We were on our way into the Alsace region of France, (a mere hour away) when this caught Steven's eye. It's amazing to me what he can spot while driving around here. First we saw this.
Not bad looking at all...until you spot this:
Seriously? Um...this drops the cool points down by a lot.
But that's okay because this is the car Steven actually spotted.
It's a two seater...and would fit in our garage. It also matches the paint color of his Camaro back at home. All of these things Steven was very, very excited about.
Scott appreciates it. Maya and I are along for the ride. Fortunately it's a nice ride.
Not long after checking the cars out we passed over into France.
This fortress, Chateau Fleckenstein, built in the shape of 52 m long boat, has a long history. The castle was built on a sandstone summit in the Middle Ages. An ingenious system for collecting rainwater fed a cistern and a hoist allowed water and other loads to be moved to the upper floors.
Maya didn't see the whole boat thing. Honestly, neither did I.
But this is a picture of what it supposedly looked like not long after it was built.
Yeah, okay. Maybe. Do we look convinced?
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| How about Maya's super blonde mohawk? |
The castle is known to have existed on the site in 1165. It is named after the Fleckenstein family. The name means stone town.
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| You can barely see Mylee and Scott standing up near the castle. |
The rock and the castle have been modified and modernized many times. Of the Romanesque castle, remains include steps cut into the length of the rock, cave like rooms and a cistern. The lower part of the well tower dates from the 13th or 14th century, the rest from the 15th and 16th. The inner door in the lower courtyard carries the faded inscription 1407 (or 1423); the outer door 1429 (or 1428). The stairwell tower is decorated with the arms of Friedrich von Fleckenstein (died 1559) and those of his second wife, Catherine von Cronberg.
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| Steven explaining to Scott why it costs money to go in and see some castles. |
The 16th century castle, modernized between 1541 and 1570, was shared between the two branches of the Fleckenstein family. Documents from the 16th century describe the castle and a watercolor copy of a 1562 tapestry shows its appearance in this period. The castle was destroyed in 1689 by General Melac. Major restoration work was carried out after 1870, around 1908 and again since 1958.
Château du Fleckenstein has been listed as a historical monument by the French Ministry of Culture since 1898.
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| There were a couple of rock climbers dangling from this rock. |
There are many other castles near Fleckenstein that we are going to hike to in the near future. Part of the Bas-Rhin, (meaning lower Rhine) region is a National Park and there are many hiking trails to explore.
I'm sure along the way we'll probably see a few more BMW's as well.
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