One of my favorite parts of life in Germany was discovering the fairy tale castles that most tourists don't know about. While Germany's most famous castle, Schloss Neuschwanstein, is so well-known it's even believed to have inspired Disney's Cinderella Castle, there are dozens of others that look just as magical but don't have an endless queue of tourists lining up for a snapshot.

And one of these is Burg Hohenzollern in the south west corner of Germany. One sunny day in late spring, during the time that I lived in Germany, my German language teacher and her husband decided to take me hiking in the forest. We drove about a half hour south of Stuttgart, winding through small villages and up and down low hills and into valleys again. It was, in fact, May Day, and a local tradition was to take your family and friends out on the back of a decorated tractor, and (as far as I could work out) drive around all day at an irritatingly slow pace, slowing down anyone trying to get to the woods for some hiking! There was also a large cycling race on, and a number of smaller roads in the area were closed. But of course, the fun is also in the journey, so I thoroughly enjoyed discovering the secrets of small town German life in this area.

We finally parked the car near to a forest hiking track, and while the Germans changed into their hiking pants and shoes (ever prepared as they are), I started in on the day's snacks. Walking through lusciously green woods and next to some farmland and fields of sheep, I was excited to see all kinds of berries growing along the path. So many kinds, unfortunately, that I soon ran out of English names and had to rely only on remembering the German names my friends taught me.

Quite unexpectedly, the path came to an end, and we were left with a lookout area and a few benches under some large trees. An elderly couple were busily taking each other's photographs, and at first I was distracted by them. I finally saw the Burg Hohenzollern in the distance. It's another fairy tale-like castle, with dreamy towers and walls, set atop a small hill with precision. The original building dates back to the eleventh century, but war and disrepair have done their damage over the years. The current version dates mostly back to the mid 1850s, but has mostly been home to the Hohenzollern family over its entire history. Now it's possible to visit the castle, but I recommend seeing it from afar: you'll get some great pictures and a healthy, green walk.