September Holiday: Tuesday, 16.09.2025

The day started once again with some rain, but the sun made a serious effort, helped by strong winds. It was chilly in the morning at 11 or 12C and never got warmer than 17 or 18C during the day.

My favourite type of hike or walk is when we start off directly from our front door and don‘t use the car or other means of transport at all, and today we were doing just that: Walking to Burg Eltz (Eltz Castle), about 7 1/2 km from Münstermaifeld.

The public footpath is signposted and pretty easy, making it a pleasure to walk out of the small town, across the fields and into the woods until you reach the castle. 

In Münstermaifeld

St Joseph chapel at the outskirts of Münstermaifeld.

An abandoned farm along the way captured my interest the way such places usually do:

That first glimpse of the castle would be like something straight out of a fairytale, were it not for the many other people who walk the same path (most of them only walk the last 15 minutes from the parking lot). 

In the courtyard, we had to wait a while until we were admitted for our guided tour, the only way to see the inside. Photos are not allowed in the rooms, and so you have to take my word for it that it‘s impressive and well presented, with fresh flowers adorning most of the rooms. Or you have a look at the official website or wikipedia; clicking on wikipedia will take you to that entry which contains a link to the official website at the bottom. Also, you can read there about the long history of the castle.

We found it really impressive, but of course with the many, many people about, the atmosphere wasn‘t as enchanted as it lools. It is a hugely popular spot, and who can blame folks for wanting to visit - after all, we were there, too.

After the tour, we only stopped briefly on a bench for a drink of water and a Cadbury‘s Picnic bar and then made our way back to Münstermaifeld.

This one is for Kay!

A brief shower caught up with us on the last kilometer or so, but of course we had rain gear in the rucksack. A rest at home was followed by a short walk to the nearest supermarket for a few fresh items for the evening, such as salad and cheese.

It was a very good day, and not just Burg Eltz will stay in my mind, but also the abandoned farm we came across.