Now, I have to share with you how shocked I was when I looked at these photos! As you recall, on the day of this excursion hubby, went one way and I another, because we like to learn about different things. In our experience of the other Baltic countries we had recently visited, there was great devastation and years of re-building to bring their cities and countries back up to a decent standard. This did not look to be the case in Schwerin! The city is beautiful and their old buildings are intact and there are a lot of them! So, what made this city controlled by the Russians and the German  Democratic Republic regime after WWII, different from the other countries Russia occupied? I asked my hubby if the guide had said anything. No………….. But, we thought about it and decided the difference might have been……….the Russian people didn’t want to be re-settled there. There were not large groups of people brought from Russia to work in newly built factories. There were no block cinder buildings made to house the Russians.  It didn’t even look like the German buildings had been torn down. Their heritage was not erased. Was it because they could’t get away with it here?  Was it because they could control this part of the country, as it was, and just bleed it dry without tearing it up? Or, was it because when the Berlin Wall came down (November 9th,  1989) the West Germans quickly came to the aid of the East Germans, to once again unify their country and re-build it? I don’t know what the answer is, but I do know Schwerin had little bombing in the war, so that may have been a factor too.  And, I do know that this has to be one of the most beautiful cities in Germany! Speaking of the Fairy-Tale look, this is it! Now, let’s make our way inside to see the innards of Schwerin Castle!

The Featured Photo was the entrance stairway, so now ……..Look up as you enter!

There is opulence everywhere…….Not a detail overlooked…………

from the marbled walls…….paintings and settees……..

and as I looked at these photos, I wondered if the original furnishings had been removed before the War and taken somewhere else, or if all the furnishings had been lovingly restored…………..They have certainly done a fantastic amount of work on the design and architecture to restore the castle!  Look up again………..

one room after another……….

Then we come to the “Dark Rooms,” as I called them……..with the dark walls………

And stained glass windows………..

and the best vases EVER! How about that floor? And, the red velvet drapes? And the Gold? Wow! AND THAT FLOOR! I can’t get over the beauty and workmanship of that floor!

and not your ho-hum ceiling in this room either. All the rooms are different…….and remember there are only 653 of them here!

Now, for a red room………..

and the white room with the goddesses……..and lots of light……..goddesses must have light!

and the blue room, where it looks like the guy’s poker room……..you could have lots of tables for entertaining here………

Then, the “Mother and Child Room,”I am making the room names up in my mind, because that is what I would call them if I lived here. I can already feel myself settling in……..

The “grey and white marbled columned” room, which leads to the lord’s seating chamber ……………

Look up! Oh MY!

OH MY!

OH MY MY! PRET………..TY FANCY! And hours of work…….to make it this way………..

One must have gold doors in this room………..

Don’t even think about touching or sitting in that chair!

And now to the Family Room………filled with exquisite art of the family! The portraits of all the Dukes from the 14th to the 18th century in the ancestral portrait gallery, reveal the long tradition of rule.

Don’t you just love this room, I do!

and that ceiling was different too………

This was the only fireplace picture hubby had……………there had to be more fireplaces……….

and another beautiful floor! How many different woods and patterns were used here? Inquiring minds, like mine, would like to know…………I’m a guides worst nightmare, but I do pay attention………

And this was my favorite piece in the Castle……. a globe looking sphere, that put the castle as the center of the universe. Yes, I agree, I would too……

But, we have to move on! There is a lot more to be seen in this beautiful city……….I am jealous that I didn’t get to see it up close and personal, but the photos show all the beauty………See you tomorrow in Old Town, Schwerin!