Confessions of a Castleholic

I don’t know about you but I love a good Q&A. Those short, bite-sized interviews are always my favorite pieces to read in magazines or on blogs. So I thought it would be a great idea to have one right here on Confessions of a Castleholic with the questions coming straight from you guys. Why? Because four years ago today, I published the very first post on this blog chronicling my visit to Schloss Wernigerode   so it's time to celebrate a little. Big thanks to everyone who shared their questions on Twitter, Facebook or via E-Mail. So without further ado, here are my answers to seven fun questions… Do you see yourself living in a palace? Frankly, no. I think I have read too much about how inconvenient life in a castle is and how difficult it is to keep them up to have that wish. I rather stick to visiting so I can fully enjoy them.  Which castle would you like to own? And why? If I had to pick one, I would probably go full Baroque splendour. Howeve...

In today's edition of Castleholics Anonymous I speak to Arjan, a fixture in the royal Twitterverse , about royal residences and more - enjoy! At Amalienborg Museum (All photos by Arjan) Over the past year or so, you have shaken hands with quite a few royals - tell us about your most memorable experiences! Oh boy, I could go on about that for hours! Talking to members of Liechtenstein's Princely Family on Staatsfeiertag was fantastic and shaking hands with the Duchess of Cambridge was also very special. I also attended Queen Fabiola of Belgium's funeral, which was a great honour. I shook hands with Guillaume and Stéphanie of Luxembourg after their civil wedding (their wedding celebrations were fantastic) and could congratulate them. So many great experiences! Turning to castles... Do you still remember the first one you ever visited and what your impression was? That must have been Loevestein Castle, on a school outing. It made a huge impression on me as a c...

When one Luxarazzi speaks to another could be the title of today's Castleholics Anonymous. In our new edition, I spoke to one of my favourite people in the world and co-blogger at Luxarazzi, Nichole, about her favourite castle experiences in Europe, American castles and royal sights around the world she would like to visit (and I want to squeeze in her suitcase to come along). After reading, also make sure to check our giveaway to celebrate three years of Castleholic! Schloss St. Emmeram in Regensburg (Photo: Wikimedia Commons) You lived in Europe for a while - do you have a favourite castle or palace here? The favourite castle that I visited was the small Schloss in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe near Frankfurt. It isn’t a large or particularly sumptuous Schloss but it is my favourite. Because I lived in Frankfurt am Main, I often traveled there to visit it. I also had a truly wonderful time during all of my visits and that really gave me an emotional connect to it.  I...

Sundays is for Castleholics Anonymous once again here at Confessions of a Castleholic. In today's edition, I spoke to Netty Leistra, probably one of the best known names in the world of royal watching and an avid castle visitor. Find her adventures at Netty Royal . Palace Het Loo (All photos: Netty Leistra) Can you still remember the first castle you ever visited? What fascinated you the most about it? Good thing my mother was here the other week and confirmed what I already thought. She thinks I must have been 6 or 7 years old (so around 1980) and we went by bike (me on my own)! There is this small castle very close to Sneek, The Netherlands, where I grew up. It is called the Epemastate , still private property, but open to the public. It looks pretty commercial nowadays, but at the time it was a small and cosy family home that the family used once in a while. My mother thinks that we probably even had a guided tour by the lady of the castle, Baroness Clara van Harinxma...

Happy Friday everyone! Let's start the weekend with a new edition of Castleholics Anonymous, shall we? We shall. This time I talked to Stefan of Royal Travel and Events about royal-guided tours, castles in the south of Germany and much more... Fürst Alois-Konstantin z Wertheim-Löwenstein-Rosenberg (All photos: Royal Travel)  You recently visited Bronnbach Abbey and got a very special tour by no other than the Fürst zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg himself. How did that tour come about and what little known facts did the Fürst reveal about his childhood home? A friend told me about this tour, it takes place once a year. The Fürst told many anecdotes from his childhood. For example one time the children were fishing in the Tauber river close to the monastery. They then the brought the fishes home with them and put them in a bathtub in their parents' bathroom which was connected to their bedroom. They even put sand and plants into the bathtub with the fishes. So whe...

