EuroMegavacation Episode 4 - Burg Eltz

Burg Eltz is pretty easy on the eyes.

I wanted to hike in the German forest.  Matt wanted to tour a castle.  Burg Eltz perfectly combined these travel aspirations.  Plus, our travel guru, Rick Steves, called it his "favorite castle in all of Europe," which sealed the deal.  

Sitting on a stump by the Elzbach.

Let's get one thing out of the way first:  "Burg" is just the German word for "castle."  Thus, Burg Eltz is Eltz Castle in English.  Since I'm sticking with the German name throughout this post, I thought a linguistic heads-up was in order. 

A perfect day for a stroll through the woods to a castle!

So, on the 7th day of our European adventure, we got up early.  Like set-an-alarm-on-vacation early!  But!  We had big plans for our day!  It was necessary.  Matt wanted time for a shower, a quick trip down to the Backhaus Lüning Filiale for uberfresh pretzels for our picnic lunch, and then back to the hotel for breakfast with me.  All before catching the train.  The hotelkeeper noted how early we were for breakfast, but gave an approving nod when we detailed our daytrip plans--and then he corrected our pronunciation of the word "Burg."    

Matt approaching the train station in Moselkern.

From Bacharach, it was just a short ride to the Koblenz main station, where we caught the connection to adorable little Moselkern.  It was smooth sailing all the way.  

Vineyards as seen from the train between Koblenz and Moselkern.

We immediately noted that the vineyards around Moselkern looked different than the ones around Bacharach.  At Moselkern, the hillsides are sort of terraced with rock walls and the vines run across the hills.  Around Bacharach, they just race up, up, up the hills in improbably steep lines.  

Matt in Moselkern.

Moselkern is a teeny village (about 560 people) and was our hopping off point to Burg Eltz.  We walked through the town on the narrow streets.  The houses are mostly stone, but there were some painted in colorful pastel shades.  They had a lot of cool wood-carved and painted front doors.  

One of the many fun and funky doors in Moselkern.

We explored a small cemetery--the Friedhof Moselkern--that we passed along our route.  There were many old memorials and headstones along the edges, but it was an active, modern cemetery with graves up to the present day.  It is also the cemetery where the Moselkern Stele was discovered around 1800.  The original monument is now in a museum in Bonn, but they have a replica on the wall still at the excavation site.  This 7th-century stone cross monument is one of the oldest sculptural depictions of the crucifixion.  Of course, I learned most of those details after the fact.  The signage was completely in German.  All I could make out was that the original was in a museum in Bonn.  Ha!  As we walked through town, Matt and I remarked on this distinct shape being incorporated into the architecture--on stonework and paintings-- throughout Moselkern.  I subsequently learned the Stele has been Moselkern's city crest since the 1980s.

The cemetery Friedhof Moselkern

The lanes gradually grew wider, the gardens larger, and the village gave way to the forest.  The trail closely follows the Elzbach River for nearly the entire route to the castle.  The forest floor was a carpet of green.  Flowers in pink, blue, white, and yellow lined the path.  Matt was delighted by the fiddlehead ferns.  The vibes were reminiscent of our time exploring the forests of the Pacific Northwest.   Majestic trees crawling with ivy, mushrooms popping up from the soil, moss and lichens covered rocks and branches.  

A downed tree in the forest.  There was so much ivy and vines crawling all over the trees.  It was sure lush!

The birds were singing in the trees, but we didn't see many since the leaf canopy was so tall.  The sky was brilliant blue with billowing, fluffy clouds.  Despite my injured ankle, I actually skipped through the forest at one point.  It was all so perfect.  I was overflowing with happiness and needed a release valve for some of it.

Skipping through the woods!  

We encountered a handful of people on the trail, but largely had the forest to ourselves.  It took a little more than an hour to walk the 5km from Moselkern to Burg Eltz.  The route was well marked and the trail was mostly flat and easy.  The turrets of the castle suddenly appeared before us through a break in the trees.  There it was!  Burg Eltz!  We were instantly excited by the view.  It is an impressive and imposing feature amidst the friendly forest surrounding it.  

Our very first view of Burg Eltz.

There was a small foot bridge for crossing over the Elzbach.  We paused at the benches there for a fresh pretzel, taking in a view of the river to one side and the castle on the other.  We climbed the long stone stairs up to the large stone gate with the castle growing larger and larger as we approached.  Once again, our timing was (unintentionally) impeccable.  We had to wait mere moments in the courtyard before the next English-speaking tour started.  

Almost to the gates!

A little background information-- Burg Eltz is a medieval castle that has been owned by the Eltz family for almost 900 years.  It was built and expanded over almost 500 years, from 1150 to 1650.  Three branches of the family tree shared ownership until 1815, but after one family line ended without a male heir and the other was bought out, there is now just one branch of the family left at the Castle.  The three families wrote up an actual contract--the Burgfriedensbriefe--which our tour guide called "the house rules."  It was this document, some smart political alliances/decisions, and location that have allowed the castle to remain largely untouched by war and within the same familial control for so long.   The current owner is the 34th generation of the family--Count Johann-Jakob zu Eltz--who took ownership from his father in 2018.  The Count doesn't live in the castle, but has "administrators" who live in one section and manage its upkeep and tourist-related activities on his behalf.  

A tranquil view of the Elzbach River.

The tour of Burg Eltz was even cooler than we expected.  This would prove to be a theme for the EuroMegavacation--pretty much everything was more amazing than we could have imagined/hoped.  Our tour guide was very knowledgeable, thorough, and courteous.  No photography is allowed inside, but let me tell you:  It is beautifully decorated and furnished--and almost everything is original, albeit restored in many cases.  Check out their website!  Or check out their social media photos!  Ohhhh, boy, I wanted to curl up for a nap in the remarkable 500-year-old canopy bed. 

