Castles in the Fog

Over Labor Day weekend we took a trip that's been on our list for a while.  We drove over to the Black Forest (Schwarzwald)!!  We had tried to cancel it because of William's recovery but the hotel wouldn't let us cancel with a refund so rather than waste all that money, we went anyway.  I'm so glad we did and William was fine (he's bounced back exceptionally well really).

Friday we decided to stop at Hohenzollern Castle on our way.  I would say that it's becoming a habit to visit castles in the fall except that we visit castles all year round . . . When we arrived, it was raining.  But in Germany, you do not allow rain to deter you!  We put on our jackets and boots and hiked up the trail and 136 steps (Megan counted) to Hohenzollern castle.  And this is one time that I wish I wrote poetry because a castle completely shrouded in fog is begging for an epic or gothic poem of some kind!!

Otherworldly!!

This is the ancestral seat of the House of Hohenzollern and was first built in the 11th century.  But the castle standing isn't that old.  It was destroyed and rebuilt two or three times, partly by invaders and partly by natural causes as the area is known for earthquakes.

In the mid-1800s it was rebuilt by the King of Prussia and maybe that's why I like it so much.  A lot of royals went through castle building and restoration frenzies in the mid-1800s and they all built or decorated them to reflect their ideal of the medieval ages.  They are fabulous and ornate and probably not medieval at all!

Once we reached the top, the rain had stopped but we were still in this dense white of cloud and fog.  We may not have had a view but it was really cool in the fog.  Especially since it's not an overrun castle like Neuschwanstein.  There weren't that many people around!

The wonderful King of Prussia.   I think what he's holding in his hand is broken because it was bent slightly, but he completely looked like he was holding a wand!  And after seeing the entrance hall genealogy, we totally starting calling this a wizarding castle.  And actually, that would be a fun Harry Potter offshoot . . . the wizarding families of Germany . . . 

I loved this door and William's great smiles

Inside the castle they had royal robes for the kids to wear.  After the entrance hall, we had to put on giant slippers (they go right over your shoes) to walk on the original wood floors.

Doesn't this remind you of Sirius Black's genealogy?  Is it sad that I'm referencing Harry Potter instead of actual history???

Ok one room I snuck a picture of and then she said no pictures.

This is a chapel on the grounds that I just adored the ceiling of.

As part of the tour we saw a room where they keep some of the treasures.  The crown of the King of Prussia was there full of diamonds and a marble-sized sapphire.  My favorite though was the gown worn by Queen Louise when she went to Napoleon to ask him to leave Prussia alone.  He didn't.  But she must have looked lovely!

When we came out of the tour the sun was peeking out!!  It took a while to clear up but we did get some of the beautiful views of the Swabian Alps.

The castle is massive and I never could get a good picture of the outside.  There is a hike you can do onto another mountain that gives you a great view of the castle as a whole but we didn't do it this time.  Although I would definitely go back!

The kids spent 5 minutes oohing and aaahing over this tiny, adorable snail.

Driving away.  

First Days of School

The elementary schools here do a great thing for kindergarten.  The first week of school, the students don't go.  The teacher visits the house of each student to talk to the parents one on one about procedures, policies, etc.  I guess I can see where some people might not like a stranger coming into their home, but I thought it was great.  The second week of school, half the kids go one day and the other half go the next.  Then on the third day they all go together.  This gives them a smaller group to deal with when teaching the kindergarteners classroom procedures and stuff.

So Megan and Abby started 4th grade and 2nd grade last week!

This is the second year in a row that we've had weather hot enough for shorts the first week of school and then the temperature drops pretty dramatically the second week and I'm looking for jackets and coats.  Which reminds me that I need to get their coats out and make sure they fit or buy new ones . . .

Anyway, the girls both had great first days.  William was a little upset that after all the talk about going to school with Megan and Abby he actually didn't.  Of course the army brought out several tanks and trucks and so he was appeased by climbing all over those and then when we went home and he remembered how great it is to have mom to himself (plus unlimited tv time because of the surgery), he got over it pretty quickly.

This week, Wednesday was his official first day!  We took his graduation photos the night before:

And I drove the kids to school.

He had a great first day but told me afterwards that he was done with school and didn't need to go back.  So I was worried about day 2.  But he got up and was ready and got on the bus just fine!  His good friend Jackson from preschool is in his class until they move in a month or two so that's fun for him.  He knows several of the kids in fact because of preschool and it just makes me more glad that I did the preschool with him.

He has been coming home and turning the tv right on and he has to be reminded that we don't have tv after school until after homework is done.  He hasn't had any homework yet but I'm sure it will come.  This is a big change of life schedule for him and I hope that he continues to do well!  But overall, the first days of school have been successful and happy for all of them!  And I have to say that the past two days for me have been rather glorious!  Although I did talk to myself a good portion of today . . .