Location: Warnemunde, Germany

It seems even I can suffer from castle fatigue. The brochure made today’s tour sound so good: a scenic lake cruise followed by a tour of one of Germany’s most picturesque castles and some free time in the city of Schwerin. But it rained during the cruise, the guide ran late so there was no free time, and we’ve already seen so many famous castles that it was hard to care about this relatively unknown one.

Nevertheless, we tried to look interested. Originally built in 1160 but modified many times in the centuries since, Schwerin Castle was once the residence of the grand dukes of Mecklenburg. Today most of the castle is occupied by the state parliament, but 20 rooms in the old ducal residence are open to the public. We walked through most of them in a daze, but I did perk up for the Throne Hall, which was pretty cool. But we’re just so done with castles. Thankfully that was the last one.

Tomorrow is a day at sea, although technically we’re transiting the Kiel Canal, which has Chris all excited. Maybe we’ll finally get a chance to try the pool.

Stay tuned…