Norwich Castle...

Our last Norwich activity before catching the ferry back to Holland was to finally go to Norwich Castle. 

The Norman stone keep was started in 1094 and finished in 1121. It was designed to be a royal palace, but no kings ever lived in it. King Henry I merely stayed there for Christmas 1121.

The castle was used as a prison starting as early as the 14th century and ending in 1883. It was opened as a museum in 1894.

We had a private tour when no one else showed up for the hourly free tour. This large space would have originally had three separate floors, but the other floors were removed when it was converted to a prison. A major renovation will soon be underway to replace the floors in an attempt to bring the castle back to its former glory.

Probably shouldn’t be surprised that I got a laugh out of the royal loo...

...also got a laugh when I saw these strange teapots in the Norwich Museum section of the castle.

There was some impressive paintings including this cool 1935 Magritte called The Human Condition...

...and this lovely landscape called Norwich River: Afternoon by John Crome in 1819.

Afterwards we had drinks at Cosy Club, a new restaurant and bar in the former Natwest Bank. Built in 1925, we had visited the bank in 2015 in an attempt to open up a bank account for Veronica, but they weren’t accepting American clients due to the complicated reporting requirements of the IRS.