Castle Finding Day - Burg Lichtenstein and Hohenbeilsein

Last weekend after having a lot of rain during the week we decided we had to get out of the house even if it were for just a few hours.  

I had done a quick search and found a castle that looked interesting to go see.  So we hopped in the car and headed north.  

It was a nominally nice day and we were just motoring along enjoying the Autumn colors just expecting to get to the destination we planned.  Lucky for us we found an extra castle to go see.  

This is Burg Lichtenstein.  Its history dates back into the 1100's which I find astounding.  https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burg_Lichtenberg_(Oberstenfeld)

We walked down below it for a few shots then up the hill to see it close up

 

On the way we found two alpacas who wanted to say hi.

Up close there was of course scaffolding.

Normally the chapel is open for visitors but there was an event being held so hopefully we can try again.  This castle is about 40 minutes from where we live and is surrounded by vineyards.  A perfect reason to return.

After our unexpected side trip we jumped into the car and drove the 15 or so more minutes to ours final destination. Hohenbeilstein.  This 11th century castle sits as most castles to high up on a hill above the town of Beilstein.  https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hohenbeilstein

We parked in town and hiked up the hill.  Wet leaves on the trail up made it necessary to hold onto the rail to make it up without killing yourself.

The entrance is sadly as close as we got.  The reason I picked this particular castle was they have a falconry exhibition on Sundays which I was very excited about.  Sadly, their website didn't mention that no dogs were allowed and of course we had our wonderful furry traveler with us.  So, both castles are on the need to go back list.  

On the way back to the car we found this incredible tree in a churchyard.  Boy if that tree could talk.

All in all it was a great day of exploring with my favorite traveling companions.

Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival 2020

 After lots of encouragement from others I am going to start posting our little trips again.  So here goes.

Two weekends ago my brother and sister-in-law decided to get away from home and come see us for the long weekend.  This was a great excuse to go to the annual pumpkin festival in Ludwigsburg which is only about 20 minutes from our house.  The palace is sadly surrounded by scaffolding this year due to renovations but it is still pretty.  

The palace and grounds were a ducal residence and is sometimes compared to Versailles.  If you are interested here is a link for a little history.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwigsburg_Palace.  Needless to say, it is an incredibly beautiful place to enjoy a day.

This year's theme was music so the larger than life sculptures all had something to do with music.  

There were some exceptions.

There are pumpkin varieties galore to choose from.  Some we had no idea how you would use them.  Check out those bumpy green ones!

  Jett was not excited to have is picture taken this year but we did it anyway.

They have a contest for the largest pumpkins of course.  These are two of the gigantic specimens.

This one was carved into a fun face.  Can you imagine how long that must take?

Another great thing that you see at this fest are scenes depicted with pumpkins.

We finally got a picture of Jett with some pumpkins but not his best this year.

The palace grounds even have a Asian garden that is lovely where Dave and Jett decided they needed to rest their feet.

We then found a giant tree to hug.  

The palace grounds also has an incredible antique carousel.   

Needless to say there was plenty to keep us busy and entertained for the better part of the day.  We are so grateful this fest was not cancelled due to COVID-19.  Masks were worn when necessary otherwise we distanced.  Let's hope for less virus and fun times in the future.