On the road to...Ludwigsburg Castle

Ludwigsburg Castle

With exercise season over and back from my TDY to DC, we decided it was high time to get out of Dodge and continue our sightseeing of Germany. On today's agenda, Ludwisburg and it's lovely castles and gardens.

This morning we left as we typically do, early as hell. Emma has long been a fan of early rising and getting to the places we want to see before the crowds roll in. I have to say that even though I grumble a bit, as I've gotten more travel experience, I agree with her sentiments. There's something to being the first few people into an attraction, like an explorer charting deep into unknown territory, treasures waiting to be found.

Anyway, we arrived in Ludwigsburg without much trouble, and began walking around taking in the sites. After scoping out the town center, we make our way inside the castle grounds, purchase our tickets and began admiring the landscape. Unfortunately, within about 15 minutes of us arriving, the sky starts pouring out rain. Em, Rhys, Caden and I run for cover to an awning under a cafe that has yet to open. We sit there with a few other German families for about 20 minutes until the rain generally stops.

Once we deemed it safe, we ventured out and explored for remainder of the day. We visited a children's park on the grounds that had various scenes from children's fairy tales played out with automated mannequins with german voice-overs in the background. Yes, this was as creepy as it sounds. Also, part of the children's park includes a short boat right through the park. Rhys loved this ride...he went on it about eight times! Em took him most of the times, with me, with Caden or without either of us! Em and I give him credit though, he was mostly well-behaved and thoroughly enjoyed himself. We also took the opportunity to grab a quick lunch of brats and chips from one of the many stands that were set up around the castle grounds.


Throughout the day we took loads of pictures of this beautiful site: pictures of us, the boys or just the grounds itself. Even though the day started out quite stormy, in the end it turned out to be the perfect precusor to an enjoyable afternoon in a great setting to take pictures and spend time with our crazy little family.

Emma's favourite pictures from today