Stangengraben

Did I by chance save the best castle for last? Maybe.. just maybe. Sure it’s not perched atop a mountain inside a defensive fortress, but this lakeside castle, or palace if you will, has some style about it. It got added to UNESCO as a world heritage site this year and works are ongoing for renovating the palace.

The positioning and gardens around it has style to it similar to what I like in a royal residence. Gardens to wander, a lake to take tea by, and postcard views from your tower corner reception rooms. While only a small portion is open I liked what I saw. Sign me up!The building is also used by the local parliament which is kind of a cool mix of historic monarchy and democracy.

Perhaps I’m drawn to it as it has the nickname of Neuschwanstein of the North (the castle I visited earlier in the trip). It does have the tower thing going for it similar to Newschwanstein. Anyway, this one belongs to the House of Mecklenburg, whose first prince was recognised by the Holy Roman Empire back in say, 1170! So they’d been around a while. This castle is circa the 19th century, so pretty new and maybe that’s the appeal.

After a walk through the castle and gardens but the lake it was time for my last night in Germany before I make the trip back home. I’m starting to get tired of moving so looking forward to getting home to my boys in a few days. In the meantime, taking in the views of one more castle was a good way to end the trip.Read more