“The Jewel of Crimea” : Swallow’s Nest Castle

Swallow’s Nest Castle is an ornamental castle in the Ukraine, perched precariously on a cliff overlooking the Black Sea. The “castle” is a miniature – only 20 m by 10m, and 12 m high, which only adds to the enchantment. The lonely little house is 130 feet above the surface of the water, exposed to the elements, and looks like something from a fairy tale.

  

Swallow’s Nest has a long and eccentric history. The first building built on the cliff was a wooden cabin, built 1985, which the builder named “the Castle of Love”..... Fifteen years later, a German nobleman bought the land and promptly tore down the “Castle of Love” to make room for the beautiful Swallow’s Nest Castle which is still there today.

Three years later, however, he sold it and it became a restaurant. Throughout the 20’s, the building was used only as a tourist attraction, and in the 30’s it was used by a book club for meetings (awesome for the book club, not so great for everyone else…) After that, however, an earthquake damaged the cliff and the castle was deemed unsafe for visitors, so the castle was closed and empty for about 40 years. There was very little damage to the actual castle, but large cracks had appeared in the cliff. Fortunately, in 1968 restoration efforts began. The cliff was strengthened with concrete and the castle was cleaned up. The castle was fully functional again in 1975. It became an Italian restaurant, and still is to this day.

The castle was built to be decorative, not to protect, and therefore it’s really just a very fancy house. It is literally right on the edge of the cliff – parts of the balconies actually extend over the edge of the cliff, supposedly because a chunk of cliff fell away during the earthquake.

The castle is an architectural marvel: delicate and weightless, but at the same time grand and sturdy (so sturdy that it survived an earthquake 6 or 7 on the Richter Scale with no structural damage). The castle has two stories and includes a main foyer, two bedrooms and a guest room. A stairway climbs to the top of the tower.

 What to do? You can reach Swallow’s Nest by road, or by ferry, which provides a spectacular first view of the castle. The castle is not visible from the road, which adds to the feeling of seclusion. A small fee will get you into the grounds, which you can explore. Inside the castle you should probably have a meal, since it is mainly a restaurant. You can then go out on the decks for a spectacular view of the Black Sea and the distant shore. You can also walk the Tsar’s Path, a nearby scenic trail.

What do eat? I think everyone can figure this one out for themselves… don’t want to be redundant. But I love Italian food, so win-win all around.

Honestly, this place is unreal and I would absolutely love to go here someday. (Apologies for the overuse of pictures but I just can’t get enough of them.) Definitely near the top of my list.

More info.

"La Merveille de L'Occident" : Mont Saint-Michel

Has anyone seen the movie The Woman in Black? If not you should, it's pretty good. But anyways, in the movie, Daniel Radcliffe is a lawyer and he gets stuck overnight on this creepy island you can only reach when the tide goes out. Pretty scary. But what's cool is that there's basically a real life version of this island, and it's open for business.

Mont Saint-Michel is a rocky island in Normandy, off the coast of North-Western France. The Mont has held a fortress since early medieval times and also served as a monastery. Today, 44 people live on the island. 

Mont Saint-Michel is a tidal island, which means it can only be reached at low tide. Originally, the road that led to the island was covered during high tide, and the island was completely isolated.  Nowadays there is a raised causeway, so the Mont is always accessible, but it is still very dangerous to go out into the bay alone, because the tide changes very quickly.

I actually wish there was no causeway, because call me crazy, but the idea of being stuck on the island between tides sounds totally thrilling to me. Kind of creepy, but really cool. What I love about the island is the haunting architecture, and the idea that people have been coming to this island and staying in this building for centuries, doing the same things that people are doing here today.

Mont Saint-Michel consists of a Gothic style abbey and the village that was built around it, both of which date back to 700 AD. The abbey is an artistic and architectural feat, and its rugged walls and delicate towers almost seem like a natural part of the island.

What to do? There are several hotels around the entrance to the causeway, as well as within the walls of the Mont. The village’s main street, the “Cour de l’Avancé,” has original historical buildings and shops which sell food, jewellery and other souvenirs in the tradition of medieval shopkeepers. You can visit the Abbey and the Parish Church, which was built in the 1400’s. Classical concerts are frequently hosted in the Abbey. There are four museums on the island, covering the history, culture, archaeology and ecology of the island. Rates are reduced for non-European young adults (score).

What to eat? Salt meadows surround Saint-Michel, and are used for grazing sheep. Apparently, the salty diet of these sheep gives their meat a unique flavour. “Agneau de pré-salé” (salt meadow lamb) is a local dish that can be found in the island’s restaurants. I’ll have to pass, since I’m not a huge fan of lamb, but other specialties include omelettes and seafood from the bay, which can be enjoyed at numerous restaurants within the walls.

According to Wikepedia, Mont Saint-Michel was the inspiration for the city of Minis Tirith in the Lord of the Rings. I thought that was pretty neat. (Apologies if you have no idea what I’m talking about.)

Official Mont Saint-Michel site can be found here.