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Hi all…

Continuing on the theme of my trip to Germany (since it’s not quite done yet, but I get to do the long trek home tomorrow)… Today I attended my conference, but still managed to escape for a bit of sight seeing.

Three castles happen to be near the hotel… The Castle of Ludwisburg (which has an older keep/tower still standing on its property as well, so I’m counting that as castle number 2) and Castle Favorite.

The Castle of Ludwigsburg is a sprawling estate smack dab in the middle of Ludwigsburg. It consists of a beautifully managed garden and a number of buildings. It’s known as a “Residence Castle” and was simply stunning.

It was originally built as a hunting castle by Duke Eberhard Ludwig von Wuerttemberg (1693-1733). When he was 27 years old, the first cornerstone was laid (in 1704) in the Duke’s forests 14 km to the north of Stuttgart. The castle was finally completed in 1733.

As you can see, the garden is well maintained. There were crews working on the fountains the entire time I was walking the grounds.

The inner courtyard and back of the castle were also beautiful. The back has a clear view of Castle Favorite, which was a “pleasure” castle. Much brighter and more colorful than the hunting/residence castle, Castle Favorite almost glowed on the horizon.

Castle Favorite was built originally as a place for the Duke to breed pheasants, which makes sense if the main castle was a hunting/estate castle. He could hunt birds or just send them to the kitchens for dinner without the sport.

The older tower/keep was on the Castle of Ludwigsburg grounds. Not sure of its purpose, but it was more of what I (in my gamer’s mind) see as a classic small castle. Up on a high crag, easy to protect, and tough to attack unannounced.

It’s just amazing to be in a country where castles actually exist somewhere other than Disneyland or Disney World.

I’m including some pictures below…

I’ll be heading back to the U.S. in the morning and will arrive after going through the same four airports, three flights, and multiple hours in the air and between planes. But I’ll be happy to be home. It’s been an interesting trip, but it’s time to return home!

–Fitz