It wasn't the most amazing Burg in the area but it was free and a nice little trip to get us out of the house for a few hours.
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Burg Schönecken 2015
We took a trip to the Burg Schönecken in Schönecken, Germany. The castle was constructed in 1230 and now stands in ruins. The castles is about a 45 minute drive from where we live. We had no problem getting to the town where the Burg is located but we had hard time trying to get to the Burg itself. The roads we had to take were very narrow. We finally figured out how to get to the Burg but then didn't know where to park. So since no one else was there we just parked on the grass next to the castle. I highly doubt we were allowed to park there but it worked out.
View of the large towers of what is left of the Burg.
The side wall
Largest of the towers still standing
Bill pretending to read the German sign on the wall and the view from the castle window.
After we walked around the ruins for a bit we found so trails to explore.
It wasn't the most amazing Burg in the area but it was free and a nice little trip to get us out of the house for a few hours.
It wasn't the most amazing Burg in the area but it was free and a nice little trip to get us out of the house for a few hours.
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Burg Nanstein 2015
On February 14th 2015 which is Valentine's Day we decided to go explore a castle. We were in the area of Landstuhl, Germany and they have a castle in town so we stopped to check it out. We got to the area where our GPS told us we had to park our car and walk the rest of the way so we found a parking lot and started our trek. It was a little bit of a hike up to where the castle is but it wasn't to difficult.
Burg Nanstein is a castle that was built around 1162. It was built to defend the Palatinate which is a historical territory of the Holy Roman Empire. The castle had many levels and a lot of stairs. You started to the right of the castle and you could go down to the bottom level which was small and then climb to the very top of the castle and essentially be on the roof. Then to the left you crossed a bridge like structure and then went down into the courtyard of the second level of the castle. Then you could go down into a long tunnel that led to a dead end. There were a good amount of rooms to see and it took us about 45 minutes to see the whole castle.
The carvings into the stone were amazing and very detailed. This is some sort of dragon carved into the wall.
When at the top of the castle you could see for miles. We were lucky to have such a nice day in February for our visit. It was 48 degrees and mostly sunny. A rare treat for Germany.
This is the backside of the castle and after we walked around the inside we walked around the grounds.
At the back of the castle there was a path that led down. We hoped it was a short cut back to the car but it ended up being a hiking path. We made our way down the path it wasn't treturous and was a nice walk on a beautiful day.
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Paris, France 2015 Day 2
On the second day we woke up early to get to the Louvre before it opened. During the winter months the first Sunday of the month is free which causes it to be busy.
The Louvre opens at 9:00am so we wanted to be in line by 8:30 so we left the hotel at 8 to take the metro to the museum. Five of us went minus the ones who were out partying the night before. When the Louvre opened we didn't have to wait long to get inside. It took 5-10 minutes.
The opening to the Louvre is under the glass pyramid. The Louvre is one of the world's largest museums and it houses nearly 35,000 objects from prehistoric to the 21st century.
As soon as we were inside the museum we grabbed a map and bee lined for the most known piece of art in the world the Mona Lisa. By going right to the painting we were able to get as close to the painting as they allow. I was surprised by how small it was but it was amazing no the less. After we saw the Mona Lisa we went back to the main area of the museum and got breakfast at the bakery inside. I got a croissant and Bill got a baguette sandwich with cheese and ham. Both were delicious and I know this because I finished his sandwich for him. After breakfast we started walking through the museum.
We saw Venus de Milo and many other great pieces of work. We walked around the museum for over an hour and half and didn't see everything in one wing. It is definitely a place that you have to spend all day in or go to multiple times. We had other things planned for the day so we had to get going. Bill and I will definitely be going back the next time we visit Paris.
La pyramide Inversée or the inverted pyramid inside the carrousel du Louvre shopping mall that is connected to the Louvre.
When we left the Louvre we decided to walk to our next destination which was Notre Dame cathedral. On our way to Notre Dame we walked across the Pont de I'Archevêché or lock bridge were couples go and lock a love lock to a bridge to symbolize their love for each other. Bill and I did not put a lock on the bridge.
It was about a 20 minute walk to Notre Dame cathedral When we got there we had a short wait in line to enter the cathedral where mass was going on. You can go in and walk around during mass but you have to be quiet while inside.
