After a solo tour of Schloss Lichtenstein, we arrived at Burg Hohenzollern to find that they're in…read morefull Christmas Markets season. The place was crowded and lively and quite busy. You'll park in a lower parking lot adjacent to the gift shop. A shuttle van will bring you almost to the entrance of the castle. From there, it's a bit of a walk. It is barely handicapped accessible though the castle itself is not at all wheelchair friendly and many rooms require transiting a number of stairs. The current castle was built between 1846 and 1867 in a Gothic Revival style and influenced by the Châteaux of the Loire Valley. The exterior is regal, dominating the hill it resides on. Inside, each room is decorated with period furniture and artifacts that were owned by Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia. The vault in the basement contains the Crown of Wilhelm II and a uniform that belonged to King Frederick the Great. No photographs allowed in that room but the rest of the castle, absolutely. [Review 21244 overall - 248 in Germany - 209 of 2024.]

Beautiful castle! Pretty views from the top. But getting there from Stuttgart was really…read morebreathtaking as well. We took public transportation which is not recommended. It took 3 hours one way to get there by trains and bus. If you have a car it takes an hour. I would say it was worth it, but we were exhausted by the end of the day. The castle had a cafe that actually tasted pretty good.

Triberg is famous for being the cuckoo clock capital of the world. In fact, you'll hear many call…read morethis area of the Black Forest the German Clock Route Triberg is also famous for boasting not 1 but TWO of the World's Largest Cuckoo Clocks & these particular villages are always competing to take the reigns from the other We visited the First World's Largest Cuckoo Clock in Schonach, not to be confused with the current World's Largest Cuckoo Clock in the neighboring Triberg village This clock was built 32 years ago by a watchmaker by the name of Josef Dold who wished to educate others (a.k.a tourists) on the inner workings of the cuckoo clock The son was manning the shop & told us about his dad ( Josef Dold ) & how they built their clock in 2 years . The clock is made on a scale of 50:1......it was as big as a house & the clock shop was actually inside.....they even had a little upstairs loft-type area.....but this was where the cuckoo lived & we were not allowed ;-) It was cool walking around the clock's inner-workings while being told all about its history & seeing their lovely handmade clocks for sale Only Cooing on the half hour & at the top of the hour, we had just missed the Top of the hour but happily browsed around his shop, looking at the handmade clocks for sale & then enjoyed the lovely back yard to await the adorable little bird to come out & made his appearance Being quick on the camera trigger, we captured our little bird as he came out to coo his 1 coo, at the 30 min mark. The "tour" lasted about 5 min, if even that but the day was pleasant & the setting whimsical. Well worth the 2 Euros (or something like that - can't remember how much it cost)

It was cold cold cold as we drove up the curvy road to the castle and parked the car in a snowy…read moreparking lot. Schloss Lichtenstein is a privately owned castle but it's open for tours. The location dates back to around 1100 and despite being destroyed in twice in the 13th century, a new castle was built adjacent in 1390. It was eventually acquired by King Frederick I of Württemberg in 1802 who rebuilt it into a hunting lodge. The modern castle was added to it in 1840-1842. It has been updated and restored in the 20th century. Despite the cold, it was a clear and dry day. We did the guided tour (in English!) and had a great walk throughout. Our guide pointed out several of the interesting features including the main dining hall, some of the entertainment areas and of course, the tremendous view of the valley. Note that photographs inside the castle are not permitted. The castle is stunning and well worth walking the grounds and trying for a tour. [Review 21243 overall - 247 in Germany - 208 of 2024.]

We were driving from Munich to the edge of France, so this was somewhat at the halfway point, so we…read moreused it as a place to stretch our legs. It is pretty amazing to see it up close, and there are many vantage points on the grounds to view the surrounding countryside. We chose not to do the tour, since it is only given in German and we didn't speak the language, so we just walked around the grounds and took pictures. There was scaffolding up on part of it, but it was still neat to see. There are many better castles in terms of larger grounds, well furnished interiors and tours in English, so I would say go to Coburg or others if you could only go to one. But if you have time to visit other castles on your trip, this is a pretty stop.

