One of the most beautiful castles in Germany

When I originally started researching some of the things we wanted to see during our European travels, I came across the fairytale setting of the magnificent Eltz Castle.

And besides the architecture, the actual story is fascinating. Eltz Castle is privately owned, and has been in the same family for over 900 years. The castle and surrounding estate is currently in the hands of the 34th generation of uninterrupted lineage since the mid 12th century.

Amazing!

We found a paid parking area for Max that was about 2 kms away from the castle. It cost €6 for Max to park overnight and I had to pay at a self serve machine that only accepted coins. Lucky that I had €6 in coins. On the way back to Max to put the tag in the window, I picked up a €2 coin that I spotted on the ground... so it only cost us €4!

Cameron on his way to Eltz Castle.

Eltz Castle was built in stages between 1157 and 1650.

Entranceway to the castle. 

Yes, it was raining!

It is not cheap to visit Eltz Castle. But, it's one of the splurges that I wanted to do, so we forked over the €34 ($50 CAD, $37 USD) for a family pass that included two adults and one child.

You can only do the inside with a guided tour, and you have to specially request to have one done in English. So that was the first thing I did, and they said it would be a half hour wait. We used that time to go into the treasury.

The treasury was opened in 1981 and contains some of the family heirlooms that have been collected over 900 years. Most of them date from the 15th and 16th century.

Cameron would almost fit into this suit of armour.

Some of the treasures.

This piece is dated 1600.

And this odd piece is dated 1557.

Heading into the courtyard.

View of the surrounding countryside.

So we did the tour, which lasted about 40 minutes. It was interesting enough, but you really don't get to see much of the castle. As I mentioned earlier it is privately owned, and the count and countess still visit occasionally. Our guide said that she has seen him three times so far this year. He keeps a private apartment in one of the buildings. Also, two of the administrators of the estate live full time at the castle.

But what you do see is very original. A lot of furniture and carpet and wall coverings from the 1500's. Unfortunately, no interior photography is allowed.

Rainspout.

We went for a circular hike that has some great viewpoints of the castle. About 3 kms walk, and it started raining, fairly hard at times!

Such a beautiful setting!

Waiting for the rain to stop so I can get a better photo!

Mist coming off the river.

Cameron found a hunting blind on the way back.

Totally peaceful night with maybe five other campervans in a site that could probably fit thirty. I was surprised it wasn't busier with overnighters in that spot.

Today, we have already done some driving and are about 45 minutes from Frankfurt airport. Dropping Cameron off for his 2:45pm flight back to Halifax.

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