One of the famous Notre Dame gargoyles on the side of the building. After we left the cathedral we hopped back onto the metro and made our way to what Paris is known for.
The Eiffel Tower. I knew it was big but I had no concept of how big it actually is. We decided to take the lift to the top. The five of us waited in line and got our tickets you have to take two separate lifts to get to the top. We took the first lift to the second floor and I knew I couldn't go any higher. It was windy and rainy and I'm already terrified of heights. The second level is 390 feet off the ground. So I and one of the other guys who didn't want to go to the top stayed on the second floor while the others went to the top. The first floor has all of the restaurants and shops on it so we decided we would go and wait for them on the first floor so we got on the lift to go down. When the lift stopped on the first floor we were so jam packed into the lift and no one would move we couldn't get off to get onto the first floor so we ended up sitting under the tower in the rain waiting for the others to get done at the top.
Bill took this picture from the top of the tower looking down. He was 905 feet off the ground.
Bill and I infant of the Eiffel Tower it looks so small in pictures. You wouldn't believe how far away from it we were standing when we took this picture. After this because of how much it was raining and how wet and cold we were we decided to hop on the metro and go back to the hotel and order pizza. It was almost 3:00pm at this point and we hadn't eaten since breakfast. We got back tot the hotel ordered the pizza and ate Linner (lunch/dinner) and hung out for a bit. When it gets dark they light the Eiffel Tower up and every hour on the hour for about 5 minutes they do a light show. Four of us decided to go and check it out. We got there right after the 8:00pm show ended so we had some time to kill till the 9pm show.
We decided to walk to see The Statue of Liberty that is in Paris. It didn't look like it would be that long of a walk but it took us 15 minutes both ways and we almost missed the 9 o'clock light show.
The Louvre opens at 9:00am so we wanted to be in line by 8:30 so we left the hotel at 8 to take the metro to the museum. Five of us went minus the ones who were out partying the night before. When the Louvre opened we didn't have to wait long to get inside. It took 5-10 minutes.
The opening to the Louvre is under the glass pyramid. The Louvre is one of the world's largest museums and it houses nearly 35,000 objects from prehistoric to the 21st century.
As soon as we were inside the museum we grabbed a map and bee lined for the most known piece of art in the world the Mona Lisa. By going right to the painting we were able to get as close to the painting as they allow. I was surprised by how small it was but it was amazing no the less. After we saw the Mona Lisa we went back to the main area of the museum and got breakfast at the bakery inside. I got a croissant and Bill got a baguette sandwich with cheese and ham. Both were delicious and I know this because I finished his sandwich for him. After breakfast we started walking through the museum.
We saw Venus de Milo and many other great pieces of work. We walked around the museum for over an hour and half and didn't see everything in one wing. It is definitely a place that you have to spend all day in or go to multiple times. We had other things planned for the day so we had to get going. Bill and I will definitely be going back the next time we visit Paris.
La pyramide Inversée or the inverted pyramid inside the carrousel du Louvre shopping mall that is connected to the Louvre.
When we left the Louvre we decided to walk to our next destination which was Notre Dame cathedral. On our way to Notre Dame we walked across the Pont de I'Archevêché or lock bridge were couples go and lock a love lock to a bridge to symbolize their love for each other. Bill and I did not put a lock on the bridge.
It was about a 20 minute walk to Notre Dame cathedral When we got there we had a short wait in line to enter the cathedral where mass was going on. You can go in and walk around during mass but you have to be quiet while inside.
One of the famous Notre Dame gargoyles on the side of the building. After we left the cathedral we hopped back onto the metro and made our way to what Paris is known for.
The Eiffel Tower. I knew it was big but I had no concept of how big it actually is. We decided to take the lift to the top. The five of us waited in line and got our tickets you have to take two separate lifts to get to the top. We took the first lift to the second floor and I knew I couldn't go any higher. It was windy and rainy and I'm already terrified of heights. The second level is 390 feet off the ground. So I and one of the other guys who didn't want to go to the top stayed on the second floor while the others went to the top. The first floor has all of the restaurants and shops on it so we decided we would go and wait for them on the first floor so we got on the lift to go down. When the lift stopped on the first floor we were so jam packed into the lift and no one would move we couldn't get off to get onto the first floor so we ended up sitting under the tower in the rain waiting for the others to get done at the top.
