Confessions of a Castleholic

Planning a trip to Germany? Seeing a castle (or two) should definitely be on your list of things to do while in the country. Germany has an abundance of royal and noble homes, after all the country was only united in 1871 and there used to be dozens and hundreds of small states with their own residential towns even until the end of the monarchy one hundred years ago. Estimates say that you would be able to find more than 20,000 castles dotted all over the country. But where to start? Here are eleven castles to see when visiting Germany. Münchner Residenz If you visit Germany for the first time, chances are high that your travels will either lead you to Berlin or Munich, the biggest and most famous towns. If you happen to visit the Bavarian capital, make sure to go and see the Residenz , former city home of Wittelsbach family who ruled Bavaria for a staggering 738 years. The summer residence Schloss Nymphenburg may be more famous but if you have a limited amount of time, I re...

Those who follow me on Instagram will already know: I spent the last couple of days in Dresden. The city has a long history as the capital and royal residence for the Electors and Kings of Saxony, who for centuries furnished the city with cultural and artistic splendour making Dresden one of the most beautiful German towns. Although heavily destroyed during World War II, the city centre of the Elbflorenz , or Florence of the Elbe as it is nicknamed, was largely rebuilt in all its Baroque glory in the decades since. Here are some of my favourites of what to see in the city and nearby. Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) The Frauenkirche may just be Dresden's most famous sight and seeing it, you would think it has stood in its place for hundreds of years. However, it was only re-opened as recently as 2005. The church was destroyed during the Second World War and the remaining ruins left for 50 years as a war memorial as funds were scarce and reconstruction low on the list of p...

Confession of the day: My love for castles may have ventured from the addiction territory into an obsession. Turns out I visited 28 castles and palaces this year (and yes, I purposely excluded all the museum and churches related to royalty for the sake of a reasonably comprehensive post). First up, all the castles and palaces that are open to the general public. My three favourites of the year are actually in the first row. Schloss Weikersheim , Real Alcázar de Sevilla and Schloss Weissenstein . I also really enjoyed the Alhambra though I think I actually liked the Alcázar in Seville better. In order of appearance in the pictures: Schloss Weikersheim Real Alcázar de Sevilla Schweriner Schloss Schloss Weissenstein Palacio Real de Madrid Kaiservilla Schloss Glienicke Real Sitio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial Schloss Erbach Palacio Real de Aranjuez Alhambra de Granada Secondly, all the castles and palaces not open to the public I saw on the way to or back ...

How to properly celebrate the third anniversary of your blog ( that actually accured three days ago )? I guess there are a bunch of very valid ways but I thought I would introduce you to three of my favourite castles of the past three years of Confessions of a Castleholic - and then we will have a giveaway all the way at the end, which includes not one but three books. (You see, the three is a recurring theme here...) Having visited more than 80 castles, palaces, churches, exhibitions and anything related to royal and noble splendour in the past three years, it actually isn't that easy to come up with your favourites it turns out. Why? Beauty comes in so many different ways, lays in the eyes of the beholder and even fading beauties can be the most interesting of places. In the end, I came up with three places that pretty much sum up what I love in a castles. And they would make a handsome threesome to own: A town house, a magnificent palace and a fairytale getaway high up in ...

Turns out I visited 19 castles and palaces this year. Instead of pondering the question whether you start calling it an addiction at this rate, let's have a look back at all of them and have a vote on which one you like most. (I purposely excluded all the museum and churches related to royalty, as that would have firmly established me as an addict...) In order of appearance in the pictures: Altes Schloss Schleißheim Palácio Azurara Schloss Blankenburg Blenheim Palace Hertford House Villa Hügel Kensington Palace Kleines Schloss Blankenburg Schloss Lustheim Castelo dos Mouros Neues Schloss Schleißheim Schloss Nymphenburg Palácio Nacional de la Pena Palácio Nacional de Queluz Quinta da Regaleira Schloss Schönhausen Castelo de São Jorge Burg Regenstein Palácio Nacional de Sintra And now it's onto you: Which one of the castles and palaces I have visited this year ranks the highest up in your eyes? Cast votes for your three favourites ...

Well, on two continents... Let's play favourites again - this time with cities. Here are the five I like best for various reasons which I'll try to explain a little. Obviously, I can only speak of those cities I have visited yet. So if any are missing that you think everyone should see, leave me a comment below. My bucket list may already be more than 100 places long but can it ever be long enough? Sydney, Australia Where shall I begin? While some places were hard to pick, Sydney was a very obvious choice for me. After all this is the city where I spent what I still consider the time of my life. After school I lived and travelled in Australia for a year with Sydney being my base. But it wasn't just that it was the best and most carefree time of my life: Over the year, I simply fell in love with the city, its style, art and culture and how beautifully it is situated.   Hamburg, Germany If you are a long-time reader of Confessions of a Castleholic, you will al...

Today is Palace Day - and so palaces across Europe joined together on Twitter to share their history, collections and behind-the-scenes pictures, highlighting their common culture and heritage. Anyone can take part in #PalaceDay by sharing their palace stories. As on Castleholic basically everyday is #PalaceDay, I thought I'd share my palace (and castle) bucket list - or at least nine out of the entries of my list of Top 10 royal places to see in my lifetime. In no particular order...   Château de Versailles The mother of all palaces and yes it's a great shame of my Castleholic life that I haven't visited yet. Even though it's probably going to be overly crowded, it's still a must to go as I've seemingly already seen the Versailles of the north, south, east and west - and everything in between, just not the actual one. Alnwick Castle I fell in love with pictures of the home of the Duke of Northumberland in England's north quite a while a...

One of my latest posts on My 5 Favourite Royal Things to See in Vienna was a pretty popular one. So let's do the same for Munich! I certainly am no expert on Munich but I have visited a few times over the years and managed to squeeze in quite a number of royal sights - and here are my five favourites. Schatzkammer It's no particularly big secret that I like things that sparkle and so a visit to the Schatzkammer (treasury) of Munich's Residenz is, in my humble opinion, a must for every royal watcher visiting the Bavarian capital. From crowns and tiaras to bejewelled pieces of furniture and religious artifacts - the Schatzkammer got it all. Residenz And while you are there, also make sure to visit the Residenz itself. It's a separate museum than the treasury and includes a self-guided tour of 130 (!) rooms. Above is the Emperor's Hall, just one of the splendid rooms, the former residence of the Wittelsbach rulers has to offer. Attention though: Visit...

How time flies! It's been a year since I visited Vienna and while it rained for almost a week straight, it still remains one of my favourite holidays ever. Vienna simply is a city of my kind, full of history, architecture and culture. There are so many things to do and see, that one week (with trips to Bratislava and west of Vienna ) is in no way sufficient to see all of it. Still, here are my five favourite royal things to do and see in Vienna - in no particular order as that would just be cruel! Gartenpalais Liechtenstein Vienna can be full of tourists and some of its most famous attractions *cough* Schloss Schönbrunn *cough* can even be overrun by tourists. And so the Gartenpalais Liechtenstein was a breath of fresh air. The tours aren't exactly cheap but they were also some of the best I ever had! They started with a glass of bubbly, continued with amazing art and had some of the most knowledgeable guides I ever experienced. (And yes, I enjoyed this one even a ...