Schwetzingen: The 50 Shades of Green :)

Schwetzingen is located in gorgeous Baden-Württemberg region and looks much like any other German towns with its half-timbered houses and sheer beauty. The town square is very neat and cute. You can reach the city from Heidelberg or Mannheim very quickly. If you want to visit Schwetzingen, you have to visit The Schwetzingen Castle and its breathtaking garden!

The Schwetzingen Castle was built around 1700-1750s but mostly due to lack of funds, the building constructed as very simple and modest. But its garden is a whole another story. Due to the size of the gardens, the castle is known as "the gardens and palace of Schwetzingen". :) The garden has a mosque, a Rococo theater, Apollo temple, beautiful lakes, and ruins. The Rococo theater is still used for performances. There are also more than 100 sculptures all around the garden. Prepare your legs for a long walk because discovering this massive garden will take about two hours! :)

As you walk in the garden, you could see it has 18th Century French garden influences as well as English features. You will see various statues of Gods and Goddesses and feel like you are in a fairytale. While discovering this mesmerizing garden, you have to stop and enjoy the Bathhouse, the garden Mosque, and the Apollo Temple!

This lovely pink garden mosque is an eye candy. With tall minarets and the beautiful inner court, this mosque is one of the survivors from the removal or destruction of many mosques in European palaces.

The Bathhouse is so amazing, you just want to be a river nymph and enjoy a nice bath. The whole garden reminds me of the famous painting "Hylas and the Nymphs" by John William Waterhouse.

There are also lots of other temples but the most impressive one is the Apollo Temple. (The picture is above) And don't forget to visit the ruins as well!

The first time when I went to the Schwetzingen Castle Garden, it was around April so a part of the garden was full of exquisite magnolia trees. With this amazing nature, there were lots of ducks, swans, gooses and of course squirrels all around the garden. I even saw a cute little otter :). When I first entered the zone for swans and gooses, they were not very pleased to see me ( probably because I was so fascinated by everything and after surrounded by lots of butterflies, I was much more feeling like a Disney princess :D ) but they got used to me pretty easily. I figured out that they love magnolia tree flowers, so I started feeding them with it and VOILA! I became their best friend in a minute! To be honest, because of my curious nature, I also tasted the flower (don't judge me, they were eating it with a great appetite and basically...uhm...yolo :D ) and it was like a perfume sprayed in my mouth, so a little side note: Don't taste the magnolia trees. Also if you visit the garden in Spring, you can see the cherry blossom trees and mesmerized by the color pink!

After walking into the garden for hours, it's time have the famous Welde Pils with its award-winning bottle! You can get that in Schlossplatz, which is the area in front of the castle. There are also lots of pubs and restaurants that you can enjoy delicate meals. Also if you visit Schwetzingen in the Spring season, don't forget to buy delicious German asparagus from the street!

If you want to feel like in a fairytale, create your trip on itinari now!