Bill took this picture from the top of the tower looking down. He was 905 feet off the ground.
Bill and I infant of the Eiffel Tower it looks so small in pictures. You wouldn't believe how far away from it we were standing when we took this picture. After this because of how much it was raining and how wet and cold we were we decided to hop on the metro and go back to the hotel and order pizza. It was almost 3:00pm at this point and we hadn't eaten since breakfast. We got back tot the hotel ordered the pizza and ate Linner (lunch/dinner) and hung out for a bit. When it gets dark they light the Eiffel Tower up and every hour on the hour for about 5 minutes they do a light show. Four of us decided to go and check it out. We got there right after the 8:00pm show ended so we had some time to kill till the 9pm show.
We decided to walk to see The Statue of Liberty that is in Paris. It didn't look like it would be that long of a walk but it took us 15 minutes both ways and we almost missed the 9 o'clock light show.
The Tower is beautiful when it is all lit up and the light show was great to. It wasn't very long and it only flashed but it was definitely worth seeing. After the light show we took some more full length shots of the tower and pictures of us in front of the tower then made our way back to the hotel. Bill decided to go to sleep but I stayed up to watch the super bowl with a few people. wasn't the best idea since it started at 12:30am and didn't end till after 4am. We were leaving the next day at 9:30am but had no plans before so we slept in a bit and then made our way back to Germany. One more place checked off my bucket list.
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Paris, France 2015 Day 1
We started off our trip to Paris driving to the Metz train station in France. We then took the train into Paris. When we arrived at the Paris train station we had to take the metro to our hotel. We went on this trip with a group of people, there were 9 of us total. We checked into the hotel to put our baggage away. We then took the metro to go get some lunch in Champs-Élysées.
Getting off the metro this was my first view of the Eiffel Tower. We had lunch at a fast food burger place. Then we split off into two groups so we could do different things.
We went to the Arc de Triomphe. It honors those who fought and died for France in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. We climbed the stairs inside so we could get a view from the top of the Arc de Triomphe. You could see for miles up there. The city is absolutely beautiful. Beneath the Arc de Triomphe is the tomb of the unknown soldier from World War I.
We then did some shopping around the city. We went into the original Louis Vuitton store where we couldn't even afford to look. We then went into Nike and The Disney store. Which surprisingly since there is a Disneyland Paris is not that impressive.
We then took the metro to see one of the largest department stores in Paris. On our way there we saw the Paris Opera house. The Galeries Lafayette is an upmarket department store that has ten levels. After we were done shopping we decided to go back to the hotel to rest for a little bit before we went to dinner. We all regrouped at the hotel and hung out and played cards against humanities while having a few drinks. We went to dinner at a Thai restaurant. after dinner we walked around the city and around 9:30pm Bill and I and a few others decided to go back to the hotel while others decided to stay out and party. When we got back to the hotel we hung around for a little bit then decided to go to bed to prepare for then next full day of sight seeing.
Getting off the metro this was my first view of the Eiffel Tower. We had lunch at a fast food burger place. Then we split off into two groups so we could do different things.
We went to the Arc de Triomphe. It honors those who fought and died for France in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. We climbed the stairs inside so we could get a view from the top of the Arc de Triomphe. You could see for miles up there. The city is absolutely beautiful. Beneath the Arc de Triomphe is the tomb of the unknown soldier from World War I.
We then did some shopping around the city. We went into the original Louis Vuitton store where we couldn't even afford to look. We then went into Nike and The Disney store. Which surprisingly since there is a Disneyland Paris is not that impressive.
We then took the metro to see one of the largest department stores in Paris. On our way there we saw the Paris Opera house. The Galeries Lafayette is an upmarket department store that has ten levels. After we were done shopping we decided to go back to the hotel to rest for a little bit before we went to dinner. We all regrouped at the hotel and hung out and played cards against humanities while having a few drinks. We went to dinner at a Thai restaurant. after dinner we walked around the city and around 9:30pm Bill and I and a few others decided to go back to the hotel while others decided to stay out and party. When we got back to the hotel we hung around for a little bit then decided to go to bed to prepare for then next full day of sight seeing.
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