Ruine Burg Neideck

On 6 July we drove through the summery countryside. Unlike in New Zealand you rarely see any fences around paddocks because they don't have any stock grazing outside. Instead you see buildings like houses and clocktowers - did you know every town has a clock tower? In between the towns there are meadows and fields of wheat etc.

After we arrived we had to climb the track up a steep mountain to get to the ruins of the wrecked castle "Burg Neideck" (burg is the German word for castle). We explored the remains: A bridge reaching across a moat without water, a tower that looked like Weathertop off Lord of the Rings, some dungeons (we just looked in from the outside), a kitchen area, old walls etc. all perched on top of that mountain. The view from the top was spectacular and breathtaking (mum was worried we might fall off!).

What about castle toilets you might ask? If you used one of their toilets back then you would have to go into a small room overhanging the castle walls. Your business would fall through a hole and into the moat so it's not a good idea to go swimming in there!

On the way back we looked into a little cave called a Grotto. We saw a few stalactites, they are hanging rocks formed by dripping water.

After our adventure we cooled off in the freezing water of the pools at the bottom of the hill.

(Photos to come).