Hohenzollern Castle

Today we rented a black Opel van and drove to see Castle Hohenzollern. The train yesterday was fun, but you get more freedom when you drive yourself.


You can see the castle from literally miles away, perched on top of a mountain. We got some neat pictures from afar.

It is a long walk uphill from the parking lot to the castle up a switchback paved road. Luckily the ice and snow had been mostly melted off or it would've been treacherous. We couldn't take the stairs because they were covered with snow. Not that one would want to...

The entry to the castle is cobblestone roads passing under portcullises.

That is an amazing castle. If you go you really must pay for the tour so you see the inside. The prince still owns the castle, and pictures of the interior are not allowed. The last stop of the tour you get to see a room with royal treasures in it. The very last thing is the 3.5 pound Prussian crown with gold, huge diamonds, pearls and a giant sapphire on top.

The funny part is though that nobody really lived in the castle the 3rd and last time it was rebuilt around 1890. There are some great pictures of the castle on it's official website http://www.preussen.de/en/today/hohenzollern_castle/sightseeing.html

We walked back down and I recall thinking a couple times "We really walked all the way up here? This is a long way down!" Mark and Andrew took the shortcut treacherous pedestrian path and came across a tombstone for someone. They couldn't read who. It was a big relief to get back to the van, we were all cold and tired. That was a great day!