Burg Eltz - Intact though the ages

Our long awaited visit to Burg Eltz finally arrived.  We had heard much about this castle and were determined to visit it on a day when it wasn't too hot as there was a hike into the site that would prove most enjoyable when we could fully enjoy the surroundings.  It was a twenty minute walk to the castle, but unlike most other jaunts this one was down hill.  I thought it kind of odd they would put a castle in a valley given the strategic advantage a prominent position affords.  Half way down the trail there was look out point where we had a perfect vantage point of the castle and its position in the valley.  It actually sits on a rock promentory in the middle of a heavily wooded valley with a stream appearing to circumnavigate the castle walls.  This setting was not only picture pretty, but extremely isolated.  There was no village or town nearby.  This is what inevitably saved it from the ravages of war and conquering armies.  So it remains the same - unchanged through the centuries and therein lies the appeal of Burg Eltz.  It retains the furnishings, character and charm of  its former days.

We were relatively early and joined with a church group from south west England visiting Germany to see the Passion Play. Consequently, the tour was in English a rare bonus.   I could see from the size of the parking lots that this was a frequently visited site.  We proceeded from the armory room to the residences, the kitchen, to the guest rooms each filled with period furnishings giving a good cross section of the life and times of its inhabitants.  In addition there was a museum with artifacts of every kind to further enhance the flavor of the time.

This castle now takes a prominent position among our now extensive list of sites we have visited.  At some point I will take the time to differentiate between a castle and a fortress.  Although there is a cross over in many instances, it is not appropriate or helpful to compare the two, as they both served quite different purposes.

Thirty three generations of the same family have maintained residence here and have also retained the heirlooms and accouterments, both great and small of successive generations.  This allows for a true to life  chronicle over many centuries.  The tour guide indicated for a long period, there were three families resident in the castle, but now only one occupies a portion of it.  As you can see from the picture, great efforts are being made to stabilize this structure.  Age is takings its toll and cracks and fissures have formed, requiring ingenuous methods to counter the ongoing weathering process while still maintaining the original aesthetic appeal.

Not far from Burg Eltz is a tiny hamlet called Beilstein on the Mosel River.  We decided to take in this quaint little river side stop as it was noted for its picturesque setting on the Mosel, and also as a premier bed and breakfast location for visitors wanting a good staging point to visit interesting sites in the region.  We had lunch here and enjoyed a leisurely afternoon strolling through the narrow streets full of half timbered houses, quaint shops, friendly people and a gorgeous view of the vineyards covering the hillside.  I  find these Saturday sojourns a welcome reprieve from the intense emotional demands of my weekly assignment.  We are fortunate there are so many places to see within a couple hours of Frankfurt.

Wurzburg- through the ages

We had a new couple join our team.  They arrived on Tuesday to replace the Dye's who have gone home.  The Swenson's are from Salt Lake City.  He is an orthopedic surgeon and previously served a medical mission in Brazil and so speaks fluent Portuguese.  We decided to accompany them to Wurzburg which seemed like a good starting point for the newcomers.
It was to be an eventful day.  We started out at about 9 a.m. Saturday morning heading south on a planned trip of about an hour.  Well, the hour translated into 3 and a half by the time we got there.  We were never able to determine what kept slowing our progress.  Every five or ten kilometers there was some unexplained slowdown in the traffic.  The road we were on is typically slow given all the construction sites along the way but on this occasion our trip was notably delayed.  This was to be the beginning of a memorable trip for them and us as well.  After a quick visit to a church on route to the palace, the Swenson's decided to take in a tour of the palace in German and we made our way downtown, as we had already been through the tour on a previous visit.  We had lunch walked around the market and took some of the sites we remembered from our first visit.  When they were done their tour, we decided to hike up to the fortress overlooking Wurzburg.
After a twenty-five minute climb, we discovered that the area was being readied for a concert and we would have to walk around the fortress to the other side to gain access.  We started around and quickly realized that this was going to take far more time than what we had available, particularly in that we needed to arrive in 15 minutes for the only English tour of the day.  I went back to the site and pleaded my cause with the security people; they relented and let us walk through the gate.
We took our tour.  It was well worth it and then we went through the museum on site which also provided a glimpse into historic Wurzburg and the Prince Bishops whose home this was.
The trip down was even more of an adventure.  We could not go back the same way so we proceeded down via a roadway that we thought was heading us in the right direction.  Well, it did but in a rather circuitous way.  An hour later, four weary tourists arrived back at the parking garage to enjoy the luxury of a soft seat and the trip back to Frankfurt.

