The Halkidiki Peninsula is “Poseidon’s trident” which consists of three smaller peninsulas: Kassandra, Sithonia, and Athos. They are about 100 km from the Thessaloniki airport. Athos is the place of religious tourism, Kassandra is suitable for non-poor young people and tourists with children, which means it can be noisy. We hypothesized that the Sithonia Peninsula would be the perfect choice for relaxing holidays. It was a mistake.
Every old castle would like to have its own ghost. You are boring without a ghost or dramatic history. The castle of Mauterndorf in Austria was not lucky. It never resisted a cruel siege and never had an imprisoned princess or mysterious lady. There was no murder or suicide inside its walls, and its owners were not famous people, except for one—Hermann Göring, Reichsmarschall of Nazi Germany. “OK. Why not?” the castle thought. “Let him be my ghost. By the way, I am almost 800 years old, and in such a ripe old age, it’s a shame not to have a ghost. What will tourists think about me?”
As usual, we decided to visit Mauterndorf Castle in the low season, in winter, to explore it without witnesses, and were right to do that. We enjoyed its Medieval atmosphere in solitude. Mauterndorf is a museum. It is inhabited by wax figures of Medieval traders, musicians, bishops, and knights. They come alive at night and share their daily impressions of the visitors to their castle.
