Schweriner Schloss
When a bad Monday is followed by a worse Tuesday and on Wednesday you decide to be in a good mood because you would otherwise be totally mad with the world in general and yourself in particular, it is time for a spontaneous castle adventure. And so I visited the Schweriner Schloss just yesterday. Three hours on the train going there and another three hours back isn't too bad for this stunner of a palace, often nicknamed the "Neuschwanstein of the North". Today the seat of the state parliament of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the palace used to be the residence of the Dukes of Mecklenburg and Grand Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Originally Slavic princes of the Obotrite tribes, the family was established by Pribislav of Mecklenburg, who converted to Christianity and was made Lord of Mecklenburg by Duke Heinrich the Lion, his father's enemy, in 1167. The family had owned a fortress standing in place of today's Schweriner Schloss since at least 973. Though he w...