hours away!

We parked the car and walked down quite a lengthy path through a forest, maybe almost a mile.  But the walk itself was great as the woods were amazingly dense and beautiful.

We began to wonder as we walked on and on with no view of the castle in sight...

until we turned a corner and had...

...the shocking "Maryland-Freeway/Washington-DC-temple" experience right here in Germany!!!

Seriously!  For over a mile we saw nothing but beautiful hills and valleys, and then...WOW!!!

THERE IT WAS!!!

Like something out of Disneyland!!! 

The 850 year-old castle sits on a steep rock in a valley of the Moselle River.  It represents 500 years of European architecture, culminating in its present shape in about 1600 A.D.

The amazing thing about this castle is that it has been the family home of the 

Lords and Counts of Eltz for more than thirty generations.  And due to clever diplomacy, it is one of the few castles in Germany to have escaped destruction.

The chapel was very impressive!

Wow!  Note the chapel tombstone date of 1663

Unfortunately, no photos were allowed inside after leaving the chapel,
but I found these two on the Internet.

 

Here is a view of some remaining walls and the nearby Eltz tributary to the Moselle River.

Heading back into the forest to return to our car, we almost missed seeing the crumbled ruins

of another old fortress on the hill above.

We headed into the small town below, hoping to find a good meal.

We did see a beautiful church, which even the smallest of villages always has.

 And the quaint half-timbered buildings we love were everywhere! 

Just like Jim to keep me in the dark!  ha! 

Note the dates on these two old buildings behind us!

 

I LOVED the red ivy clinging to the apartment wall!  

A beautiful ending to a most wonderful day!