Is There Light Behind That Bush??

So Consider this a special blog! While going through and sorting pictures I realized that you guys had yet to hear about my trip to Festung Shrine Hohentwiel. This excursion took place on the 11th of August, 2013.

The castle was constructed atop a dormant Volcano. It was later destroyed through means I am unsure about. Sadly I was unable to read the history exhibit and I haven't found much trustworthy information online.

Anyway the adventure;

We set out to the town of Singen Germany which lays a few kilometers from the castles hill. after arriving at the base we found that we had a pretty nice climb ahead of us. A wonderfull 18% grade and a thousand foot elevation. My companion and I were taken by the views of the countryside. We proceeded to the graveyard which had some interesting facts to it; I am unable to give the oldest date there due to weathering, however I can tell you the newest stone was placed in 2010.

We then proceeded up the road through old tunnels and to the main Gates.

 Old Tunnel

Main Gates.

Below you will find pictures of the ruins. 

 Some original wood in the cabinets 

So now for the explanation of the title. 

As we explored these ruins we kept coming across these pesky signs and fences that said

 "Betreten Verboten."

 for those of you who can't speak german "Entry Forbidden."

Now of course I am aware that these were there "for my own good" the tunnels and passageways behind them were probably "crumbling" and it would be "dangerous" for me to be there. Any of you that know me know that this irritated me because well thats exactly where I want to be, and I believe thats where the coolest stuff would have been. However I played good child and stayed on the correct side of all fences. 

Later on while exploring some ruins I entered a room whose keystone was dated 1526. the floor had long since decayed and the underlying floor was only 3-4 feet below so we dropped in. while looking around I discovered a tunnel big enough to crouch into... Interesting Ja.... Lets see no sign.. no fence... looks like we got a clear here. as we continued about 10m we came to another small room. This time there was a small bush growing next to the wall... Interesting Ja... and I noticed a slight breeze and some light coming from it. So once again... no sign.. no fence.. onward we go. This one required more of a crawl to get through and once we cleared the overgrown brush on the other side. we found ourselves outside the safety of the castle walls. Now with that said it would be a good time to mention that I believe the original room was a briefing room of sorts. so This may have been an escape route. Anyway after scavenging around some we found a way into a tower and then backtracked to where we came from. Sadly we were unable to explore the entire ruin in one day the entirety of the keep is left, but plans to go back are in the works.

So until then Tchuss,

Cody A Glick