Challenge - Stay home, share 3 travel photos - castles

Sharing only three photos from my travel in one post really is a challenge for me, and therefore I have decided to contribute to the challenge with more theme posts. Yesterday, I shared three photos from my travels to the mountains and today I am going to share another three photos but from my castle visits.

I've always been passionate about the history and architecture, and castles bring these two passions together. I have visited many castles in Europe already and learned so much about powerful families who were ruling this part of the world for centuries. It's fascinating to learn about how they lived and built their empires, how most of them were connected through arranged marriages and how they ruled over their countries.

Let's start!

Castle De Haar

Castle De Haar is the largest and most luxurious castle in The Netherlands. It dates back to the 14th century and it was restored in the 19th century. It is located in Utrecht which is about 50 minutes drive from where my husband was born. However, he didn't know about its existence and many of my friends didn't know about it either. They should work on some marketing to attract more visitors.

Two years ago, I was looking for a day trip and this is how I found this castle. It's so big but you can't see it from the road. It is hidden behind tall trees and you can only see it when you arrive there.

There are many gardens around the castle that represent different styles and ideas. There is also a large park that you can visit. But the true gems wait for you inside. It's one of the most beautiful castles that I have ever seen. There are 200 rooms and 30 bathrooms but only a few rooms are open to public. It was built to show the wealth of the family and to receive famous and important guests.

When I entered the main hall, I couldn't decide if I entered a Gothic cathedral or a hotel lobby. It was magnificent! But if you want to know more you will have to visit the castle yourself 😊 I'm sure that you will like it as much as I did!

Castle Kyburg

Castle Kyburg was another unexpected discovery. One day on the way back home from Zurich there was an accident on the highway, and we had to find another road back home. We took an exit and after a few kilometres noticed a castle sign. We followed the sign, and this is how we learned about this castle. When we arrived, the castle was closed already but we had dinner there and decided to come again during the weekend, and so we did. Many times.

It was recently renovated and looks very different to what we experienced back then. It's a perfect place for families and as it's so close to our home it became our tradition to bring our visitors here. We can walk around the castle, enjoy their garden, visit the exposition, or have a cup of coffee in the bistro. It's one of our favorite places in Switzerland.

The castle Kyburg is the largest and one of the oldest castles in Eastern Switzerland. It dates back to the 11th century when its original name was Chuigeburg (a cow castle). It was home of many important families over the centuries as it's situated in a strategic place overlooking the region.

There is not much left inside of the castle, but you can still admire some frescoes and various styles which were added with each family. The castle has a long history and you can learn a lot as the audio guide is available in many languages. If you don't want to go inside you can enjoy the exterior with your family for free.

Give it a go if you happen to be around. You won't be disappointed.

Castle Eltz

This is one of the castles that we visited recently. My husband celebrates his birthday in October, and I planned our trip to this castle in Germany combined with lunch at a vegan hotel nearby as I knew that he wanted to go there again. It was raining all the time, but we still had a lot of fun!

Castle Eltz is located in a valley which is very interesting as most of the castles that we have visited before are located on top of hills for better protection against enemies. The castle was built in the 12 century and it has been owned by the same family for over 850 years. How impressive!

We had a great tour guide who told us many stories from the history, and he cracked a joke or two as well. There are 4 main houses with over 100 rooms but only a few of them are open to public. But don't worry, these rooms are impressive, and you will get a good idea about how it was to live here.

I must say that it's not that easy to get here. You have to drive through villages and small roads, and it takes a lot of time but once you're here you will forget about it and just enjoy yourself.

If you like to join the challenge you can do so as well! Just use the tag #travelathome for your post.

Thank you for reading!

Cheers!
Martina