I visited Germany in October of 2006. Those were the good old days of yesteryear. Back then, I had a hint of romanticism left in my veins, and had promised myself to fulfill its wishes to travel to the most romantic place on earth- the romantic Rhine River Valley in Germany. And what makes this area so romantic? Aside from all the war and trade that took place along this river, we are left with the remains of many castles. Three of these particularly struck my fancy…
1. Castle Liebenstein
This castle is really the only castle on the Rhine that you will want to stay in as an accommodation. I saw a couple of others, but these didn’t meet my expectations of what you would want in a castle. Also, many of the castles that are tourist attractions these days are only open for business during the waking hours and have no provisions for overnight guests. Don’t waste your time searching all the castles along the Rhine- just try this one….
Castle Liebenstein is a fairytale castle. The Castle is managed by a lovely family- the Nickenigs. Almost everyone working there belongs to the family. Even the housekeeping staff seem very close to the family. The Nickenigs go out of their way to make this the best castle stay you could ever ask for. From the minute you walk in the door until the minute you leave, you will feel like you are something special…
There are nine rooms available in this castle. Four are in the old part of the castle, and five are in a renovated part of the castle. If you are lucky enough to be in the old part, you will actually have to walk up a narrow winding staircase to your room on the second or third floor. While this can be difficult with lots of luggage (like I had), it is worth the experience! From our room, we had an elegant view of the rhine river right from our window! I couldn’t believe how awesome the view was. In the morning, almost every morning, a fog rolled in around 8 to 9 am, and it was if you were transported back to the 18th or 19th century. Then, you would walk down to breakfast, to a table that was reserved especially for you and already set up for your meal. Each morning, coffee, tea and juice was served with a selection of breads, jams and cheeses, and a meat tray. This really gets you off on a good healthy start for your day. The castle has a main dining area facing the rhine, and then a back dining area with more tables for eating. The main dining area has two tables right by the windows, so you can see out onto the rhine. This is a fascinating sight at night, with ships passing by on the river. One table is very long, and seats about 20 people or more, for a huge family gathering. While dining one evening, we witnessed a man ask his girlfriend to marry him- that is what I call ROMANCE! (Too bad it wasn’t me that got asked.)
The food served was great! I loved the breakfast food, so much so that when I returned to the United States I started having ham, bread, jam and juice with tea every morning for months. Dinner was delicious as well. I had a steak that was one of the best I have had, and it was cooked just the way I asked for it. The salads had a variety of fresh vegetables, and I loved the goulash soup (which seems to be popular around Germany and German Switzerland.) Every day, different homemade desserts were featured, such as a raspberry cobbler pie that I couldn’t get enough of. I enjoyed the availability of many different types of juices being served almost everywhere. Here, I had my choice of cherry juice, grape juice or apple juice. In the US, you don’t find cherry juice offered many places.
The rooms were very authentic, with old furniture remnant of the period, such as highback chairs and wooden armoirs for storing clothes. The bathroom was interesting- the toilet sat up higher than the rest, so it was as if you were sitting on a throne while using the toilet! The rooms can get chilly at night, because castles were never known for being warm!, so I asked for a space heater which helped greatly.
The outside of the castle was true to form. The castle has the original stones used to build it, and you can see in many places how wear and tear has served over the centuries. But this is what makes this castle so real, so original, and so worth visiting. There is a bar outside and terrace area, as well as trails to the other castle that in October of 2006 were under construction. The other castle is the warring brother castle, Castle Sterrenberg (because it looks like the two castles are facing each other, ready for a fight.) This castle doesn’t offer food or accommodation, but can be visited by walking down the road a bit.
2. Castle Marksburg.
This castle must be visited because it is the only remaining intact castle in the Rhine River Valley. It has been preserved, and you can take tours daily. One thing to keep in mind is that in general, the tours will be given in German. So, you might wish to call ahead to see if an English-speaking tour will be given that day. We were lucky, because enough English speakers were waiting for the next tour, so they decided to give this tour in English. There is so much to see in this castle, and you will never forget the visit!
First, you will see the entranceway to the castle, where the horses rode through and up into the courtyard itself. Here in the courtyard, you will find the crests of all the six previous familes that owned the castle. In this area, cannons face out to the rhine and are still maintained.
Inside the castle are all the rooms like they were back in the day… The first room you visit on the tour is the wine room. This is where all the wine was stored for use in the castle. Next you visit the kitchen area, and then the dining hall. The kitchen area had huge metal pots and pans and reminded me of what the American settlers used from tours I took in the United States. The next few rooms showed me that I wasn’t in Kansas anymore, however! When you step into the torture chamber, you realize that they meant business. One torture device placed the person on a wooden bed with arms and legs pulled to stretch the person’s spine. Another device was used to hang people. A wide array of weapons were used to to torture individuals.
The beds were magnificent. They were canopy beds, with curtains surrounding you, probably to help keep you warm. To get to the bedrooms, you had to go through a narrow staircase, hardly wide enough to fit through. The stairs were designed to make it impossible for someone to come up and attack you in bed with a sword and shield, a common fear those days! The baby cradle was seated right next to the parent’s bed.
Taking this castle tour really takes you back centuries, and is the best chance you will have of seeing what it was like to live in a castle centuries ago…
An added plus is that they serve food out on a deck on the side of the castle. The food is authentically german, such as goulash soup again, and sausage served on a bun like you would get a hot dog in the United States. A gift shop is next door, with gifts such as goblet wine glasses and postcards with pictures of the castle.
3. Castle Maus. You won’t find mice here, at least not on purpose, but you will find the falcon show. The bad news is that you have to climb up the side of the mountain on trails to get to this castle (unless you work there and then you can take your car- no fair!). The good news is that once you arrive, you will see what all the fuss is about. Every day, at 11 am and 3 pm, there is a falcon show. It’s spectacular, and something not to miss. You won’t find out about this in most tourist guides, so I am telling you about it here…
One thing you have to note here is that the show is done in German. No, the birds don’t sing in german, but the guide gives the story in german. We didn’t know much German, but we still greatly enjoyed the show. The birds were the highlight, so you didn’t need to know the story. And the presenter was so lively and emotional, that you could really tell what he was saying without understanding his words.
What happens here is that the guide/presenter brings out one bird at a time for the show. The audience, including adults and children, is seated in a semicircle in rows facing out to the rhine river below. The guide first talks about the bird, and walks the bird around the audience so everyone gets a close up look and/or a chance for a picture. Then, the guide has the bird fly out over the rhine, in a spectacular showing. There is an eagle, a falcon, an owl, and some other birds. Imagine watching these birds soar and take flight and then come back to the hands of the guide. At one point, the guide even has the birds swoop in on children’s heads and take pieces of chicken off without so much as scratching the child at all. Everyone was fascinated by this.
There is a small charge for the bird show, but you get a free poster at the end of the show. I chose a poster of a wolf. The walk up the mountain is good for your lungs and spirit, and the walk back down is a relief! It’s worth it not to miss this bird show. Where else will you ever encounter something like this?
