TODAY’S WINNER: JANICE
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The release party continues! There are nine days until release of A KNIGHT TO REMEMBER. Today I welcome fellow Plotting Princess and the super-awesome SYLVIA McDANIEL to the blog. She’s talking about her recent trip to Germany and Switzerland and WOW – what a trip it was! Wish I could have gone. 😉 I’m giving away an ebook copy of her book, THE RELUCTANT SANTA. So be sure to comment to win as well as get entered into the grand prize drawing for the Nook Simple Touch Reader! Grand Prize open to US residents only.
Thanks Michelle for having me on your blog today and I’m so excited about the release of your new book. 🙂 I read the sequel to this book for Michelle after she’d completed the final edits, and I can only say that I thoroughly enjoyed that story so much that now I can’t wait for this one to come out. In fact, I enjoyed book 4, A Knight Like No Other, so much that while we were on vacation in Germany, I couldn’t help but think about the story.
There were two places we visited that reminded me of Michelle’s books. The first was in Lucerne, Switzerland where we rode a gondola up the side of the mountain in a freaky snow storm. At the bottom of the mountain in Lucerne, it was raining, but about halfway up the mountain it began to snow and by the time we reached the top, it was a complete white out. All you could see was white when you looked 
out the windows. The name of the mountain is Mount Pilatus and in medieval times they believed that dragons with healing powers lived in the rugged clefts and crevices of the mountain. They had a tunnel that you could walk through and peer out over the edge, but all we could see was snow falling. As you walked the tunnel, you begin to believe that a dragon could have lived on this mountain. If you want to learn more about the Dragon legends, there is a wonderful article here.
The second time I thought of Michelle’s books was when we were in Nuremberg, Germany. This town is known for being where the Nazi party ruled. It was here that Hitler gave speeches and held parades. There’s a wonderful museum (Dokumentationszentrum Reichsparteitagsgelände) located on the party rally grounds that if you ever have the chance to go, I highly recommend. It has interviews with people who lived during this time and all kinds of photos and memorabilia from that time period.
But that’s not what reminded me of Michelle’s books. For lunch, they took us to the heart of the city that has existed since medieval times. Here you can see parts of the old wall that surrounded the city along with a moat and the castle that sits up rather high on a hill. While the city was heavily bombed in 1945, and many of the older buildings and much of the wall was destroyed, the people in this town have tried to rebuild the village with the same old days architecture.
On our way to the castle, we became lost and walked the entire city arriving at the castle right before we had to head back to our bus. I can’t tell you what the castle looked like inside, but the city itself was gorgeous. Imagine old buildings with shops downstairs and residences on the upper floors. The streets are narrow and lined with cobblestone. Truly a medieval city still existing in today’s time frame.
So why did these places strike a chord with Michelle’s stories? Michelle’s writing is filled with legend, with good versus evil and magical powers. These places reminded me that they have been on this earth for many, many years and have survived wars and tragedies and still flourish today. As I walked the streets, I imagined her characters and the battle for good and evil depicted in her story. Our journey to this village made Michelle’s story seem real. I could see her characters living in this place. I could see her heroine walking the streets and the battles being played. The castle reminded me of her kings and queens and their magic. There was even a dungeon in the city, but we never found it.
Pick up Michelle’s book and read about legends and fantasies of old and if you ever have the chance visit Germany. Go to the old cities that still have moats and castles. Your imagination will soar as you visit the old villages.
If you could visit another country, where would you go?
That was a wonderful story of your travels Sylvia. I would love to go see Warwick castle.
Doesn’t it sound great? I’d love to go too!
Yes. It does. My mother traveled to Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, England and loved all the Olde World buildings and castles she was in. I was defiantly jealous!
Diana,
I loved the olde world buildings and castles. But Poland, Hungry and Slovakia…how interesting. Someday!
Scotland. I’ve been to Ireland, England, Wales, Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, Hungary, Canada, and Mexico.
Janice,
Wow! We want to go to Ireland next, but I would love to visit all of those countries. I’ve been to Canada and Mexico. I would love to go back and take the train through Canada. That’s on my wish list. But the Czech Republic…wow!
Janice – JEALOUS! LOL
Yay! I’m a winner!
Sounds like a fantastic trip! I would love to visit as many of the castles in Scotland as I could.
Scotland is on my wish list. It was a great trip. I can’t wait to go back someday.
I would love that too, Kim!
The same thing happens to me when I watch any of the Lord of the Rings movies … I am so reminded of Michelle’s books. Thanks for this journey to Germany, as a WWII buff I would be very interested in that museum and the Anthropologist/Archaeologist side of me would love that old medieval town.
Eve,
We could have spent all day in that museum and listened to people’s stories. I left there in awe of how Hitler managed to manipulate people into believing him. He used Medieval symbols in the party propaganda. Yet, I also felt so much revulsion for how he killed millions of people. I knew he killed millions of jews, but gays and mentally handicapped? When we left the museum our whole bus was quiet. We were all kind of freaked out by the information that we learned, yet I would go again, just so that I could finish the museum. It’s now against the law in Germany for any Nazi symbol to be in public. I’m glad.
Eve, if my books reminder you of LOTR then MY WORK HERE IS DONE! LOL Thank you for the wonderful compliment 🙂
Brazil
Brazil sounds like fun. I haven’t been there yet.
Thanks for coming to the blog today, Sylvia!
South America! Cool! I want to set one of my book in a futuristic Colombia 🙂
Diana,
It was a great trip. We had so much fun and I loved seeing all the old buildings and castles.
That trip sounds wonderful! I would love to see all of Europe…there are still relatives in Switzerland I have never met, but I want to go to England and meet my friend Fran and tour Highclere castle (from Downton Abbey). I also want to visit Ireland and Scotland.
Me too, Cathy! Thanks for coming by 🙂
Well I am upset Miss Sylvia because you didn’t invite me! LOL Switzerland? WOW I would love to go there! But, alas, I will have to live through you. Such is life though. Thanks for sharing your trip with us! 🙂
Hi Wanda! Thanks for stopping by 🙂 I’m jealous of Sylvia’s trip and hope I can go someday to all those wonderful places.
I would like to take a cruise around the British Isles. I would especially like to go to Scotland!
That sounds great, Charlene 🙂
This wee lass would be off to Ireland :). (I am a McCormick, after all!) Would love to visit somewhere dry & warm right now, though…
I vote for Ireland too! My maiden name is Wallace. 🙂
I have never really had a desire to go to another country. I did go on a cruise once with my sister. One stop we made was Aruba. I would love to go back there.
Really enjoyed reading about your trip and the cool things you saw!
I’ve been on a cruise to the Caribbean, too, and it’s gorgeous!