In some ways our tour through the Alps has followed the Via Claudia Augusta, an ancient Roman road, to Reutte, Austria.We are taking the elevator “Top Line” up to view the Ehrenberg-Schlosskopf Castles.The Ehrenberg is the lower castle which was good defense until the invention of cannon balls. Notice the new long suspension bridge, which we did not pay for the privilege to cross over, to the Roman remnants of Fort Claudia on the other side of the valley.The Ehrenberg Castle was all decorated for Halloween/Christmas with nighttime lighting and filled with families enjoying a glorious Fall day .Via Claudia was the way over the Alps from Rome – improved in 15 BC for military use primarily. It extended all the way to the Danube River, where basically the Romans drew the line in the sand and ended their advance Northward. We visited a roman museum in Vienna.The upper Schlosskopf Castle was the more interesting and a pleasure on such a gorgeous day, high in the Alps.The museum told us all about travel in the middle ages and dragon slayers – men becoming knights. That process was not easy and they did not always get the fair maiden.This was a type of treadwheel crane to lift the blocks to build the castle. This type of crane was used since Roman times, but this upper castle was built around 1700.It was almost incomprehensible to imagine bringing that much stone this far above the Lech river valley.Stop horsing around! I will pick you up in Reutte…We drove by Mount Zugspitze. Germany’s tallest point at 9,700 Feet. We lingered and watched the clouds play as this will be our last real mountain day in the Alps.
