The proud red dragon flag whips in the wind over my head. I stand outside the impossibly large doors to the Caernarfon Castle. Inside, filled with other tourists, it feels more like an amusement park than a historical site. It’s hard to wrap my head around the fact that this structure was not created for my entertainment. It had a purpose, a strategic position on the harbor, battles had been fought and lives had been lost all on the ground where I stood.

Caernarfon Castle

Caernarfon Castle courtyard

Though tourists and locals alike flock this site everyday, it is very different from the manufactured castle San Simeon (Hearst Castle), and far older than Monticello or Mt. Vernon- or anything else I had seen in the US. As I walk the stone hallways I find it hard to imagine this cold, stone building with its vast rooms as someone’s home. Reading of the kings and queens who filled the castle’s halls, I reflect on representations of royalty I have watched and read about. It all seemed so much more romantic on the screen. This huge structure that dominated the town, literally surrounding it in a wall, was a sign of power. A cold stone symbol of dominance and extravagance. The wall that entirely  surrounds the town still stands to this day, but with unguarded boarders visitors flow freely through the gates. How different it must have been.

Looking down from one of the castle’s turrets this is part of the city enclosed in the wall

The river along the castle wall

The houses boardering the wall surrounding the city

I wander the hallways, climbing narrow staircases to look out from the tallest peaks, enjoying the grand view rather than patrolling the seas for unwelcome enemies. Ah to be living in the 21st century, ah to be a tourist.

Cold hallways