Burg Eltz

This trip for my parents was completely different than the last time they came out.  We wanted to hit different places and see different things, and that's exactly what we did!

First stop:  Burg Eltz.  If you are familiar with Rick Steve's (the European travel guru), this castle donned the cover of his Europe book in the year 2011.  He claims it is his favorite castle in all of Europe.  We were also pretty impressed. 

The first record of this castle existing was in 1157, and it has stayed in the Eltz family for the last 850 years. 

We had to walk or ride in a van down to the castle after we parked.  This was from a look out point as we started walking.

On the way down.

I like this little girl a lot.

Standing near the courtyard.

Waiting for the tour.

It was really hot, and I kept dressing my family wrong for the weather.  I was teaching my kids how to get air conditioning in their shirts.

Of course we weren't allowed to take pictures inside the castle, but we were allowed to take them inside the treasury.

People were much shorter way back then. 

Royal jewelry.

This little guy was on the outside of the castle. 

On the way out we stopped for a drink, since we guzzled ours before the tour started.

And a few more pictures on the way back out.  

Funny story:  I kept telling Pete and my dad that I wanted more color; there was too much green.  So every little flower they saw was pointed out to me.... and it continued the entire trip.

On the drive to the hotel, we drove through Cochem, a city Pete and I have visited already.  We wanted to see the castle again- it's one of our favorites from far away, although we haven't been inside of it.  This valley might be one of my favorites in Germany.