Avila Spain is a very attractive town, with very friendly people. The town is situated high in the mountains of Spain, and is said to be the highest city in all of Spain. The walls run around the town for miles, and form a very beautiful backdrop with this town situated on a rise.

This is the front door of the castle I lived in while in the US Army. The castle had once been run by the German Army  during the 30's and forties. When the U.S. Army took it over in 1945 they stationed Army troops there much as the Abwehr had done. The Army is now gone from the castle, and the buildings now house immigrants from Eastern Europe.

This castle is situated on a very steep hillside overlooking the scenic Neckartal, (Neckar valley).

This castle was invaded long ago, the attackers blasted the front of the main entrance away. Otherwise there would be a scenic turret with a large gate inset. I am resting against the remains of the wall which now litter the front of the castle. Explosives made castles obsolete. Careful examination of the entrance shows how invaders would face a corridor in which they would run uphill while defenders shot at them through slits along the corridor. Invaders would then encounter another gate at the top of the incline. This makes defense of the structure easier.

This is another example of a turret blasted away. In this case the French were attacking this fine and majestic castle. The French scored a 'lucky hit' into this turret which was used to store the castles gunpowder. The resulting explosion actually separated the wall from the interior, the wall blasted away leaned over to one side and now can be seen laying mostly in one piece along the ground.

Heidelberg Germany has one of the most impressive fortified castles I have ever seen.
There are walls here 100 feet in height. A most worthwhile visit to be sure.

This castle is visible from my uncles house in Hirschorn.
It has very nice examples of crenellation which enabled the defenders to hide behind stone and peek around to fire upon the enemy.