I’m blogging about my sixtieth birthday trip to Germany last June – and I’m up to June 19, Day 9.
It was Wednesday – and now some of my favorite restaurants would be open. I thought I’d checked all of them and found them closed Monday and Tuesday, so I was planning to head for a big favorite, located in a castle – Altenbaumburg – on Wednesday, and then hit a new castle nearby. But alas! When I checked Tuesday night, it turned out that the restaurant at Altenbaumburg has its rest days on Wednesday and Thursday – so I was out of luck this time. (And it would have been a perfect place to visit after driving by my former homes on Monday. Oh well!) I guess I hadn’t checked it after all.
I still had gotten interested in the castle close to Altenbaumburg, in the region north of where we had lived, fairly close to Gundersweiler, my favorite home base, and further up B48. So I decided to go there anyway.
But first I had two things in mind – first shopping at what used to be called Real, and now is called the Pfalzcentre. I’d already driven past it twice. It’s a small shopping mall, anchored by a large store kind of like a Walmart. Back in the day, I used to find awesome German games there, and that was where I learned about the Spiel des Jahres – the annual German prize for the best game.
I was disappointed in the selection of games, and the ones I ended up getting are available in America anyway. I also bought a book, hoping to use it for Sonderling Sunday. I thought with the name Jane Austen bleibt zum Frühstück (“Jane Austen Stays for Breakfast”), it would surely have an English translation. But alas! I haven’t been able to find any English versions of this author’s books on Amazon. I tell myself some day I’ll get around to reading it in German.
However, all of that was worth it because I scored a special Deutschland Collection Ravensburger puzzle of Burg Eltz!
Yes, later it was a challenge getting it into my suitcase, but it was worth it. The “Deutschland Collection” puzzles are not available on Amazon, and Burg Eltz was my family’s castle number 39, visited in October 1997. (That evening I thought about going to visit it on Thursday, but it was a solid two hours away, so I decided not this trip.) One of the other puzzles I saw in the “Deutschland Collection” was a picture of the German National Football (Soccer) Team. (The World Cup was happening in Germany at the time.) I wasn’t tempted by that one, but I thought it was funny. Those athletes have to be proud to be part of a Ravensburger puzzle!
I lucked out on weather, because it was foggy as I drove through the forest (That was a little creepy – but in an adventurous way!), and it was rainy while I was shopping, but no more rain the rest of the day. After shopping, next up was a trip to the Flammküchenhütte, a restaurant near where we lived in Sembach that specializes in every kind of Flammküchen (a local dish, a little bit like pizza) you can imagine, but is only open for limited hours a few days a week. So I wanted to catch it before the lunch hours ended.
I ordered Spargel Flammküchen, because that seemed like the ultimate German dish. Spargel is asparagus, and when it’s in season, every restaurant in the country makes a special Spargelkarte – Asparagus Menu. So I was glad I was there for part of the season.
So by the time I finished, it was early afternoon, and time to head to a castle!
I’d chosen Burg Montfort because it was near Altenbaumburg up north on B48. But it turned out there was some kind of road closure near Rockenhausen on B48 – so Google Maps took me on even smaller roads.
Reader, it was delightful!
I couldn’t film while I drove, but driving over hills and around bends out in the German countryside simply made my heart happy. I took a picture of a car on a road later when I was at the castle, because it felt like a good glimpse of exactly what I’d been doing:
The picture gives you an idea of the size of the roads, plus the hills, fields, and trees that I traveled over that day.
I was proud of finding my way to the castle. Because Google maps tried to make me turn left a few moments after I’d seen a small sign saying Burg Montfort was straight ahead. After foolishly following Google the day before, this time, I went with my Castle-Finding Skills developed over ten years in Germany. I found a parking place at the foot of a trail to the castle. Yes! A sign there said the castle was built in the 13th Century. Please note that this kind of visitor in a German village parking lot doesn’t even faze me – this is farm country!
And from there – I hiked the half a kilometer to the castle.
Once I got there, I did what I do at every castle – roamed and climbed over every inch and took lots and lots of pictures. Yes, I’ve narrowed these down. But I hope they give you an idea of the joy of roaming over a castle.
Could you resist these stairs? I could not!
And then of course there are amazing views from the top.
When I looked over the main castle, there was a couple there who looked like they’d been backpacking. They left shortly after I climbed down the tower – and those were the only other people I saw at this castle.
Okay, I did get the willies at this part – but that didn’t stop me from taking pictures.
And when I found a short doorway, I had to take a selfie showing that I’m so tall, I fill the doorway!
Now some of the lovely views on the ground floor. (I love wildflowers growing in ruins, and I love the picturesque shapes the ruins make. As you can see.)
Yes, I know I overdo it with castle pictures! (Believe it or not, I weeded them down.) I hope this gives you an idea of the fun I had roaming over the castle, spotting beautiful angles. It brings me right back.
And finally it was time to hike back down the trail through the forest to my car:
It all added up to a glorious afternoon at a 700-year-old castle ruin.