Week 12: Flying Solo

I must apologize.  I lied.  I did not fly solo during Week 12.  I trained solo.

You see, remember how Kanci and I spent the end of our spring break huddled for warmth in Berlin?  Yes, well, our experience was so persuasive that now another group of our friends wanted to go to Berlin.  We also had an obscene amount of homework to do, so Kanci, James and I decided to stay back and work that weekend. I also wanted to take a day trip somewhere but would have to make it alone since mi compadres wanted to work all day. I decided on Burg Eltz, a castle in the middle of a forest that was about 45 minutes away by train (hence the training solo).  This was my kind of trip, because the first approximately hour and a half consisted of a walk through a picturesque little village that matched the charm of Bruges and then a hike through the forest to get to the castle. The "hike" was more of a stroll, but took most of the time.  No worries, I love being outdoors, so it was lovely.  The weather even decided to cooperate; it turned out to be one of the warmest days on the trip.

Burg Eltz is magical in that you're hiking and can't see the castle, can't see the castle, can't see the castle until bam!, you turn a corner and see it peeking out amongst the trees.  The castle itself was occupied by 3 branches of the same family and was able to survive regional turmoil and war due to the family's connections and their savvy use of them.  The castle actually still belongs to one branch of the family, but the other two branches' residences and the castle treasury can be toured.  I did both and then ate dinner at a quaint little restaurant on the castle grounds.  I felt I had peaked in life, because I was eating a brat and drinking a beer whilst at a German castle...not a bad way to live at all.  The remainder of my afternoon was spent exploring the surrounding area, walking through a stream, and checking out some hiking trails.  I'll say one more time how magnificent the weather was, because it definitely made the trip that much better.  The charm of the whole area, though, deserved the real tip of the hat, though.