Sep/Oct. 2004
France 1
Les Ch�teaux
Monet's Garden
The first ch�teau (castle) that we went to was Ch�teau du Haut-Koenigsburg which was first built in the 1100's. It is in the Alsatian region of France and was built on top of a mountain. I thought that no one could have ever attacked or taken over that castle because it was so high up. I learned that it had been taken over several times. Once in the 1400's it was taken over after it had been sieged for almost 3 years. (That means that it had been surrounded down below and supplies, food, etc. were kept from getting to the castle. ) The castle was also overrun during the 30 Years War in the 1630's by the Swedes who looted and burned it. The castle was left empty for over 200 years. The castle was restored by Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany (The Alsace region had been back and forth between the countries of France and Germany many times.)
I was surprised what it was like inside the castle. It was almost like a city behind walls. We saw where they made horses' shoes, where they ground grain to make flour, where they had water wells, and where they stored rum.
I loved going into the room where they had all kinds of weapons that they used. I saw armor and I learned that the soldiers usually only wore armor on their arms, head and upper body. Instead of armor on their legs, they wore leather leggings so that they could move and bend their legs easily and quickly. In the weapons room I saw crossbows, pikes, axes, and cannons. All over the castle there were arrow slits built into the walls so that archers could defend the castle.
To heat the castles many of the rooms had huge tile stoves or ovens with fancy designs. I also saw the chapel where the royal family had mass. It was an amazing medieval castle.
This castle was really fancy. Inside the ch�teau we saw a lot of old rooms that were really well kept and very elegant. The furniture was very decorative and luxurious. I learned that the king chose his own china to eat off of. There was also special china for the different dukes, lords and other noblemen. The table was set with the china of the highest noble that was present.
The grounds of the castle were huge! In the courtyard there were several fountains. I saw a swimming pool built in the ground and lots of trees and gardens. There was a large stable for horses.
I really enjoyed touring these amazing and different ch�teaus.
The garden was amazing! Most of the flowers were still in bloom even though it was October! I loved how Monet mixed his colorful flowers together. Some of the very pretty mixes were red and pink, purple and yellow, and red, yellow and orange. Monet said that his garden was a work of art.
After we walked around the whole backyard flower garden, we wanted to get to Monet's water garden. We had to walk through a tunnel under a road to get to it. In his water garden there was a lot of bamboo growing. My mom told me that Monet had enjoyed visiting Japan so he tried to make his garden like a Japanese one. I saw how the light reflected off the water in the pond. It looked a lot like his paintings. There were still a few water lillies in bloom. They were a very light pink.
As we walked around the pond I saw the part of the garden I most wanted to see: the Japanese bridge! This was definitely my favorite part of the garden. I couldn't believe I was standing on the famous bridge that is in so many of Monet's paintings!
As we walked back toward the exit, we toured inside Monet's house. He had decorated it with many Japanese prints. We walked into his bedroom. It looked out over the garden. We saw his completely blue kitchen and the bright yellow dining room he shared with his wife and children.
I really was glad to see this beautiful place. It was spectacular!
