Hands on Portland: Europe - Part 2 (castles!)

Next on the Germany agenda was to see some castles up close! The one on the top of the list was Marksburg.

Marksburg was first built in 1117. It is one of the oldest standing castles. Many others were severely damaged or destroyed destroyed and then rebuilt after WWII.

This is a picture I pulled off the web to show the castles position. It was built to defend the village of Braubach.

As we approached the castle we could tell why it was so hard assault. The foundation is cut out of the top of a mountain and the walls are extremely high and thick.

Fortunately for us, we got to approach the castle through a tunnel through the fortress wall.

You can see how the steps are cut out of the actual mountain rock in this picture.

It felt like we had traveled back in time...until we noticed the RV lot far below.

Renee and Heike!

Here is our guide. He didn't speak English, so thankfully Heike was there to translate!

Part of the castle gardens.

The castle has a great view of the Rhine.

One of the reasons for the view was so the castle could defend against enemy ships.

Watch out attackers! Marksburg is still ready for ya!

They even have some original stone cannonballs lying around.

Inside the main walls the courtyard is a little cramped.

Kitchen.

Right next to the dining table was the toilet. This was done so they could continue conversations while sitting on the pot....and by pot we mean a hole.

The blacksmith's digs. We didn't see any proper ventilation.

Here is Brian climbing up the narrowest staircase EVER.

One last look at the view!

Heading down to the village we found a small fair on the riverbank. The Germans like their brats!

We got the sense that being vegetarian wasn't that popular.

Brian found a lonely playground toy.

Heike was smart enough to pack a desert that Fritz had given us in the morning. We sat by the Rhine and finished the whole plate!

After our treat we headed into Koblenz for "Fire on the Rhine" a fireworks display that happens once a year! It was AMAZING! Sorry! No pictures :(

THE NEXT DAY!

We woke up early and took a trip into Marburg to visit Renee's cousin Ava. This is where we had brunch!

Apparently the Grimm brothers are from Marburg, so there are sculptures around the city that relate to their various fairytales.

That's Ava and her boyfriend Heiko in front of a super old cathedral.

A lot of buildings in Portland claim to be "green" - but none are as green as this one!

We took the narrow winding streets up to the castle (every town seems to have at least one). We stopped about half way up to catch our breath.

Here is the Marburg castle. We didn't go in this one, it had been renovated and made into a museum. The main reason we hiked up to it was for the view.

And it was well worth it! WOW! We spent the rest of the day in Marburg catching up with Ava and checking out the local university. We took the train home, but didn't get back until around midnight.

THE NEXT DAY! (AGAIN!)

Even though we had been up late the night before we hit the road early again! This time to check out the Heidelburg castle. In town we saw this old cathedral that was lined with souvenir shops...weird.

This castle was built on a large hill as well (go figure). It looks beautiful but it was a devastating climb. Only after were we told there was a bus that drives up the other side.

As much as I can complain, walking up through the tunnels and passageways to the main castle is pretty cool.

Another great view. I guess the idea of prime real estate hasn't changed much in the last century.

Here is the inside courtyard. You can't see it much in this picture but much of the castle was destroyed. Most people think the damage was form WWII (as the Nazis used parts of the castle for events) but in fact it was the French who attacked in 1693.