Castles, Castles and More Castles!

We began our second road trip and tour of Southern Germany on Thursday. Jeff picked up the car on his way home from work, and we set off for Heidelberg, Germany. On Friday morning, we took a tour of Schloss Heidelberg. We rode the funicular up the hill and set eyes on the beautiful Renaissance castle.  Due to a fire caused by a lightning bolt as well as demolition in the 17th and 18th centuries, the castle is mostly ruins, with a couple portions rebuilt and available to tour. The castle itself was definitely worth a look, however, our favorite part was seeing the giant wine tun after the tour. This tun is the largest wooden barrel ever to be filled with wine and has the capacity to hold 220,000 liters (58,000 gallons) of liquid. Rumor has it, the wine in the barrel was a mix of wine from all over. Instead of paying taxes with money, people paid taxes with wine and simply poured their wine into the giant tun, mixing it with all the other… we’re not sure about the taste, but I bet they never ran out! 

Following the castle, we continued our road trip down to Meersburg, Germany and Lake Constance. We enjoyed the drive through the German countryside, passing countless vineyards, putting Napa Valley to shame. We arrived at the Airbnb and were immediately drawn to the balcony with a view of the lake as well as Austria, Switzerland, and Germany. We made our way down the hill and to the center of town and found a cute little restaurant for dinner. Shortly after returning to our Airbnb, we heard loud booming noises coming from outside. We ran to the balcony, and low and behold, there were fireworks lighting up the sky, welcoming us to this adorable little town! 

View from the Airbnb!

While Jeff’s parents enjoyed a bike ride along the lake, Jeff and Amy spent Saturday morning touring Meersburg, wandering along the lakeside, stopping in at the little shops, and eventually making our way to one of the local wineries where we met up with Dave and Pattie. We enjoyed tasting the local wine and bought a few bottles to pop open later on our trip.

For lunch, we found a great restaurant with a view of the lake. We enjoyed our meal, then wandered back to the Airbnb, grabbed our jackets, and set off to catch the ferry to Switzerland. Why not spend the evening in another country?

Unfortunately, we quickly learned that this particular town in Switzerland did not have the most significant tourist draw… (no wonder the lady at the information desk looked at us funny when we asked about it…). Our plan to get dinner in another country was foiled, but regardless of that, we enjoyed wandering through the streets of Switzerland and eventually made our way back to Germany where the shops and restaurants were still open. We found a lovely patio to sit on (complete with blankets) and enjoyed listening to the accordion player while watching the sunset behind the skyline. After dinner, we made our way back to the ferry, admiring the sparkling city lights on the lake. 

Standing in two countries at once!

We woke early on Sunday to continue our castle tour. We watched as the picturesque German countryside passed by, complete with more vineyards, countless apple orchards, and beautiful green pastures. We arrived at Neuschwanstein Castle and Hohenschwangau Castle with plenty of time to spare. We snacked on some meat and cheese while overlooking the Alpsee and surrounding forest, before entering into Hohenschwangau for our first tour. The 12th century Hohenschwangau Castle was reconstructed by Prince Maximilian in the 1800s, at which time, it became their place of residence. Following King Maximilian’s death, his son, King Ludwig II took over and began construction on Neuschwanstein Castle, aka Cinderella’s Castle. The Romanesque art that covered the walls in the Hohenschwangau was beautiful. Instead of hanging art on the walls, the artist painted directly on the wall and even included a frame around his work, providing an optical illusion as to whether the art is hanging or not. Although the art was incredible, it couldn’t beat the stunning mountain views out the windows. We fully understand why they picked this spot for their residence! 

Next, we hiked up the hill, through the forest, to Neuschwanstein castle. We entered through the castle gates and wandered up the stairs to admire the courtyard and view of Marienbrücke. Soon, it was our turn to enter the Disney castle, and boy is it a magical palace! King Ludwig II thought of everything for this residence including an indoor cave, a stunning mosaic floor, a private theater room, floor to ceiling murals, and hidden swans everywhere (on doorknobs, curtains, light fixtures, carved into his magnificent wooden bedframe, and of course just statues of swans). Even though the castle was never finished (you can still see the artist’s sketches, waiting to be transformed into a mural on some of the walls) and Ludwig never actually lived in it, it’s still an extraordinary sight to see!

Following our tour, we continued our hike over to Marienbrücke to admire yet another spectacular view of the castle backed by the German countryside. The bridge was terrifying, as it was packed to capacity, and the wooden floorboards were a little wobbly, but the view was breathtaking.

As we made our way back to Meersburg, we stopped in a neighboring town for another delicious dinner on the lakeside, followed by a hunt for some fresh Apfelstrudel. We finally found one café that was still open and had our warm strudel a la mode. Boy was it tasty! Happy Birthday Pattie!

On Monday, we set off for our last castle tour and first German Oktoberfest. We arrived at Lichtenstein Castle, initially a little concerned we were in the wrong place, but we soon found what we were looking for. As we walked through the city gates, we saw the magnificent castle constructed on top of a large boulder on the edge of a cliff. How on earth did they build this castle on the rock so many years ago? It was stunning!

We continued on our country drive and made it to our Airbnb in Stuttgart. We stopped for lunch then got dressed for the afternoon and evening festivities. We arrived at Cannstatter Volksfest and were immediately amazed by all the carnival rides and food stands, but didn’t have time to gawk. We were on a mission to find our beer tent and table! Which we did. We settled in, snapped a few photos, and then sat down to enjoy the live music, our first giant pretzel and one liter, and most entertaining, the atmosphere around us.

It didn’t take long for our table mates to show up, and boy were they fun! They had a group of six, two older German couples, and one younger couple. We chatted with our new friends while eating our giant portion of chicken and bread, and as the music continued and the food disappeared, we soon found ourselves standing on the benches singing and dancing like the locals. There was a mix of familiar English songs (Sweet Caroline, We Will Rock You, 99 Red Balloons, Shut Up and Dance, which we swung dance to, and I’m Gonna Be aka 500 Miles) as well as several German drinking songs which our new friends translated for us (Johnny Däpp was probably our favorite). At the end of the evening, as we were getting ready to head out, our new friends asked if we could meet again next year, same day, same time, same tent, and same table. Bring on the fun! 

We finished our Southern Germany road trip on Tuesday, making our way back to Düsseldorf. We stopped off at one more castle to say hi to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and took a peek in the famous magic mirror, reassured that, yes indeed, we are the fairest ladies of them all. Back in Düsseldorf, the parents repacked their bags and then we set off for the train station. We enjoyed one last dinner together before Dave and Pattie hopped on their train to Amsterdam and later their flight back to the states.

And just like that, parent’s month came to an end. What an adventure! We were in a different city or country each weekend and saw so many incredible sites. What a dream! Now, it’s time to take a weekend off to relax at home… what does that even mean?