eleanorroamingkiwi

Castles

Yesterday we drove to Schwangau. That means swan in German. We went to two castles, and they both had lots of swan pictures.

Yesterday we went to Hohenschwangau. The castle was yellow. The queen had her own guest room, reading room, writing room, dressing room and bedroom. The king had his own rooms too on the floor above. There was a spiral staircase hidden in the wall connecting them. The rooms were all painted with beautiful pictures. Every room had a tile stove and the servants could heat them from inside the walls. So the king would never see the servants. I liked King Ludwig’s bedroom because there was a picture of a tree and the ceiling had a painted night sky. The king put holes in the ceiling, and the servants lit oil lamps above to make it look like real stars. King Ludwig’s mother liked to climb mountains.

Today we went to Neuschwanstein. This is the castle that King Ludwig built, but he died before it was completed. This castle was white stone. We went through the King’s rooms. They all had lots of paintings on the walls. Genevieve liked the throne room and the mosaic floor. I liked the singer’s hall, because it had a big painting of a forest. King Ludwig even had a fake cave in the castle. He was a bit crazy!

The castles were incredible, but we could’t take photos inside, so you will have to see yourself…

October 25, 2018 0

Salzburg

Today we drove to Salzburg, one of Mummy and Daddy’s favourite places. We took a bus into the old town.

First we walked in the Mirabel gardens. There were flowers laid out in pretty patterns and lots of statues. This was in the Sound of Music film.

Then we walked along the streets under the fortress. There were lots of shops, my favourite was one with thousands of eggs. The eggs had the inside blown out and were painted lots of different colours. Some had glitter and gems, and some had pictures painted. I am going to try blowing eggs and painting them in England. We also saw nutcrackers and there were lots of shops with Mozart chocolates. Mozart (a composer) was born here. We have listened to his music in the car.

Then we walked up to the fortress. It was a long way up! The fortress has never been taken by force. We saw murder holes in the entrance way, where the soldiers would pour boiling water or oil on the people underneath. Then we went inside. There were displays on the military, which Daddy liked.

There was also a puppet museum. I liked these best, my favourite was Papageno and Papagena from the Magic Flute.

Then we took the cable car down back to the town. There were horses and carriages in the town too.

We also went into the Cathedral. It was huge.

October 24, 2018 2

Venice

Yesterday we got up early and drove from Croatia to Italy. We had a lazy afternoon at Camping Fusina. Genevieve and I played on our tablets in the car. A big storm came through with thunder and lightning.

Today we went to Venice! It was very exciting. We took a boat there. Venice is lots of islands with canals. There are no cars, only boats.

We spent lots of time wandering round the streets. There were lot of bridges. There were lots of shops selling fancy dress masks. I got a lacy one in blue and gold with feathers and a flower. Genevieve got a purple one. There were also shops selling pretty glass.

For lunch we went to a little courtyard. I had the best pizza with ham. Daddy had seafood pizza. The waiter was very funny.

After lunch, Mummy, Genevieve and I went into the big Basilica. The roof was covered in lots of gold mosaics. It was very beautiful. Then we climbed up on to the roof by the four horses and looked over St Marks Piazza – which is a big square.

Then we did a gondola ride. Our gondolier was called Matteo, he had a stripey top and used an oar to make the boat go. It was fun.

Then we took the boat back to the campground, and Daddy had another pizza for dinner! Genevieve had a pizza with chips on it, but I had sausages.

October 24, 2018 4

Split

Today we drove to Split, and walked around the old town.

In Split there are the remains of Diocletian’s Palace. He was a Roman Emperor. The ground was very slippery because it was made of marble. We went into a church with 8 sides. There was a treasury, with real human bones. In the church there were big gold angels. We also climbed up the bell tower. It was a bit scary as it was very high. There was a good view from the top.

Then we had the best ice cream. I had strawberry.

We watched a talent show with lots of dancers and cheerleaders.

Then we went to another campsite. We did some real hairpin turns on the way! There was a beach, but the water was a bit cold.

October 21, 2018 2

Plitvice Lakes National Park

Yesterday we drove from Budapest to Croatia. We stopped at Lake Balaton on the way. At our campsite we had roast chicken for dinner. It was yummy. Genevieve and I also made shapes with our aqua beads. I did a butterfly and Genevieve made a car.

Today we went to Plitvice Lakes National Park. The leaves were all yellow and brown. There were lots of waterfalls and we walked on wooden paths around the lakes. There were lots of fish in the lakes too. Then we took a boat and at the end we took a bus back to the start. It was very beautiful. We got an ice cream too.