Berg Nanstein (Landstuhl Castle)

One of the first sites we visited upon arriving in Germany was the castle in Landstuhl. The castle is mostly ruins but is a very interesting site nonetheless. For those of us living in the Kaiserslautern Military Community the castle is an easy choice for your first European site seeing experience. The castle is a 5-10 minute drive from Ramstein Airbase. It can be a little tricky to find the road, at first glance the road to the castle appears to be a bike trail and the road is very narrow going up the hill. We find it easiest to follow the signs to Schloss Hotel and then proceed past the hotel to the castle itself. Once at the top you can wander the grounds, eat at the castle restaurant, and tour the castle (3 Euro per adult). If you are bringing small children to the castle be aware that the ruins themselves are NOT stroller friendly. There are multiple small winding staircases that I can't imagine carrying a stroller up. In our most recent visit my husband carried our 10 month old on his back in a baby carrier. I was still very nervous as the ground can be very uneven and I was terrified my husband would fall with my baby. However if you are bringing a small child to the castle this seems to be the best way. The castle itself was a very cool thing to see. Stone carvings can be seen throughout and there are cave rooms underground (which are very wet and you will probably be dripped on). You can follow the winding stone staircases all the way to the very top of the castle where the views of Landstuhl are gorgeous. Overall we loved visiting Berg Nanstein and while I am sure we will see even more impressive castles during our time in Europe this castle is very conveniently located for anyone living in the KMC. I highly recommend checking it out especially if you are in the KMC and lack the time or resources to travel further.