Wurzburg indeed has much to offer.  It is another university town,  the home of Dirk Nowwitzki the MBA player and the seat of some of the most powerful Bishops of Europe.  A number of churches are located within easy walking distance of the old town.  Wurzburg was 90% destroyed in March of 1945 in the space of 17 minutes during the allied bombing of World War II.  The citizens have rebuilt every historic landmark of the city.  The cathedrals and churches are resplendent in that the typical degradation of age is not a factor given this relatively new construction.
Many time periods are represented in Wurzburg including the Celts who were the original inhabitants of the fortress site, then the Romans and later the Franconians.  The citizens of Wurzburg recognized the rich history of their city and have maximized efforts to resurrect the vestiges of their past to our benefit.

Cochem A view of the Rhine

Cochem on the Moselle River was touted as being a charming, picturesque town of  5700 people - a favored attraction for tourists.  The scorching heat did not seem to detract the throngs of people.  Tour buses and visitors of an assortment of nationalities were represented.  I found the heat oppressive which took away from the overall experience.  Even on the river it was close to 100 degrees F.  We hiked up to the castle which brought into question our sanity. We persisted however and were rewarded with a marvelous view of the valley.  The tour of the castle was in German with an English script for us to follow.  We had been through enough castles to know what we were likely to see, so we opted just to enjoy the sites from this spectacular vantage point.

We are now at the half way point of our stay in Germany and beginning to bear witness of the principle of diminishing returns.
There are fewer and fewer things we haven't seen before or even heard before.  There are the often fascinating stories inevitably attached to the places we visit, but now I find myself often seeking out the hidden gems of information, about the people who inhabited these places.  Their life stories, their contributions, their deeds and exploits add to the contextual richness and diversity of this great country.

In 1688, King Louis XIV of France, during his invasion of the Rhine and the Moselle, swept in and captured Cochem Castle. His forces  occupied the area and on May 19, 1689, they destroyed Cochem Castle by setting it afire, undermining it and blowing it apart. The town of Cochem was almost destroyed as well.  The castle we see today was purchased and rebuilt in the 19th century.

During World War II, the operations staff of the underground subcamp Zeisig of the Natzweiler concentration camp between the villages Bruttig and Treis was located here.  At its height, 13,000 people were imprisoned and provided slave labor for Bosch, which made spark plugs, ignition systems and glow plugs under brutal conditions.

Perhaps the most enjoyable part was the trip through the German countryside.  Well kept little villages, each with their centuries old churches at the center provided a memorable image of these idyllic settings.  This is the image of Germany that will likely remain with me.  Part of the cultural heritage is linked to their rural roots and the simple life it exemplified.

A little extra  ice cream seemed like a good idea. 

The Taylors are our regular companions on these trips.

Lohr - Mirror Mirror on the Wall

In a secluded valley in northern Bavaria is a  lovely castle (Mespelbrunn) that somehow escaped the ravages of war and remained intact through the centuries.  The oldest part of the castle is the tower dating back to the thirteenth century.  In the fifteenth century, a knight - Herman Echter, started the construction of the castle proper and it remains in the family to this day.  Part of the castle is occupied by Countess Marie Antoinette von Ingelheim.  Included in the castle are the collected heirlooms of succeeding  generations of this family, including portraits, gifts of all kinds, furnishings, armor and accouterments of knighthood.

Given the significant value of the possessions, a guided tour is the only way to view the site.  The assorted displays provided a rich visual of one family's involvements covering five centuries of occupation.  There is a literal tug of the senses, as one takes in the picturesque setting, the beautiful moated castle, the quaint little chapel, the immaculate grounds and combine this with the realization that a living history of one family's experiences covering generations is represented.  It somehow ties the past to the present with a common thread making the link more real.

Our day was not done.  We decided to take a back road, travelling generally in a direction back to Frankfurt.  We thought we would take in whatever sites captured our interest.  It turned out to be town of Lohr on the Main River.


Although originally built as a military fortified castle in the 14th century, within 100 years it became an imposing residence.  Feudal lords took over the residence and it eventually acquired the look and form we see today.  It now houses a museum which was given a new concept in 1980: a permanent exhibition entitled "Mensch und Wald" which means "Man and Forest."  It attempts to depict the life of the common man and woman of the middle ages.  This theme and focus aroused our interest and prompted us to have a look.
In the past, life of the inhabitants was mostly one of poverty and misery. The museum contains examples of the many crafts and trades which bear witness to how their ingenuity and skill helped them survive.  Stone cutters, potters, blacksmiths, carpenters, shipwrights, cartwrights, joiners, glass makers all took advantage of local resources to produce not only basic commodities, but also luxury goods for the upper classes.

This is one of the fabled locations of Snow White's birth.  In the nearby forests, the notorious poverty required individuals of very small stature to navigate the tunnels to exploit the mineral resources.  Additionally, many were able craftsmen in the working of glass.  Lohr has for centuries been associated with fine work in glass and mirrors, thereby explaining Snow White's glass coffin. However  'la piece de resistance' was on the third floor.  There hangs the 'magic mirror that always spoke the truth.'