Burg Day

Thursday night we drove an hour away from Pforzheim to spend the weekend with Jonas’ family in the village of Helmstadt. Friday morning we awoke unsure of what to do. Jonas’ mother saved the day, listing off various castles and ruins in the area we could explore. So I’ve entitled this blog entry Burg Day, burg which translates as fortress or castle. The title seems fitting not only because we visited so many, but also because I can’t remember the name of a single one of them. Hence, it was the day of burgs.

The best and our favourite by far was the first one that we visited. Situated directly up the hill from the country’s oldest vineyard which dates back to the 1100’s, the castle ruin still belongs to the family of the knight it was built for in medieval times. As far as we could tell it was still inhabited (or people were still being buried in the chapel) less than 150 years ago.

The view from the top tower was incredible. It was clear to see that some of the trees are slowly beginning to change their colour from green to yellows and reds. The rest of the burg had various levels, towers, turrets, cellars, halls and rooms to be explored. One turret we entered had a button one could push, beside which read a sign that indicated to press the button was to summon spirits. We were more confused than anything, so naturally we pushed it immediately. An orange glow was visible from beneath our feet and for the first time we noticed we were standing on a grate, the space beyond which was now illuminated. We bent down, peering through the grate, and saw a deep hole directly beneath us. A single bulb light was hung on a wire most of the way down. It served to illuminate a skeleton laid flat on the ground, ribs missing and skull crushed on one side. We screamed, again, naturally, but couldn’t take our eyes away from the fascinating sight in front of us.

Following Burg #1, we visited Burg #2, which has been turned into museum on Transylvania and an old folks home for Germans expelled there who later returned. At least, that’s what I think it was. Everything was in German, so I couldn’t tell what was what, really, and the whole thing struck me as funny and strange anyway. An old folks home for Dracula’s descendents.

The third Burg was incredibly cool. It has been converted into a bird sanctuary for spectacular birds. We came halfway through the bird show, so we didn’t bother paying the 11 Euro entrance fee. Peeking over the fence though, we were able to see every kind of massive and extraordinary bird sitting either in a cage or on the arm of the man doing the show. Hawks, eagles, snowy owls, they were all there, right in front of our faces. Hopefully we’ll get a chance to head back to the third Burg and see the show; I’ve never pet an eagle before.