"Covered bridges" but not actually covered, the Ponts Couverts are three bridges and four towers…read morethat were built in the 13th century as a defense of the city. There was originally a wooden roof but it was removed back in 1784 and the name remained. The nearby marker in French, German and English reads, "The covered bridges comprised the city's wester defenses from the 13th to 17th centuries and formed part of the Episcopal wall. Three of the bruick-built towers have survived - the Heinrichsturn, the Hans von Altheiumturm and the tour des Français (French tower). The spur-shaped parts in front of the bridges were built by Daniel Specklin in the 16th century and fitted with loopholes for guns to fire through. The bridges' galleries were protected by a tilting roof, whence the name, and closed off by a wooden wall contained arrow slits. The galleries were replaced in 1784 by wooden footbridges and in 1865 by the sandstone bridges that can be seen today. From 1880 to 1950, the area in front of the second tower was taken by the Mathis Baths, which were divided into two pools, separated by covered pontoons surrounded by a fence and fitted with changing rooms." [Review 16450 overall - 84 in France - 1958 of 2021.]

Translates to "covered bridges" but the actual covered bridge is directly across called the Barrage…read moreVauban. Perhaps at one point these bridges were covered but definitely not anymore. It's a scenic area surrounded by water and large towers that once defended the city back in the 13th century. It would be neat to go up the towers and get a better vantage point of the Petite France quarter; however, the towers are off limits and inaccessible. It's worth coming here at night when the reflection of the water makes for a gorgeous photo.

This was a part of a self guided walking tour recommended by our hotel; we only had one night in…read moreZurich and wanted to see what we could without overdoing it. We stayed at a hotel on the other side of the river and walked across a lovely bridge to get here. You start at the bottom of the hill where there is a one lane road. While there are cars (or were, when we visited), mostly there are pedestrians and bicyclists. The lane is full of little shops and restaurants all vying for your attention and money. Eventually you come to a wide and tall (long) staircase going up. At the top is what is considered Lindenhof Hill, a quaint park with gorgeous views across the river and towards Lake Zurich. There is a fountain and old pumping station, as well as some Roman artifacts. It's a nice park to just sit and take in the views, or play a game of giant chess/checkers. The streets are all narrow in this area, but once you leave the hill, you need to find Thermengasse. It is a covered pedestrian walkway with grating for a walkway. Underneath the grating is an exposed archeological dig of a Roman heating system. There is signage throughout the passageway telling you all about it. As night began to fall, we made our way around the area, just taking everything all in. We ended up by the Fraumuenster church and walked across the Muenster bridge towards the Niederdorf area. If we had had more time, we would have explored the area more, but we were happy with the highlights we did see. It was a nice little introduction to the city. 78/2025

This hill is located in the the oldest part of Zurich (near Schipfe). It was once a Celtic…read moresettlement and then it became a Roman fort. The stone wall of the fort is what you see today. There's more history there that is still being uncovered. Some items found around the Lindenhof date back to the 1st century BC. Today, it's a large park with incredible views of Zurich and the Limmat River. We saw groups of people playing boules in the grassy area on a Sunday, as well as people playing chess. There's a fountain in the middle of the square that pays homage to Hedwig's women who wore battle gear to defend the city during the seige of Zurich in 1292. It's worth seeking out as it can be quite peaceful up there even though it's a tourist hot spot. The walk up the somewhat steep pathway and steps to get there from the city center is worth it. I've read that there is an elevator for those with mobility issues, but I didn't see one. There are benches as well as places to sit along the wall. It's shady and breezy up there. A great place to relax and enjoy the view.

You cannot miss the character these fresh water runnels add to the city. Take off your shoes and…read morerelax.

it s really nice with the little canals of water running through the streets of the old part. It…read morereally gives it character. I did stupidly think that Die Bächle was one specific little well or something at first.

Rhyfall Mändli is a boat service that operates along Rhine Falls. And they have a ton of different…read moreoptions, depending on what you're in the mood for. You can either buy tickets ahead of time to secure a spot or buy it in-person day-of. Depending on which line you're going for, it might be better to just buy day-of for flexibility because there are no refunds if you buy online. We took the Red Line which is a boat service between Schloss Wörth and Schloss Laufen. It's the quickest way to get to the other side and we bought it in-person for 3 CHF each. I think this might have been a group discount because online says it's for 6 CHF. This is one of the instances where buying in-person is fine. The boat goes every 15 minutes so it shouldn't be too hard getting a spot. What we really wanted to do was the Yellow Line because it takes you right up to the falls and you can get off on a rock in the middle of the falls. Seems like a pretty impressive experience but because of all the storms, the water levels were too dangerous for the boat to get close so the service was suspended. An alternative is the Blue Line which is more of a tour of the falls but it doesn't get you as close as the Yellow. The Yellow Line is best booked ahead of time online because of its popularity. A great activity which also can serve as a means of transportation. Two birds with one stone! I'd love to come back and get to the middle of the falls for some unique views.