Summer 2025 the swarm went on a vacation to Palatine, Germany and of course we had to visit the iconic imperial castle Trifels which put up the Imperial Insignias of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nations (empire 1) which was dissolved under Napolean rule 1806.

 

The Imperial Insignias travelled a lot during the existence of the empire but stayed on the Trifels castle for a long time. Among them the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch, also known as the Reichsapfel.

       

So, the swarm had to visit the iconic Imperial Insignias.

 

The trip turned into a battle. We arrived late at the mountain and decided to walk up. As we did not understand, there is a road leading to almost the top. We came across a family, mother, father, two girls and a still quite young dog who were trying to reach the same destination before it closes in the evening. I noticed, that the father developed the ambition to be faster than us and we all walked as fast as we could up on the mountain. The father kept pushing the girls “zigs o” (probably Bavarian, push it)

 

 

We had the disadvantage of carrying a lot of Ducks plus a bottle of wine from Kallstadt (Saumagen) and a glass as we were working on a story about the Holy Grail. And the Killer Rabbit of the Cave of Caerbannog.

Here is our personal cave with a most Holy Grail.

   

 

And we had to do a lot of photo shots on the way with the Ducks. So, we had to stop here and there to take pictures of dragons and caves. But we did not give in till the end. And were the winners. The family would have been fast enough to beat us but in the end, it was the cute young dog, a cocker spaniel black and white who came to its limits.

Up near the mountain we discovered, that there is a road which we coulde have used with the car.

 

Finally, we all reached the summit but catastrophe: Reaching the summit socked in sweat I was disappointed about the crummy castle which was up there. How could they bar king Richard here in this soggy hole?

     

We let our eyes wander and were shocked as we saw the true Trifels castle in the distance. We in our fight all followed the wrong signs and went to another side mountain with a minor castle on it. Google maps on the way were not good enough. What a shame. Papa of the family of course was to blame and find some excuse (it’s nicer here as it is calmer) to keep control of the situation and the family quit.

It was already late, but the swarm and I decided to keep on walking further hoping we would still be able to get into the impressive Trifels castle. We thought that it would close at 4 pm but hoped we would still be allowed inside at 5 minutes past 4 if we explained the situation and beg.

On our way we came across some impressive rock formations which are use for bolder climbing.

           

But when we reached the entrance of castle Trifels, complete victory, we learned entrances is until 5 pm.

 

So, we could still visit the mighty iconic castle with the crown hall with the thrones, the hall with the insignias and the important, expensive drinking water deep fountain. Drinking water was always the biggest concern when castles of that kind were besieged in the old days. And fountain buildings were often more expensive and difficult than building the important castle itself.

 

 

 

 

 

In the hall with the insignias, I was again shocked as I could not find my Duck Nr. 5 in my backpack. 5 insignias but only 4 Ducks. But finally, Duck Nr. 5 found its way out of the abyss and could join the event.

We learned, that some procedures sometimes require brutal enforcement by the men in charge.

Looking back to the other crummy castle.

 

Back down in town Annweiler at the Trifels we rewarded ourselves with a nice ice-cream cup for all our efforts and sacrifices. Later we also found our personal Cave of Caerbannog and accomplished the story.

 

 

 

 

And since we had Ducks, we had Birds. With a Killer Rabbit, a Holy Grail and we also fixed us a suitable Cocktail.

 

Important ingredient ist Pimm’s Gin Liqueur which is not much known in Germany.

On the way home we came past the site of the important battle “Schlacht auf dem Lechfeld”. It was Ottone Otto I. who here defeated the Hungarians for the first time after severe ongoing attacks on their fast horses. And their abilities to use bow an arrows while riding. Otto organized the amies of the Franconian tribes for the first time. Most important however for the battle was the fact, that the closest troop round Otto carried the “Holy Lanze of Antioch” into and through the battle. Which made his troupes invincible. The same Lanze we before sat our Ducks on, on the Trifels.