Maastritch, Netherlands

 

 

 

Just a few pictures from Netherlands!

The update

Hey all! I know it's been a while since I've actually posted anything that wasn't just a picture. I know it sounds cliche' but time flys when your having fun, and I really haven't had a lot of time :). Anyways, things are going exceptionally well here and I already have plans to head all over. Before I come home I hoped to have visited England/London (check), Hechingen/Germany (check), Paris, Rome, Venice, Barcelona, Edinburgh, Dublin, Amsterdam, Maastricht, and Germany again for their Christmas Markets. It will be a blast!

Let me know if your wanting me to pick up anything in particular when I'm at each of these places! Just keep in mind that I do have to get it back. Thus, I have both size and weight limits! Hope all is going well at home!

My Favorite Pictures From London...

 

The Road to Buckingham Palace

 

The gaurds at Prince Charles' Home...

Buckingham palace again

 

Trafelgar Square

 

Trefalgar Square

 

 

 

 

View of Big Ben from Trafelgar Square

 

Funny street actor....

 

Street Actor on a unicycle before he hits the column...

 

Street actor stuck to the column... (funniest thing ever! Wish I caught it on tape!)

 

Chatsworth House: Derbyshire, England

I finally made it to the Chatsworth House. It was beautiful and totally worth the effort of  going into the country. At Christmas, they decorate the house and have candlelight all throughout the house. I hope to go back there one day and see that because that would definitely be a sight to behold. Anyways, if your interested, check out my pics! I took over 100, so I'm not going to post them all...but here are some of my fav's.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The story of the black witch:

The Chatsworth House had three full-time painters at one point, one of which did not get along with the Duke's Wife. After dealing with her nagging for several months he decided to include her in one of his paintings. Near the completion of a major ceiling painting, he painted her face on a fictitious character. The character he painted her as is part of Greek mythology. I'm not sure what her name was but she is the person who cuts the thread of life from people. (The Greeks believed their was someone who created the thread of life, helped weave your life, and cut it when necessary. I also think this might be in the movie Herculese) Anyways, so he painted her in there and nobody knew anything about it until it was already finished. I thought that was pretty funny.

Clips from Hohenzollern Castle...

Grandma this is for you because I know that you really wanted to be there!! Check out the links below and it will give you kind of a mini-tour of the castle. Enjoy!

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4KJs9AnOeg
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6b31CZfWAA
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hZxn0GQqk0
• http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=2560751227866662646
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsyFs2aqa6g
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zm0toiPGiQY
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DM-8MV78bxg

The Hohenzollern Castle

Today was an awesome but extremely tiring day. I spent all day yesterday traveling the trains to get to Hechingen, Germany so that I can see the Hohenzollern Castle. In total, it took me about 11 hours to get there with all the train switching, taxi rides, etc. In all it was totally worth it though. I learned so much more about family history than I ever thought possible- even though I'm not 100% where it all connects to me. I just know that it does and I will have to ask my grandmother more when I get home.

So what did I learn? Well for starters, the castle I saw was the third castle built. The first one was burnt down centuries ago after the king died and two of sons could decide who was next in line to inherit it. In midst of a battle in the field below (weird-knowing that where I stood people died), someone accidentally caught it on fire. In all actuality, it was never supposed to be part of the battle.

With the second castle, nothing ever happened with it. And that's exactly it. The family built a new castle in the town of Hechingen and left the other (Hohenzollern) to fall apart. Finally, in the late 1800's the King decided to rebuild it. However, it was made as more of a museum rather than a home because it wasn't intended for people to actually live there. In fact, noone lives there now. On occasion, the current prince (who owns it) will stay for a week or two. Then there is also a charity group run by the royal family that hosts a ball each year to raise money for underprivledged children. The lucky children not only recieve financial assistance, but they are also able to live in the castle as "princes" and "princesses" for two weeks. I'm wondering how they manage that seeing as how we had to put on giant slippers over our shoes before even entering.

Another thing I learned is that the castle is owned by two royal lines. One is Swabian and the other is Prussian. I don't recall which one it is, but one family owns 2/3 of the castle while the other only owns 1/3. Also of note, is that the family only owns a small portion of their other castle in Hechingen, which has since been turned into a museum. The other half is owned by a bank.

I took as many pictures as possible for you guys and even tried to get a few movie clips. Unfortunately, they don't let you take pictures inside the castle. However, the tour we recieved was maybe 1/5 of the castle...so you didn't miss much. Enjoy!

Again, thank you Cody for my Camera...I love the panoromic feature!!

Close up of where they probably kept prisoners.

No Trent, you cannot see your christmas gift in the shopping bag from here :)

Family Crest

Chain used to pull the drawbridge (functional, but not really needed for it's time)

Inside the Protestant Chapel

Inside the Catholic Chapel

Catholic Chapel

Protestant Chapel

Castle Courtyard

Castle Courtyard

Another view from the Castle

View from the Castle

This is where they held people. : /

Castle Entrance with giant emblam in stone.