Of all the Castles, Castle ruins, Estates and Manors that you might have visited in Germany - which stand out as your favorites? And why?
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AsbachNate - I have a few favorites also, starting with Heidelberg. I know people say Heidelberg is crowded and over run with tourists but I love Heidelberg. It is the one place I can honostly say I have seen on EVERY trip I have taken to Germany. The castle grounds are so peaceful on a spring or fall day when most of the tourists are gone. Sometimes I think Heidelberg castle is best toured on a cloudy, overcast late fall day. It just adds to the castles character and feel. Another castle I enjoy is one I recently discovered on my last trip, called Falkenstein. Falkenstein is a small castle that is nothing but ruins, but the location away from any major tourist point and on the steep hill with the village surrounding it makes it a unique ruin. Another favorite is Salzburg, even though its in Austria. The castle is great but the view from the castle and the walk down are great. Linderhof on a late spring day with the flowers in blume is also hard to beat.
JESTER1J2D - As it is for most of us visitors to Germany, Neuschwanstein will always be a special place. It is a majestic sight as it first comes into view. At that moment your mind tells you that you are blessed to be able to wander and enjoy a view such as this, known the world over. Linderhof is also special and interesting to visit. However, the ruins found around the Rheinland Pfalz area hold a special place for us, probably because we have visited and scrambled through them since we first visited Germany as an Army family back in the 60's. Frankenstein, Burg Berwartstein, and Hardenburg hold special memories for us. Our favorite is probably the Castle Trifels above Annweiler. Annweiler is an interesting small town and we love visiting, having a little lunch, and then driving the short distance to Trifels. There is a parking lot at the base of the rock formation and you must make a fairly steep walk to get there (isn't that always the way with a castle). After admiring the ruins of the huge old rooms, the old construction techniques and enjoying the view, we head back down to the Gasthaus below for some Kaffee and Küchen. Satisfied, refreshed, remembering; a day well spent!
BHICKOX3 - Our favorite Bavarian Castle is Neuschwanstein, with Hohenschwangau (neighboring castle and boyhood home of Ludwig II) a good second choice. Neuschwanstein pictures glistened in my mind and dreams for 30 years before I ever saw, touched, and visited the Castle in person. For those reasons, it's hard not be first choice in my mind. Neighboring Hohenschwangau was a true residence of Ludwig's parents and family for a number of years, and this is apparent as all visitors will see when visiting. In the Mosel River area, Burg Eltz is definitely a favorite, especially since it stands very much as originally built and is still occupied by current generations of its builders. German Palace favorites will start with the Residenz in Würzburg. To us, it stands alone, with its baroque grandeur and artistic construction throughout. While Ludwig II's various palaces are wonderful and definitely beautiful, and strongly advisable to visit, I'm reminded of "playhouse for the super wealthy" as I visit them. To me, there is something magical about real castles that were built for full-time occupation by family, servants, etc. Each of these "really lived in" castles seem to have a "soul" of families past... By all means, see every castle you can, including the ruins. They're ALL exciting, many glamorous, and above all true adventures back into childhood storybook fantasies.
gluhwein@ptd.net (Doug Lund) - While our love of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau are probably the only two things my wife and I agree about while vacationing in Bavaria, my very favorite place to visit and stay is in the tiny village of Jagsthausen. The place we stay is the Burghotel Götzenburg. It is the ancestral home of the famous German knight, Götz von Berlichingen. I don't know much about him except that when he was surrounded by his enemy and about to face death, he was asked if he would surrender. His reply was, "You can kiss my a**". Cool Dude! Anyway, the castle hotel is reminiscent of those old Abbott and Costello or Frankenstein black and white movies. Old, dark (but very clean) halls with suits of armor, swords, shields and antlers on the walls. The rooms are huge with high ceilings and big beds. Those wacky German windows that always take me about 15 minutes to open, look out on a moat and nearby forested nature preserve. Most rooms have huge bathrooms. Another Burghotel Götzenburg webpage There is a fantastic restaurant in a different section of the castle. This was where I first tried the famous German white asparagus. Occasionally medieval musicians play there. Some have even recorded albums in the old castle. Like most places in Germany, the huge breakfast buffet is part of the package. I find it really exciting to wake up at dawn and head from my room, down the dark hall to the even darker courtyard. Then enter huge wooden doors into another part of the deserted castle, past more armor and weapons into the dimly lit Frühstückzimmer. Usually I'm the only one there. After my hot chocolate and 52 hard rolls with mysterious meats and cheeses, I stroll back to the courtyard. I feel like I'm living in a bygone era when I walk the passageways and ramparts alone. When we took the kids, we put them in a separate room with a shared bathroom between us. Like all old, old buildings this one had a tendency to make some strange and eerie noises at night. When I woke in the morning I found all four of us sharing the same bed. The castle hotel is a great spot to start your trip down the Romantic Road. It's almost midway between Frankfurt and Munich and only a few minutes from Würzburg. We usually fly into Munich, spend our first night in Jagsthausen and start our Romantic Road travels in Bad Mergentheim and gradually head south toward Schwabisch Hall, Rothenburg (our next night's stay), Dinkelsbühl, Nördlingen, Augsburg, Landsberg, Hohenfurch (the next night's stopover), Schongau, Wieskirche, Fussen and the Royal Castles.
CooperGunner - ... the SchlossMühle (Horbruch) ... is worthy of a visit if not a stay!! The setting is very rural and peaceful. You won't find many tourists. The last time we were there there were a couple from Japan and that was about it. It is very small and quaint, the town of Horbruch is only a spot in the road and now that Hahn AB is closed it is mostly locals. There used to be a couple of trout ponds close by the bauernhof we lived at and we could go down there with old bread and have a ball feeding the fish. We are planning on spending some time there on our next trip, as its been 5 years since our last visit.
