Since Nadja started working the only way to travel are weekend trips. After moving from Austria to Germany, we have a totally new surrounding and exciting new places to discover. On our list for Sunday were two castles and a bit of hiking in south-western Germany, close to Stuttgart, called Swabian Alps. The hills (well they call it mountains, but, after all, we saw in Austria we consider everything under 1.000m height as a hill), were beautiful and covered by fir trees giving them an intense dark green colour. Nature in this part of Germany is very familiar to us and it felt a bit like home.
We went by car to Zellersteighof Berghotel, a hotel and restaurant which is one of the starting points for hiking tours, mountain biking or just a nice Sunday walk in nature. Our destination was Zellerhorn which is part of a 16km hiking tour and as we had our lazy Sunday, we decided to go by car as close as possible, so from the parking lot to Zellerhorn it’s just two kilometers.
Not a romantic. This husky gave a pushy kiss.
Halfway there we met two women who went for a walk with their three dogs. One of them, a very active husky, jumped Nadja into her face to give her a kiss. She loves dogs anyway, so I believe it was rather a pleasant than a scary experience. We had a nice little chat about dogs and later went on to the top.
Stunning far distance view from Zellerhorn! Bright green meadows and rich forests surround the castle on the top of the hill.
I think I found one of my new favourite places. It’s one of those places which costs you nothing and still are more than amazing. You can stand there for hours and hours and just stare in the distance and on the castle Hohenzollern. One of my favourite places in my home region is exactly like that. It invites you to go up that hill, stay there with you best friends or people you really like and just enjoy the moment.
From this strategic position over the valley, the castle was for sure hard to siege. Today it’s a tourist magnet and offers a gorgeous view of the surrounding landscape.
On the top were some benches and a round map showing which cities are toward which direction. A large rock was the perfect viewing point on the castle. Around noon, we went back to the restaurant and had a fantastic lunch. Our goal for this day was to visit castle Hohenzollern, which is 19 km away by car and only 4 km by foot. We deleted the word lazy in lazy Sunday and simply walked there. After almost four weeks in the city it was any way necessary to refill our lungs with fresh air.
The ornamentation at the gate shows fine craftsmanship
We had luck. One day after our visit the castle was closed for eleven days during the film shooting for the new horror movie “a cure for wellness” by Gore Verbinski. Using this castle as a film set will be the next milestone in the rich history of this enormous building. Also very impressive is the fact, that the castle is still in private ownership, which led us to the question how much such a castle might cost to be maintained and provided with current and heating. The lower floors are used as a museum while the upper floors are closed for public and private. We found out that the owners still use the castle now and then for celebrations and other events.
Rich history or history of rich? The statues of Prussian monarchs remind of the history of the castle.
Some more pictures of the impressive castle.
Mighty tower. Around 3-4 floors with rooms inside of each, which are now used as an art gallery.
The history of Hohenzollern reaches back to the 11th century. The final castle was built in the 19th century.
The architect of Hohenzollern Friedrich August Stüler was inspired by English Gothic Revival architecture and the Châteaux of the Loire Valley.
Its atmosphere is in my opinion just perfect for any kind of film set. While strolling around the walls you can imagine the knights walking around, or a bit more into fantasy genre dragons flying around the towers, or werewolves howling at midnight. Also, ghosts or vampires could be lurking inside the chambers and dungeon.
Those stone statues are standing like the guardians back in the old days
Author: GP Pictures: NK
2travel4life 
WOW, the castle really is in a strategic position. The building appears in amazing condition. It would have been an incredible experience to be there.
Thanks for sharing! 🙂
~Carl~
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Thanks! The castle was really amazing!
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