Augustusburg and Sieffen

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Today's adventures began with a drive to Augustusburg to see the Augustusburg Castle on Schellenberg Mountain. It was built in 1568 for King August the Strong as a hunting castle. Again, it is amazing to me that this massive structure was built as a place for hunting and not a primary residence. We got to tour the inside of the castle which had hundreds of deer and other animal mounts. There was also a carriage house which served as a museum for carriages built over the years, including the carriage of King August.

Next we drove through the Erzgebirger (sp?) area of Saxony which was an interesting experience leading to carsickness as Ralf navigated through the narrow, curvy roads of the mountains at top speeds! Let's just say that for a portion of the drive I keep my eyes closed and seat tilted way back. Ralf assured me, though, that as soon as we reached our destination, the village of Seiffen, he would buy me a mini bottle of Schnapps which is the recommended cure for said carsickness....I declined! Despite the carsickness and unyeilding trucks on narrow mountain roads, we finally made it to our destination of Seiffen which is located in the south of Dresden, in the German Erzgebirge Mountains, near the border of the Czech Republic. Seiffen’s Christmas village is the official Christmas village in Germany. Many wooden candle pyramids, angels, nutcrackers, candlesticks, and toys related to Christmas are produced in Seiffen. The streets were lined with shops selling the traditional wooden handicrafts. We bought several items which were familiar to Ralf from his childhood to have in our home at Christmastime.

After a slight detour, but no additional car-sickness we made it home in time for Tuesday Sauna Night and dinner at the Greek Restuarant with friends.

I probably wont have any new posts to my blog the next few days as we will be traveling two hours towards Bavaria for a bike event over the weekend and I understand there is no internet access in that area. Stay tuned for pictures when we return early next week!

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Photos

Augustusburg Castle
In the distance

View of the Countryside
This was called a "summer slide". It was a big metal slide that winded through the hillside and you could rent carts to ride down.

Augustusburg Castle
Carriage house museum

Augustusburg Castle
The King's Carriage