Forests and fairytales

We have both been absolutely stunned and delighted by the extent of forests on our drive since yesterday. We both agreed it’s more continuous forest than we’ve ever seen before. It’s an amazing feeling, driving for hours and mainly seeing trees everywhere rather than endless fields.

The destination of all this driving (and admittedly it was a bit of a dog-leg) was Burg Eltz, or Eltz Castle. We were keen to visit this place as soon as we found out about it.

What Wikipedia says about it:

Eltz Castle (German: Burg Eltz) is a medieval castle nestled in the hills above the Moselle between Koblenz and Trier, Germany. It is still owned by a branch of the House of Eltz who have lived there since the 12th century. Eltz Castle along with Bürresheim Castle and Lissingen Castle are the only castles in the Eifel region which have never been destroyed.

We had a fantastic guided tour of the interior, which is divided into three houses, each belonging to a branch of the Eltz family. Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take any photos of the interior, but we did manage to snap these shots of a couple of unusual items in the castle’s treasury: