quinta-feira, 31 de agosto de 2017

Burg Eltz - Timeless Castle






It is difficult to choose what to visit because the attractions are many and Germany is known for its famous castles. The most famous is Neuschwanstein which served as inspiration for the castle of Sleeping Beauty at Disneyland Paris. However, one of the most beautiful castles in Germany is the Burg Eltz, 36 km from Koblenz. 



It is more than 850 years old (supposed to have been built in the twelfth century), never captured or destroyed and remained intact in the wars of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, as well as the social upheavals created by the French revolution. Always belonging to the Zu Eltz family, its furniture and objects have been maintained throughout the centuries.





quinta-feira, 17 de agosto de 2017

Koblenz - Were Mosel and Rhine rivers meet






The Mosel flows through the northeast of France and Luxembourg to the west of Germany. It has an extension of 560 km and ends at the Rhine river in the German city of Koblenz. The meeting of the two rivers and the beautiful surrounding area is known by Deutsches Eck, considered by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.






The Romans already appreciated this magnificent landscape as well as the German Order. It is a place steeped in history. In 1891 Kaiser Wilhelm II had a 37-meter pedestal erected in honor of his grandfather Guilherme I, the unifier of the German Empire. It is a tourist attraction that receives more than two million visitors a year.


On the other side of the Rhine stands the Ehrenbreitstein fortress, the second largest castle wall preserved in Europe. About 120 meters above the Rhine are the best view of the city.




Behind the fortress is the area of ​​the National Exhibition of Gardening, the Bundesgartenschau, zone of events and leisure. It can and should be flown by cable car taking us to the left bank of the Rhine. Arrived there we can go and visit the historical center of the city. Combining a French lifestyle and the German tradition, the atmosphere of natural cordiality is felt, being obliged to taste, in cozy cellars, the exquisite cuisine and taste the best and most famous German wine of the vineyards that in escarpment surround the river Moselle.

sexta-feira, 11 de agosto de 2017

Mosel Valley and Luxembourg - The wine-growing valleys of Germany



 

A not so touristic getaway is to drive to the Mosel and Rhine river valleys.
The romantic and the bucolic cohabit and the beautiful castles towering over cliffs on these rivers, where we see deep escarpments where the vineyards that produce the best and most famous German wines, predominantly of the Riesling grape variety.
The charm of the whole area with its picturesque villages and its romantic castles and forts bring us the charm of fairy tales and lose ourselves in the landscape.