Ah, Germany in the spring! It’s so beautiful here. I can’t even believe the transformation in the last few weeks. I thought Germany was gorgeous before but now it’s even more
beautiful. The trees are green, the flowers are out, the sun is finally here! Given the perfect weather, I have finally decided to venture out on day trips from Koblenz. This weekend I went to both Sayn and Braubach, easily accessed with the bus from Koblenz (which I ride for free!) Take a look at these gorgeous little towns!
Sayn is home to a butterfly garden and a palace, built below the ruins of an old castle. Of course I visited all three! Though we have butterfly gardens in the States, this was very
cute because it was located in a beautiful park and fit the beautiful spring day perfectly. I forgot how much I love butterflies–is that a little silly? But they could make anyone happy! What was really special about this butterfly garden was that they posted poetry on the bridges from Goethe, Heine, and a variety of other German poets about streams, flowers, and wildlife. It was absolutely ideal–German poetry and butterflies all in one!
After the butterfly garden, I climbed up to the ruins of the old castle. These would be my first castle ruins, as all the other castles I’ve visited have been in good condition and rather new at that. This was still beautiful in its own way. Castle ruins feel older, just because that’ s what all castles would look like if no one took care of them. The crumbling walls were covered in ivy and the forest on the hill below the castle was overgrown. Is it sad to see castles in ruins? Or is it just another form of a castle, neither good nor bad that it has been left that way? After all, there are plenty being actively restored. It actually made me very happy to be there and to explore the ruins–but then, I like any kind of castle.
They give me a hard time about that here. (Caitlin sure does like her castles! Oh there she goes, to another castle, she’ll see them all before she’s done.) Well, seems like a good thing to like in Germany, as there are plenty of them!
I did visit the palace below, which was more of a museum. Apparently there’s still a royal family living in the vicinity. They just had a wedding in 2011! Really, what I wouldn’t give to live in a palace. That’s one bad thing about all these visits, they make me want to live in a castle or palace so bad! But really, who gets to do that? Remnants of royal families I guess! Lucky! The best thing about the palace was really that it’s picturesque on the outside, under the old castle, but on the inside there were exhibits about the town history. I learned a little about the ironworks there, though, which was interesting. Turns out they made the Griffins on Löwentor, a gate near my dorm which has surprisingly little explanation on how it was built despite belonging to the old fortress in Koblenz.
Monday was amazing. I did another day trip in the afternoon to a little town called Braubach, also a 30 minute bus ride from Koblenz. Above the town is a castle called Marksburg which overlooks the Rhein. The castle is around 800 years old, making it the oldest castle on the Rhein to have never been completely destroyed. It did see battle but never a siege.
After climbing up to the castle, a very pleasant hike since all the trees are bright and green now, I waited an hour for the next tour in English. I’ve tried to take a few tours in German here but if they’re in English I’ve learned to ask for that because it allows me to concentrate more on the castle or museum than on what is being said. So, I bought some apple strudel and a coke (which is somehow better here, made with real sugar) at the cafe and ate it on the castle terrace with a gorgeous view of the Rhein and the neighboring mountains. It was so relaxing! Other tourists chatted in the sunshine over their coffee and some dogs wandered about, as they often do in Germany. It’s such a dog-friendly country and they are very well-behaved.
The tour was really informative! I learned that some people still live in the castle, but it’s big enough to allow tours without disturbing the residents. They have a cannon there which was one of the earliest ever made and was really dangerous for the people operating it because it would kick back and hit the man who was responsible for firing it! There were lots of cannons there but they were used mostly for ceremonial purposes, such as firing in salute when the king would sail down the Rhein. Life in a castle couldn’t have been that
glamorous, as much as I love castles and romanticize them. The top canopy on the bed was probably developed to keep bugs from falling out of the ceiling onto people while they were sleeping. There were lots of bugs, by the way. In addition, at one point Marksburg had such a bad bug infestation that it had to be evacuated for two years just to clear it out! Two years! Oh, and I learned a lot about castle defense, too. For instance, they have a moat at Marksburg but it wasn’t filled with water. It was the last gate, the last line of retreat for the residents of the castle, and other than that it is used as a garden. The toilet is the weakest point of the castle because they it is just a small building that empties directly into the garden (eeeew!) from above. That means there’s an open hole in the castle wall. And yes, attackers would come through the toilet to storm the castle. I guess they were extra motivated.
All the same, the castle is lovely today. Technology really does help to keep things up and running. Marksburg can be rented for medieval parties, and the kitchen looks ideal for them with its long table and warm fireplace! I can only imagine how beautiful the sunset must look from there after a good dinner with all your friends–dressed in proper medieval attire, of course.
I would definitely recommend a visit to Marksburg if you’re ever in the Rhein Valley. There really is a difference between old castles and the newer ones that I’d visited before, and it’s good to see both for a real understanding of what castles and castle life was like in different eras. I’m also so amazed that such a beautiful castle is only 30 minutes away from where I live! I’ve decided it’s my backyard castle–because compared to Texas, it’s really quite close. Life in Germany is so different, and so much more fun, than I had imagined.