FAMILY TRIPS, EVENTS, and HISTORY

1990

Site Seeing in Germany

Hessen, Germany / July 1990:

During our three and a half years in Germany, we tried to see as many sites as we could. Unfortunately, we had little money and two children, so it was often difficult to go places. Fortunately, Weisbaden was an ideal location for the family on a budget. The Castle Sooneck was just a short trip down the Rhine river and didn't cost very much to visit.

This image (right) is the cover of the tourist pamphlet we picked up at the castle. The images below are also from the booklet.

   The castle was very interesting. The road ended below the castle and we had to walk up a winding path to get to the castle. Castle Sooneck appears rather large on the outside, but when we went inside, we were amazed at how small the rooms were. Our tour guide explained that the walls were very thick, 8 - 12 feet thick in some places!

   We were especially surprised at the size of some of the furniture. As our guide explained, most of the original furniture was destroyed, but the pieces in the castle were appropriate for the period. The most interesting piece was the master bedroom bed. It looked like a child's day bed. Apparently the people of that time were quite a bit shorter than we are today.

   I took this picture of the Castle Sooneck from across the Rhine river. The boat on the left is the same type of boat we took on our Rhine river cruise in 1989. Although there are several castles on the Rhine river within a day's drive of Weisbaden, we only visiteed the Castle Sooneck. We wish we could go back to Germany for a visit, but I don't really expect that to happen.