Monday, March 30, 2009

German castles with Dutch names

While the rest of the population of the SLuniverse were hopping around the place like bunnies over the weekend, I was out exploring.

I had a bit of spare time (although admittedly I probably should have been in bed and will suffer for it this afternoon) so wandered back to Destination Station to find my next tp adventure. This time I chose somewhere without velociraptors.

I fancied somewhere a bit ancient, rather than somewhere modern or futuristic, and I was feeling in a building sort of a mood, as opposed to countryside and stuff. A quick whizz round the Destination Station boards (which would have been a lot quicker if I had realised my graphics settings were set to 'ultra' for some unknown reason) left me to plump for Kasteel Verloren, which translates from Dutch as Lost Castle.

Now, before I get on to exploring the place for you, I'd just like to point out that if you google Kasteel Verloren you get returned a few pages so I'm not the first person round here. Which makes sense if it was actually built in 2005 as something I read suggested. The suggestion is that the castle in SL is actually a representation of Schloss Neuschwanstein in RL Bavaria which was the castle that appears in both Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Spaceballs and supposedly was the model for the Disney trademark castle too.

I wrote before about being unsure about exploring SL representations of RL places but I didn't know this place existed RL when I was checking it out. So I reckoned my back is covered ;)

So yeah, the castle... (please excuse the dodgy textures that appear in the water in some of my shots. I have no idea what's going on there. Anyone?)


Well, first off, this place is huge. Like really huge. It basically fills a whole sim. It's massive. And it's stunning. The detail in a place like this blows my mind. When you go over the drawbridge and first enter the castle courtyard you're met with a hedge maze. I guess I could have flown over it but that kind of seems rude when the designer's gone to so much trouble, I reckon. At least I could head up the staircase and grab a better vantage point for planning my route.


This place really has to be seen to be believed. So many interlinking rooms and interwoven corridors, all in imaculate detail. I could have spent hours here. In fact, I think I did.


While wandering round the interior and the gardens of the castle I realised what a stunning location this would make for a wedding. It's got everything you could possibly want for your big day.

The throne room would make an excellent place for the ceremony...


There is a huge great ballroom too, and a dining room suitable for a banquet. That's me all the way down at the end there. Hello, Marnix!


There are bedrooms galore for guests, staff quarters, a huge kitchen, a library, and a games room complete with pool table. I think the table was definitely authentic 19th century.


And there are also numerous, numerous varied spots for taking photos of the happy couple's special day.


There are even horses you can take for a ride round the well-marked trekking route. I am not sure I was doing it right though...


All in all, Kasteel Verloren is a beautiful, well-crafted castle, lovingly modelled and built. Well worth a visit, if you can get over the whole German castle/Dutch name thing. Especially if you're looking for a place for an up-coming wedding. All I ask, as commission for recommending it to you, is a slice of the cake. And your first-born daughter.

Oh yeah, and thank you Raven Pennyfeather for the work you do with RFyre. You produce some beautifu, beautiful clothes.

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