Europe 2019: Burg Eltz

Europe 2019

Burg Eltz

Burg Eltz was one of the real pleasant surprises from our trip. It was picturesque and idyllic, isolated and not particularly crowded, and just an enjoyable place to visit start to finish. I promised Samantha castles on this trip and Burg Eltz helped me deliver.

It's not the easiest place to find - you really have to trust your navigation system. The drive there is really fun however. There are some one lane country roads with great visibility that you can just fly down if you so choose.

One of the few signs you'll see. They certainly aren't located every place you need to turn.

When you get to the castle, you don't actually see it, but you'll find a simple little parking lot. After you park you'll have a choice: You can take a shuttle bus to the actual castle or you can walk. We decided to hump it in and then ride out. 

The walk was less than a mile and it was really pretty. You're basically walking through the woods and eventually the trees open up and you see Burg Eltz rising over the valley.

They have a tour in English which we took, but no pictures are allowed inside the castle (I think it's a German rule that covers all museums). The inside of the castle is interesting, but not spectacular. Our tour guide was pretty much the same. He was fine and he gave us lots of information, but let's just say he wasn't a showman. The area where you wait for your tour guide is an interior courtyard and kind of cool. 

We gave Sammy the camera for a bit.

The have a beautiful cafe overlooking the valley where we had lunch. The food was so-so, and ordering had a sort of Seinfeld "Soup Nazi" vibe to it, but what a fantastic spot to eat!

There were these little birds that would eat out of your hand flying around.

Burg Eltz was a great place to visit and I highly recommend finding it if you're in the area. It was just pleasant! Not too touristy but still tourist friendly. They have a little gift shop and places to eat and restrooms and everything you need. We took the shuttle back to the parking lot and headed on our way.