Sorry, I've been a bit MIA lately but I've literally been missing in castle-seeing action in England the past week or two. For everyone still in need for inspiration, I thought - inspired by some of my recent CastleMemories - we could discover a little more of Sweden and its royal and noble sights. As we haven't done a Castleholics Anonymous in quite a while, I talked to Sofia ( who has her own blog though we'll get a little more into that a bit further down ) and out come loads of castle-seeing tips for Sweden - and the Czech Republic. I visited Sweden a bunch of times during my childhood for holidays. However, apart from the royal palace in Stockholm as well as nearby Drottningholm Slott, castles and palaces in Sweden are a bit of a blank page for me. Which other ones would you recommend for every Castleholic to see? Rosersberg Palace My own two favourite royal residences of course, Rosendal and Rosersberg. Rosendal Palace, which despite its name i...

It's vacation time! Just about a week and a half left until I'll finally head to Portugal - time for another Castleholics Anonymous, this time with Lurdes of Tesouras & Tiaras . She's from Portugal and so of course this one will be Portugal-heavy, enjoy! (I certainly got some inspiration for my travels...) Do you still remember the first castle or palace you ever visit? Which one was it and what was the impression you took away from it? Castle of Serpa (Photo: Paulo Juntas / Wikimedia Commons) The first castle I visited was the one on my hometown, Serpa. The castle dates back to the Muslim occupation of the Iberian Peninsula, around the VIII century. So it's quite old. This castle has always been for me a walk mandatory point. Since childhood I love walking along its walls and admire the view. Since that time this building gives me a very great sense of peace, perhaps because on its walls we can see life happening around without anyone realizing it. The...

This week life (and work) simply took so that we didn't have a Castleholics Anonymous last Sunday. To make it up, I've got a lengthy one with a well-travelled fellow royal watcher, Marlene Konig of Royal Musings , that will take us to some places quite off the beaten track already today. I might be travelling to the Balkan this or next year. Are there some castles and palaces in this part of the world you can recommend? Old Palace in Belgrade (Photo: Wikimedia Commons) I have been to Serbia, Montenegro and Romania. Belgrade is a developing city, certainly changing and improving. The two main palaces in central Belgrade are now the residence of the President of Serbia and the city government, respectively. The former is not open the public, and neither was the latter, but I have been told that this building will be open to the public during the summer. The residence of the President is known as the Novi dvor (new palace), and was built for King Peter I (but he died bef...

Here at Castleholic, Sunday is for Castleholics Anonymous. Today with Sophie of All Things Royal , the Dutch-language website and forum. However, do not fear, her castle travels also have English summaries at the bottom. Check out her posts on Windsor Castle and Château de Versailles for example. The gardens of Versailles (Photo: All Things Royal) Imagine you could live in any castle or palace in this world for a week, which one you chose and why? That would be Versailles. You would find me in the garden in spring and summer. It's wonderful! Buckingham Palace, Château de Versailles , Schloss Neuschwanstein – there are all these famous royal homes everyone knows. Can you recommend a few places off the beaten track? Myself not so much, but my parents did some castle - sightseeing in the UK and they have always been enthusiastic about Arundel Castle, Penshurst Place (or castle) and Powerdham Castle. What does a castle or palace needs to have to land on your...

It's Sunday - and Sunday means a new edition of Castleholics Anonymous. This time with Moniek of History of Royal Women . For previous interviews with other castle-loving bloggers, simply check out the label that is beneath every post . Without much ado, let's get straight into it: Moniek's castle bucket list I remember you having a bucket list of places you want to see in your life – how many castles and palaces are on that list and which ones are they? I have a little black book of places I want to visit and I've recently begun using Google Maps to save my favourite places so you can actually see them on a map and plan a trip to it more easily. It currently has over 70 places I want to visit and it continues to grow. That not only includes castles and palaces but also churches, abbeys and burial places. A small selection: Edinburgh Castle, Linlithgow Palace, Peterborough Cathedral, Fontevraud Abbey, Rouen Cathedral, Neuschwanstein Castle, Roskilde Ca...

Welcome to the second edition of Castleholics Anonymous. (Check out the first one with Ella Kay here .) In today's post I spoke to Virginia of The Lady & the Rose , one of my favourite fellow Castleholics and partner-in-crime when we visited the Residenz in Munich together last year! You are one of my fellow Castleholics who I actually visited a castle with. Where does Munich’s Residenz rank in your list of favourite castles and palaces? You are the first fellow Castleholic to accompany me to a castle! Munich's Residenz is definitely one of the top 10 castles/palaces on my list! It may be the most confusing from a bird's eye view but the interiors are incredible! My favourite part would have to be the Hall of Antiquities. Had Ludwig II's rooftop Winter Garden not been dismantled after his death - though for good reason, due to water leakage - I'm sure that would have been my favourite! I also recommend visitors to the Residenz to visit the Bavarian Nati...