Matt in the inner courtyard of Burg Eltz at the conclusion of our guided tour.

The painted ceilings stand out most strongly in my mind's eye when I think back to Burg Eltz.  I remember wanting to go home and paint MY ceilings.  The canopy bed mentioned above was in a room painted like a jungle with a riot of bold, green vines and flowers.  While in Belgium, we had learned a little about tapestry-making as well as lace.  Burg Eltz has an astonishing Belgian wall tapestry woven in the 1300s.  It was cool to find connections between the places we've been and the things we'd learned along the way.

Walking back down from the castle.

Matt and I were deeply impressed with the amount of work involved in running such a household.  I mean, just the heating alone!  Burg Eltz boasts more than 80 rooms and 40 fireplaces.  Imagine the wood cutting, hauling, tending, and cleaning!  It is pretty mind-boggling.

Pretzel pit stop below the castle.

My favorite room was probably the family's discussion room.  A long table and chairs dominate the center of the room.  Full suits of armor are suspended on the walls.  Our tour guide cracked a joke about them not being for an army of children and discussed how much taller and broader modern humans are than their medieval counterparts.  Huzzah for improved nutrition, eh?!   What I really loved about this room was the approach to family diplomacy.  There are painted grotesques of jesters jutting out from the walls.  The jester motif was supposed to remind the family members that they were free to say anything in this particular room.  Jesters, historically, could get away with saying things to the King and nobility that others would never get away with!  But, to balance this say-what-you-feel approach, there was a beautiful red rose painted over the only door to the conference room.  The rose was used as a symbol for silence.  Thus, everyone should feel free to speak their mind, but what is said in the room stays in the room and can't be used against each other or shared with other parties outside the room.  I thought that was pretty great.

You know, I'm not normally drawn to potty humor, but this little statue in the Burg Eltz Treasury....well...it was my favorite.  Called a "Dukatenscheisser" or "Man Shitting Gold Ducats" this was both a joke and a prosperity good luck charm.  It would be a bit like owning a sculpture of a goose that lays golden eggs--but funnier.  Anyways.  I was surprised to see it there.  Potty humor is timeless, I guess.  I thought it was a hoot.

To my surprise, there was pretty impressive "plumbing" in the castle with 20 toilets that flushed to the outside with rainwater.  Our guide said, "...and once it is outside the walls, it is not your problem anymore."  We got to see one of these bathrooms.  It was pretty posh all things considered.  A fancy outhouse nook on the edge of the building.  Who knew?!?

A view from the castle.

The kitchen was super fascinating.  Once again, we marveled over the amount of work involved in keeping the castle running day in and day out.  There were hooks and dowels overhead for baskets and strings of sausages--to keep them out of reach of rodents and bugs.  The hearth was huge and had this amazing ratcheting kettle over the fire.  The pot could be raised higher or lower over the flames/coals as needed.  I thought it was terribly brilliant.  There is an oven made from a volcanic stone--tuff--that apparently makes the fantastic ovens on account of its heat retention.  We ogled all the pots, pans, bottles, jars, and other tools on the shelves and in the pantry.  Matt and I love to cook, so it's no surprise this room was so fascinating.

Matt and the castle gates.

The tour concluded and we found ourselves in the castle's inner courtyard again.  Another tour had just left, so the courtyard was nearly empty.  We took advantage of relative solitude and stood in the courtyard for a good while--turning in circles--admiring the mullioned windows, stonework, alcoves, and turrets. 

The interior courtyard of Burg Eltz

The guided tour of Burg Eltz also includes a self-guided tour of the Treasury that houses the family's treasures.  Oh, the jewels, gold, and porcelain galore!  There were crazy cool old-fashioned keys, silver belts studded with turquoise, elaborately carved ivory cutlery and sculptures, and historical weaponry.  Matt stood beside a complete suit of armor and we laughed about the impossibility of fitting him inside.  He was really pumped about the whole castle landscape, especially since he was reading a book from the Dragonlance series.  Being surrounded by halberds, war hammers, and fortifications in real life enriched the experience of visiting Burg Eltz.  He we immersed in the setting.  Visiting Burg Eltz likewise enriched the Dragonlance reading experience, too.  For me, I knew the word halberd, but had no idea what it was.  And now I do.

Matt was in medieval-knight-lance heaven.

We moseyed out to the courtyard terrace to enjoy a glass of local Mosel rosé.  The flower garden was vibrant with blooms.  The view of the castle and the surrounding forest was epic.  The sun broke through the clouds and we reveled in the sunshine and setting. We raised a toast to our blessed life.  

"Nothin' left to do but smile, smile, smile" when drinking rosé in the sunshine in a castle.

We retraced our route down from Burg Eltz, over the Elzbach, and through the forest to Moselkern.  Along the way, we saw two more new birds, including the Common Chaffinch, a bird I'd read about in a David Sedaris essay yet never expected to see myself.  I feared that stopping to peer at the Chaffinch through the binoculars might make us miss the train, but we took the gamble since we'd never seen one before (and more trains were coming anyway).  We arrived at the platform and waited only moments before the train arrived.   

Walkin' in the woods.

My journal from this day reads:  "We caught the train again (our timing can't keep being this perfect, right?)."  Perfect really is the keyword for that day, though.  It was a perfect day.  Everything about it.  Except having to wake up to an alarm on vacation, I guess, but it was worth it.  :)