Are the Lord and Lady home?

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On Tuesday my mom flew back to the States after visiting for about two and a half weeks.  She'd worked out her flights so that she was here for three weekends.  The first weekend we did a few local sites, visiting Hohenzollern Castle and Bebenhausen Monastery.  The following weekends we visited Amsterdam and Paris.  It was really great having my mom here and having the opportunity to visit two cities I hadn't been too. 

She arrived Saturday morning and after getting her back to my place and having some lunch, we got on the road and drove to Hohenzollern Castle.  I've heard many good things about the castle but had never taken the time to go visit it.

First, before using some of my pictures, I'm going to have to cheat and use a photo from the Hohenzollern website.  Below is a view you can't get from ground level.  Plus, it was a cool, overcast day when we visited. 
Hohenzollern Castle
I want you to see just how gorgeous this castle is, which is less than an hour away from my place.  The castle sits on a hillside about a half mile up.  On the weekends they offer several tours in English.  We got there early enough to walk up to the castle and do some exploring.  We did the castle tour but they don't let you take pictures inside.  So I've just got pictures of the exterior.  Sorry the pictures are so dark.  It was a pretty gloomy day. 

The entrance to the castle is through the "Eagle Gateway."  That's Frederick I (1371-1440) on his horse.  Above him is the Prussian eagle and the Hohenzollern motto "Vom Fels zum Meer" (From cliff to sea).  
A cool spiral case as you walk up the ramp to the castle.

Walking around the bastions surrounding the castle.
View from the castle
It was cold and windy...glad I had my hat!
The view from one of the watch towers.
Tower Gate leads into the courtyard
View of the courtyard from inside the Tower Gate
Inside the protestant chapel - Christ Chapel
Hohenzollern was a great day trip and a good way to keep my mom awake after her transatlantic flight.  It's always best to try and stay awake as long as you can once you arrive in Germany...help speed up the process of getting use to the time change.  We were successful in keeping her up. 

Sunday was another busy day.  We went out to Bebenhausen Monastery and stopped at the Ritter Sport store and bought lots of chocolate.  I also got tickets for us to see a performance of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, which was very good.
 
I've blogged about a previous visit to Bebenhausen Monastery so I don't plan on sharing photos from our visit.  Next up will be blogs on our trips to Amsterdam and Paris.  Yeah!  I can't wait to share pictures.  Both were fantastic trips and I'll probably do a couple different blogs on each city. 

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