I’m very happy to introduce a new recurring post, Weekly Adventure! Every week, I’ll share something new we explored. The first Weekly Adventure covers our hike to Schloss Lichtenstein. Read on to learn about the castle, the trail and opportunities for schnitzel.
Schloss Lichtenstein
Talk about a knock out! This cute little castle is new by European standards, but the foundation dates all the way back to 1390. The castle courtyard offers incredible views of the surrounding Swabian Alps. Inside the Schloss, visitors can take in suits of armor and medieval paintings.
The only way to enter the castle is by taking the tour. While the tour is only 9 € for adults, it is only available in German! However, that doesn’t have to be a deal breaker for Americans who only learned Spanish in school (hi). You can read up on the history on the Schloss Lichtenstein website ahead of time.
Hiking Options
There are many ways to hike to Schloss Lichtenstein! You can start from Honau or Traifelberg, but we decided to hike the loop from Nebelhöle. We found this route using the Bergfex app.
This hike was super mellow. We meandered through open meadows, forests and along steep drops. Wild raspberries lined the trail, and butterflies and bumble bees danced over the fields of wildflowers. You guys, this was like hiking in a legitimate fairytale.
While we didn’t explore the caves at Nebelhöle (literally: Fog Cave) this time, we’re definitely putting it on our list! The caves are open in the summer and fall, and if you’re interested you can find more information here.
Dining Options
My favorite part of hiking in Germany is that it almost always includes a stop for beer and food. On this hike, there were two casual restaurants and endless opportunities for picnics. The smells wafting from the restaurant at Nebelhöle were VERY tempting, but as we had just started our hike we decided to hold out.
The Castle’s Tavern offers generous portions of traditional German fare. I had the kid’s schnitzel, Peter had würstsalat (ew), and my mother-in-law had the lentils with sausages and spätzle. Everyone enjoyed, especially Chimi when he got some of our leftovers.
Accessibility and Pets
While this hike was not very strenuous, it would not be accessible with strollers or wheel chairs. The castle courtyard would be mostly accessible, however the tour of the Schloss does include stairs.
Dogs are welcome at the castle! In fact, the website even says if you can hold your dog for the entire 30 minutes, they are even welcome on the tour. The restaurant was also dog friendly.
That wraps up my first Weekly Adventure post! To read more about our adventures, click here. If you’d like to see more of this type of content, let me know below!
