Brandon enjoyed the use of the word “ancestral” today. Particularly when we explored the castle…but I’m getting ahead of myself lol
The day started out with breakfast at the hotel, which included some hot food options this time! In addition to the bread, rolls, and meat/cheese selections we’ve become accustomed to, there was also some hard-boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, and a station for making your own waffles! We stocked up on deliciousness for the morning, and then finished up getting ready for the day by heading upstairs and brushing our teeth. Afterwards, we headed to the castle! As I stated yesterday, the hotel is literally next to the castle, so it was a short walk to get there. We explored a small cave area at the bottom of one of the towers first. Inside, there were some benches and a TV screen. There was a short video on the Hornberger Shooting, which sounds dangerous, but I promise is actually quite humorous (https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hornberger_Schie%C3%9Fen). Then, we went up the main tower that still stands on the grounds and got a really nice set of views of the town of Hornberg. While up there, we met a nice older German couple that figured out very quickly we were not German, but were surprised that we as Americans were in Hornberg. We never got around to telling them about my maiden name because the husband of the couple spoke with us for a few minutes about Hornberg and some other things (all in German), and his wife told us (in English) that there was a video we could watch. They were very pleasant and kind to us with our attempts at responding in German (Brandon did most of the talking at that point), and they wished us a good trip before they headed back down the tower. When we chose to do the same, I went all the way down first because Brandon wanted to take a picture of me from the top of the staircase, and he also decided to try and see if he could drop a coin down and hit the cannonball that was on display by the door to the tower (it was not encased in glass or anything. It is “free range” lol). He did succeed after a few attempts, and I ended up returning the change he had used because I am a nice wife :) Our exploration continued into another cave under the other partial tower, which was also the former home of a minstrel singer that played at the castle in the 1540s. We then found the lookout spot where there was a fun set of binoculars, as well as a bench where we chose to chill for a little while. During that time, a nice breeze picked up, and then I got kind of chilly. Eventually, we decided to head down into town because it was getting near lunchtime and we wanted to check out other places in town to eat. In town, we debated on a place for food. There was another hotel with a restaurant that looked promising, but we decided to walk a little further to see our options. We ended up at the Caffeteria Gelateria. We both got pizzas, and I had an Eiskaffee (coffee with ice cream) and we shared some Spaghettieis for dessert. It was very good and the staff was very nice! It was also located in the plaza of one of the two churches in town. Unfortunately, the church wasn’t open, so we couldn’t go inside for a look. With Hornberg being so small and not wanting to have to walk too far, we headed back to the hotel (all uphill). On the way, we passed a bistro that advertised homemade lemonade, and that caught my eye, so I ordered a “Himbeer-Zitrone Limonade zu mitnehmen” and it was EXQUISITE! Back at the hotel, we chilled for a couple hours and then went downstairs to the restaurant for our dinner reservation. We both got Aperol spritzes and some water to drink. To eat, I had the “Knight’s skewers,” which included pieces of pork, steak, and turkey; roasted potatoes, and grilled vegetables. The skewer was in the shape of a sword! Brandon had a rump steak with onions and some spätzle. There was a pianist playing, which was a lovely addition to our fine dining :) For dessert, we shared the “Hornberg Castle” dessert plate. It’s a good thing because the plate had white chocolate and dark chocolate mousse, blueberry sorbet, panna cotta, crème brûlée, and some small pieces of fruit! The evening ended with us taking note of folks getting ready to participate in the monthly Rittermahl (Knight’s dinner) in which participants get a historical presentation of life in the time of the castle’s prime followed by a 5-course meal (We thought about it, but I wasn’t sure I’d make it through 5 courses). Then, we had a nice FaceTime chat with my parents (Hi Mom and Dad!) and some final packing before we head out again tomorrow. Thankfully, we’ve arranged transport to the train station :) Until tomorrow, friends!
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