A Visit to Burg Eltz

July 4, 2015

Today we didn't cycle. We thought about riding to Burg Eltz but since the walking trail to the castle goes right by our gasthaus and goes through forest, i.e. in the shade, we decided to hike up. The posted distance is just under 5 km.

The trail follows Eltzbach (Eltz Creek), a shallow brown creek, unlike the clear rushing creeks we see in BC. We didn't gain much elevation and kept expecting the trail to steepen. It didn't. We wondered if we'd missed a turn, but we haven't. Finally there was a glimpse of a ruined stone structure through the the trees. There it is! But no. Around the corner and THERE IT IS! It was indeed above us, but not all that high. We crossed a footbridge over Eltzbach and climbed the stairs--in full sun. We were drenched with sweat when we reached the gate.

A map of the walking routes at the upper trailhead. We walked here from Moselkern, at the lower right of the map.

Markers on the trail. At home, trail markers are metal or plastic, nailed to the tree. Here, they are stencilled on.

That it isn't Burg Eltz. It's the siege castle.

We paid the 9€ per person entrance fee and were told the next English tour would start in 12 minutes. It's a popular place; there are tours starting every few minutes.

I thought the paving at the castle entrance was interesting

Burg Eltz is really three houses joined together. All three are tall and narrow and can be seen in this view.

The wall and roof finishes are beautiful.

The tour was very good, though photographs were not allowed. Rather than summarizing the information pamphlets we were given, I'll link to the castle website here http://www.burg-eltz.de/index.php/en/eltz-castle-the-attractions.

After the tour, we purchased cold drinks at the little cafe (or rather, I did, as Al chose espresso) and ate our sandwiches. Fuelled up, we attempted to walk up to the ruins of the siege castle. It turned out that the paved path did not go there, leading to a small chapel and the parking lot instead.

Walking back down to the main castle. We had thought this road led to the siege castle but it led to the castle visitor parking lot!

We filled our water bottle from the tap in the WC (marked "kein trinkwasser" but it was far too hot to care) and headed back to Moselkern. There is a wanderweg to Pyrmont Castle from Eltz Castle, so we could have visited two castles in one day, or done it on roads on our bikes, but ... just too hot to contemplate. Instead, we had alcohol-free beers at a small Biergarten. Alex had told us, back in Ulm, that all places selling beer must, by law, also offer alcohol-free beer. To me, it just doesn't taste as good.

After a break at our gasthaus, where the room seemed cool compared to outside, we headed out for dinner at the same restaurant when we noticed the weather changing. We hadn't been seated (inside, cooler) very long when the skies opened. Big pelting drops changed to horizontal sheets of rain. It was over within half an hour and we walked back to our room through fresher and cooler air.

Merovingerkreuz: From a tourism website: "The so-called 'Merovingian Cross' of Moselkern is a stone monument dating back to the time around the year 700 (The original is at the Rhineland Regional Museum in Bonn, replicas stand in front of the church and at the cemetery in Moselkern). It is considered one of the oldest portrayals of the crucified Christ in early medieval art. The representation is unique and unparalleled in the artistic world. The image of Christ is combined with geometric motifs symbolising the cosmos. It was erected in a time of transition from paganism to Christianity - probably to protect ancestors at the village cemetery from evil spirits."

The hotel where we had two delicious dinners

The family that owns Burg Eltz also has a house in town

In the hall of our guesthouse. I saw these ball things in shops and are wondering if they are some German craft?

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	1
Comment on this entry	Comment	0