Are there even words to describe how much I loved Hohentwiel? I don't think there are, so please bear with my inadequate description of how cool this place was. We divided our trip into two parts, the north and the south. Our first three days in the south we stayed in Garmish(more to come on that), then we went west a little to the Bodensee area. My mom grew up in that area. A few years ago when she and my sister were there they were driving and my sister happened to look up to one of the volcanic mountain peaks and see this amazing fortress at the top and ask what that was. It was Hohentwiel, a place my mom had never been, but recognized, from family road trips as a young girl, as the marker that meant they were almost to Lake Konstanz.
About a third of the way up this peak is a small hotel which not only has an amazing view, but is one of the most comfortable hotels we stayed at, and has terrific food as well!
From the front of Hotel Hohentwiel, you can hike up a trail the rest of the way and get to the fortress, the amazing ruins of a place that once was home to about 300 people in times of peace and over 1,000 in times of war. This place, the surrounding forest, and the farmlands that crept up to its base are a writer's paradise. In fact, right outside the front door of our hotel was a huge tree with a sign posted to it that said it was under that exact tree where the book EKKEHARD was written.
I could have spent a full day or more exploring the ruins at Hohentwiel. There were hidden passages, full rooms still standing, and enough forest surround it to put me back int he tenth century. It was standing in one of the dark rooms with small rays of sunlight poking through the ceiling that I could clearly imagine the characters I've been getting to know for my fairytale living. I could see it all and more than anything I just wanted to sit and write. Alas when you are with a group, two of which are small children, you don't always get what you want, so taking a million pictures of every rock, tree, and viewpoint had to do.
Hohentwiel just had this feel about it that wrapped me up and said you belong here. I already told D that he and I are going back and spending a whole week there. The best thing is that it is so conveniently located. From Hohentwiel we did day trips to the Black Forest, the Rhein Falls, and Lake Konstanz. It is a beautiful place and I can't wait to go back, or to start my fairytale. Better hurry up with this final draft of Sky!!!
