Today was a day of touring castles and driving through the beautiful rolling hills of the German countryside. Many Germans can speak English, but when they can't, Ruth can usually make do with her knowledge of German.
We started with a visit to Polch, where asking around revealed that Ruth's ancestor's names are well known in that town. We didn't meet any of them, though, and the museum was closed for the national Pentacost holiday, so we moved on to the Eltz Castle (Burg Eltz).
The Eltz is a very beautiful, privately-owned, 800-year-old, castle that looks like a Disney creation.
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| Entrance to Eltz Castle |
Next we visited the Rheinfels Castle.
It has mostly been ruined but the ruins are amazing.
There are so many tunnels, battlements, casemates, spiral staircases, courtyards, towers, rooms, and levels that Jeff spent 30 minutes hunting for the Salzhaus (salt house) and never found it, even though he had a map and directions. He eventually found a major error in the directions but still couldn't find the Salzhaus. (Maybe it is on the Gunsmith's tower battlement level.) Now we understand how enemies can sneak into a castle via a forgotten tunnel, as they often do in stories. There are so many tunnels.
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| The Rhine River Seen from the Castle Clocktower |
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