Burg Eltz lies in the the Mosel Valley. It happens to be Rick Steves' (our trip guru) favorite castle in all of Europe. It may be the best preserved castle, too, as everything is original and as it was, not a reproduction. Burg Eltz lies in a valley with a stream running through it. This used to be a land trade route. The castle began as early as 1157 and looked as it does today by 1472. It survived because of smart diplomacy and marriages. This was the first real castle that we toured in Germany, since the castle we were staying in hardly counted - except for the courtyard. You can't take pictures inside any of the castles - except the ruined ones :) It was interesting to see the way they lived. This castle was a very comfortable place for the time: 80 rooms and 40 fireplaces and lots of large tapestries on the walls, so it was cozy in the winter; 20 toilets flushed by rain drains; a small chapel.
The courtyard. There were 3 families that made up the castle, so 3 different 'homes.' Over time, it came down to one family owning it and the 'homes' have been joined a little more. The current family still spends some time here - probably NOT in tourist season.
Some of the people in this time were actually fairly tall, so there was a lot of ducking and stooping that went on.
Obviously, many of the people - men - weren't all that tall.
The Eltz Stream that gives name to the castle.
It was a little bit of a 'walk' in, which turned in to a hike out. There was a shuttle that you could buy a ride on, but we were still fresh, so did the walking. This is a small portion of the walk.
There were a lot of religious carvings like this along the path.
This is just on the main road along the Mosel River - no way around, only through.
One of the things I loved in Germany was all the old churches in the small towns - they were everywhere. These are in the Mosel Valley.
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