The only way to get inside was with a guided tour. While you waited for your tour time there was a small exhibition area with typical castle stuff: weapons, dishes, gilded do-dads, etc.
The inside was nice- no pictures were allowed but it was definitely worth it just to see the castle exterior! After this we drove a ways to a cute neighboring village and on a whim decided to hike up to the castle. This castle was very much in ruin and pretty small- the big attraction was the restaurant at the top! (We had not had lunch yet).
Always a nice view from the top.
Lunch!!
The town was pretty cute so we took our time and explored a little bit.
A quick roadside detour to preview tomorrow's castle.
Next day was the Cochem castle. This one was purchased in the 1800's and remodeled to look like it came out of a fairy tale. Even though it was not as old as some of the other ones we had been visiting, it was still fun to see.
This was another tour-only castle but we got to take pictures.
This is the ceiling.
Germany is very dog friendly, I see dogs all the time in places I would not in the US. This one took the cake though- dogs allowed on the castle tour! The dogs were very well behaved but it was still very surprising to see.
It is kind of hard to see but this suit of armor is an original built for someone
who was over 7 feet tall- the thing was massive!
Lots of fairy tale charm.
So many castles in this area- ruins off in the distance.
After our tour, we went into Cochem for a little bit of shopping and exploring.
Our favorite stop was the liqueur store.
We really made the guy work hard, getting us samples from all their amazing liqueurs.
They really had every flavor imaginable.
Success! We bought 5 flavors.
Strawberry, Mandarin, Orange Cream, Walnut Cream and Chocolate!
We looked up restaurants on Yelp and headed to this highly rated Italian place.
It was great! Especially after all the meat we had been eating.
Outside the restaurant.
Cochem Marktplatz at night.
Next day we checked out and headed to Frankfurt.
But we stopped along to the way to see one last castle.
Kitchen.
It was nice, but at this point I had become quite the castle snob and wasn't inspired to take a million pictures. We dropped off the rental car at the airport and then took the train into Frankfurt. We had booked Cindy and Dale a hotel for one night right next to the train station (they had an early flight the next morning). While Cindy and I relaxed in the hotel room Dale and Eric walked along the river.
The hotel had a free mini bar- so Eric and Dale took advantage and drank the beer.
Eric and I caught a late train back to Marburg. This is Dale and Cindy waving to us from outside the train. Overall we had a really nice trip and we were so happy Dale and Cindy were able to visit! We promised them lots of castles and I think we delivered. Thank you Walkingshaws!
