The Land of Enchanting Castles

It's official, we visited our first castle since moving to Germany. Schloss Burg an der Wupper was just a short 30 minute drive north of us.  We had the castle all to ourselves...with the exception of a school group that hummed in the background.
Schloss Burg began sometime in the 12th century as a hunting castle. In it's history it was abandoned, used to hold prisoners, and used for ceremonial events. The castle was destroyed in 1648 after the Thirty Years War.  Then in 1700 they began to rebuild it but unfortunately by 1849 it was in decay. Again it was rebuilt, this time taking 24 years, and just six years after being completed it was mostly destroyed in a fire. The last reconstruction was completed in 1924 and today the castle looks the way it did in 1715.  Walking through a place such as this takes one back in time; to knights, queens and code of arms.
I'm sure there will be many more castles in the months and years to come.

Phantasialand

The past few weeks have been all about; finding a car, completing paperwork, getting a German bank account, and did I mention finding a car! So we thought it was about time to take a day and have some FUN! Elyse was so used to going with us to all the above mentioned adult obligations that she just expected to follow the GPS around all day to test drive another car. So she had no idea what the plan was on Thursday...until we parked and she asked, "Where are we?" When we told her we were at a park where they had fun things for kids she was ready to go full steam! We bundled up (as seen in the photos) and had a magical time at Phantasialand! It opens up for just 6 weeks during the Holiday season and creates a winter wonderland with an ice skating rink, snow, Christmas lights/decorations and all the food one could desire. Elyse loved playing in the man made snow and riding the children's rides. Damon enjoyed all the food stalls around the park and riding the Black Mamba- a fast, hanging roller coaster. When I asked him about it he said, "That is the kind of ride someone would have a heart attack on!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_StR0ApVh8

What a great way to start 2012...creating family memories of fun and laughter.