Flossenbürg, Deutschland

We made our way to Flossenburg on a whim while out visiting a nearby town called Weiden. 
We only went to the castle ruins, but had a pretty good time. It was nice to roam about without having a guide. The trek up the hill is steep, so ditch your stroller before starting your walk. Trust me, the views from the top are worth the climb!

 This place was actually one of the first things I read about when we found out we were moving to this area of Germany and I was happy to finally visit in person.

Burgruine Flossenburg is the ruin of a medieval castle structure originally incorporated back in 1100 by a Count in the area. Over time, the castle structure was added to, and ownership changed hands; from Bavarian dukes, to counts, to Bohomeian royalty. But a fire during The 30 Years War destroyed most of the complex and no one had bothered to restore it since. Instead, much of the exterior that remained was taken from the site to build other things around the town of Flossenburg below the castle.

The castle was built on a giant natural granite rock, which has some sad ties to WWII. A concentration camp in the town used prisoners to mine granite surrounding the castle. There is a memorial now dedicated to them at the site.

In the 1980s, the government banned the removal of any materials from the remains and now the castle and it's grounds are a conservation site.

The best part about visiting this place is that it is FREE and unguided. I still recommend being respectful to the structure even though you have free reign to roam around. It pains me to see graffiti on awesome old buildings, such as this one. Its because of people like that that so many historical sites have to be regulated and charge fees.

After killing about an hour and a half, we made the drive back to our temporary lodging (have I mentioned that living out of a hotel with a six person family sucks?). 

Along the main road out, I found a creepy unmarked graveyard, so of course I made my husband stop so that I could wander for a few minutes. Side note: There is also a grave yard at the base of Burg Flossenburg, too.

AND THEN THIS HAPPENED: See photo below:

We somehow entered the autobahn instead of taking a side road. IT WAS SCARY. I guess there's a first time for everything! Had to be done eventually. We live here now!

All in all, not a bad day. I LOVED visiting the castle ruins and hope to visit others sooner than later. There's something hauntingly beautiful about what remains of an important place: Almost as if you are visiting it's soul rather than it's skin.