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On Monday, Hans Juergen arranged for us to have a private tour of the Bruehl Castle. We were supposed to have ridden our bikes there and back, but the weather wouldn't cooperate. The castle was built on the ruins of a former castle which was destroyed during the middle ages (we actually got to go down to the cellar where we could view the remnants of the original foundation). It was inhabited by king and Archbishop Augustin during the mid-1700s. He would hold huge feasts there which sometimes lasted as long as 7 hours (and included up to 26 courses), and would allow the townspeople to observe him from the gallery above as he dined. He viewed himself as "godlike", and felt he was being gracious to indulge their curiousity. His dishes were decorated with all kinds of bugs, so that as the food was consumed the ladies who were dining would have a good fright...he thought this was hilarious.
One of the portraits was of his niece, and we couldn't help but notice a rather huge mole on her temple in the portrait. Turns out that this was a lady's way of communicating in code with potential suitors...the "beauty mark" was stuck on her face in the temple area, and she would gradually move it toward her mouth to convey ever greater interest, up to wishing to kiss. Ladies would also carry fans with them...for one reason, that their corsets were so tight that they were prone to fainting, and the other being another means of communicating with men. If the fan were to be tilted downward in a swirling motion, the message was that you had struck out and had better try your luck elsewhere!
previous travel blog entry
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