Hohenzollern Castle is one of the most famous castles in all of Germany and in my opinion, one of the most beautiful as shown in my post on Hohenzollern Castle – One of Germany’s Most Visited Castles. But you may be wondering what a German castle and a long dead English playwright have to do with each other? As I was checking out their website I was pleased to see all the events being held at the castle, including an English performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, written by William Shakespeare. I had never attended a play in a castle courtyard before and immediately invited a few friends to join us.
I found it interesting that J.P. (my German fiance) had never seen a play by William Shakespeare. He found it interesting that I had never seen a play by any German playwrights. Touche!
Can you see the tiny glimpse of the stage through all the umbrellas? That was our view for most of the first half of the play.
We attended and enjoyed the performance – well what we could see and hear of it. It rained throughout the first half making it difficult to see the stage over all the umbrellas or hear the performers. Fortunately it stopped raining for the second half and I really enjoyed the performance which was enhanced by being held in the courtyard of Hohenzollern Castle. It’s not everyday that you get to watch one of the most famous plays in the world in a castle! Despite this J.P. wasn’t convinced that watching a play performed in old English, that he couldn’t ear, and in the rain was a good reason for missing his basketball game. I clearly thought otherwise.
It was through the events page that I also found the Heidelberg Castle Lighting last summer in which there is a reenactment of the French burning Heidelberg Castle and fireworks over the river. Many castles in Germany hold special events and special tours during the summer, so if you are planning to be near a castle this summer, be sure to check out the events page of the castle you’re interested in to see if any special events are being held.
This photo has been submitted as part of Travel Photo Thursday, a weekly travel photography showcase organized by Nancie at Budget Travelers Sandbox where you can see more travel photos from around the world