I currently live in Germany. And to be more specific, I live in Cologne, in the German state of North-Rhine Westphalia, somewhat close to the border that separates The Netherlands and Germany, and surrounded by some of the most well known cities such as Bonn, Aachen, Düsseldorf and a bit further up in the north, there is Wuppertal, Dortmund and many others.
I have been living in Cologne, well a bit further out from the city center anyway, since 2008 and I have explored most of the cities, either because I wanted to be a tourist or because of work. Every single one is beautiful in its own way with hidden gems here and there. However, the true beauty of these areas is where the forests expand in the horizon. NRW is famous of the castles one can find in various locations and every castle is different. There are some medieval related ones, some not so old and some ruins. Burg Eltz, Satzvey, Schloss Benrath, etc. Every single one of them is open to the public and some even host medieval fairs and Christmas markets.
However, there is always something I have not checked out of my list. One of these attractions is located in Königswinter, a bit outside Bonn. I have been really close to it before, to the point of being able to see the tallest tower of it peeking from behind treetops. And yet, so far, I never had the opportunity to go up and see it properly. I am referring to Schloss Drachenburg. A private villa styled as a palace and constructed in the late 19th century. It was completed in two years on the Drachenfells Hills. Baron Stephan von Sarter was planning to live there, but he never did.
Of course, like every other place, the Schloss has been through some destruction and restoration, the latest having finished in 2011. Now it is open for visits and extremely famous during the good sunny months here in Germany. When I visit, sometime soon, I will definitely share my experience and some photos with you all!
I love Cologne! Beautiful area, hope to visit there soon 🩷
You should! It has lots of interesting museums and surroundings!
Ohh Cologne is so pretty! I went there a couple of times now, my most recent visit was for Gamescom 2023 and it was an amazing trip!
I even wrote a report about it on my blog!