Mission Completion!

The first Saturday of each month, Neumarkt has a Trodelmarkt - a mix between a flea market and an antique market. This morning we decided to drive the 25 minutes north to Neumarkt to check it out. We had a late start - Brian spent the morning straightening the house and then shampooing the rug in my car (high octane fuel stuff leaked out of the container a week ago and we have been cleaning it ever since - peu!) and I was running around trying to get myself and Luke ready while getting sidetracked by random little tasks. We arrived in Neumarkt around noon and people were already packing up their items! It was a very large area, once again in the city's Fetzplatz, and there were over 100 sites. I guess since it was a chilly day and there was a chance of rain people just wanted to go home where it is warm. We left the Trodelmarkt without any new treasures but it is always enjoyable to see the items that people are selling. I'll have to bring my camera with me next time because there really is a huge variety of interesting things. On our way home we decided to stop by the castle ruins we noticed while driving into the city. Could it be? Could we actually find ruins that are open and available for exploration? Neumarkt's castle is called Wolfenstein and for those of you who are tech-geeks and play computer games - the game Wolfenstein is loosely based on this castle. I'm not sure of the history of Wolfenstein, just that it, like many other castles throughout the country, was destroyed in all the bombings of WWII. We drove up the country road (see picture) to Wolfenstein and drove past the parking lot to see if a stop was worth our while or if this, like the other ruins we tried to visit, was closed or under construction. Wolfenstein was wide open and ready to explore. In fact, there was a bride and a groom there getting professional photographs taken. I'm sure they will turn out amazing, the ruins are a great backdrop and we had fun checking out every nook and cranny. We completed our mission, we found castle ruins that were beautiful and fun to walk around AND it was free of charge! Here are the pictures.

Approaching the castle ruins

The bridge that crosses over a moat (which Brian says wasn't the castle's moat but just a huge ravine caused by runoff, but the point is, it looks like a moat)

Luke excited to be at the castle (or excited to be out of the car, whichever...)The view from Wolfenstein castle down onto Neumarkt.Luke and I at one of the lookouts - it was cold and windy.
See my hair? Windy!
Brian standing on one of the castle walls Brian just chilling against the castle tower. :) That tower is actually about 30 feet behind us, we were having fun with the camera.
That is me in the doorway of another portion of the castle.

Luke and I having an indepth conversation.

Another wall

At the guillotine - ready to get his head chopped off. Me too!
Don't forget Luke! (click on this picture to open it big - it's a good one)
It's me! It's me! I liked the view from here.

A family picture before we go. Correction, a picture of Brian and I with the back of Luke's head in it.
Offering Luke some help down the stairs. Look at his little smile.

Auf Weidersehn Burgruine Wolfenstein!