Burg Eltz

Since it is a state/religious holiday in Germany today, the kids have no school. Both my boys also have tomorrow free as a "bridge day," so the men in our family took off early this morning for the Baltic coast along with three of my older son's friends. That leaves just me and the girls in the nest through the weekend - as they have school tomorrow (the joys of four kids in four different schools in 3 cities - seldom the same breaks for all of them!)

My daughters had various plans for the day so I hitched along with some friends for a day trip to the Mosel Valley. Burg Eltz, pictured here, is a medieval castle nestled in the forested hills above the Mosel River. It is still owned by a branch of the same family that lived there in the 12th century, 33 generations ago!

I believe it is listed as one of Germany's top 10 most beautiful castles - and rightly so. We managed to get a tour in English, which was great for my friends who don't speak much German. The owners, descendents of the builders, still maintain private rooms in one wing of the fortress. The areas we could visit were beautifully maintained and fascinating to see - I love glimpsing back into life hundreds of years ago. They had an entirely different interpretation of "granite bathrooms" :)

A mostly cloud-covered day with much rain in the morning, the sky brightened substantially by later afternoon and we really enjoyed the little hike to and from the castle. A magnificent region - well worth the 2+ hour drive from Mülheim.