Chapultepec Castle

We celebrated the Fourth of July by going to the Castle at Chapultepec Park. Since we couldn’t do anything really American to celebrate our nation’s independence, we decided to do something to symbolize Mexican independence.

The Chapultepec castle is located on top of Chapultepec Hill in the middle of Chapultepec Park in the heart of Mexico City. We have talked about this park earlier in our blog. This amazing complex of buildings has served several purposes during its history. It has been used as a Military Academy, Imperial residence, Presidential home, observatory and currently as the Mexican National Museum of History.

The most interesting historical fact about this castle is that it is the only castle in North America that was ever used as residence by a ruling European sovereign. Maximilian von Habsburg, archduke of Austria and emperor of Mexico, and his wife Carlota lived there from 1864 to 1867.
From the castle we could see a great view of downtown Mexico City, the park below with a thick forest including a zoo, lakes, and walking trails.

We enjoyed the beautiful roof gardens, a grand staircase guarded by lions, lavish wood-carved furniture, a room designed with oriental furnishings, a state dining room, colonial artwork and outdoor fountains and statues. The north side of the complex was being used for an exhibit of Buddhist art. We would like to go back and see that area another time.
After we finished touring the Castle, we walked through the park. It was very relaxing. We enjoyed seeing the lakes with their paddle boats and looking at the sky line of Mexico City. We also ate a small picnic lunch in the park before we left.

An unexpected treat of the day was being able to tour the Castle as "Third Generation" visitors. In Mexico senior citizens are able to get in to many public venues free of charge. I think that I would rather be younger and pay full fare though.
Well, the spirit of Independence Day was not totally forgotten. After we got home that night, we went to a Fourth of July picnic with the other senior missionaries in our building. There is really no place to barbecue here, so we cooked hamburgers and everyone contributed July 4th type foods. We played a patriotic game. We felt it appropriate to sing the national anthem. Not to be outdone, a couple from Cardston, Alberta felt that they should have equal time, so they sang the Canadian national anthem. All in all, it was a great day.