Living in Germany for 4 years gave me many opportunities to travel and see the amazing things the country had to offer. One thing I loved to do was to go "Castle Hunting" and travel to one of the thousands of castles Germany still has. I've visited many of them. It is really hard to pick a favorite because so many of them are just amazing. Burg Eltz has to be on top. Having gone more than once I can say that I've throughly seen this wonder.

One of the reasons that it is my favorite is that for one it is great shape. You can really picture what it was like to live there. Another is that it is still owned by one of the families who originally built it. Which is quite special, as most castles are either sold or donated to the cities or local area.

My first time visiting this castle they had just done a week where they invited people got to stay in the castle and live like it was back when it was in use. This gave my tour a wonderful 5 sense to visit. The kitchens still smelled like food. Amazing. Quite a unique experience.

I also love the setting. A little far off from the Mosel River area, it is set tucked away in valley on top of hill in the forest. Walking down the road to get to it you suddenly turn a corner and the castle just appears in view. So breathtaking.
If you sit a the cafe and have a bite or a drink you sit right above the river with most amazing view.

I highly recommend visiting this castle when you visit the Rheinland-Pfalz area in Germany. I recommend seeing this not on a German holiday in summer, it gets quite busy. My first visit I did during the work week in spring time and it was quite pleasant and not too crowded. Its located not far from Koblenz and Trier so you can hit other amazing spots on the trip as well.

(I am a photographer and took these photos on my first visit to the castle. I own the rights to these images.)