Romantische Strasse - The Romantic Road

As we left Waldeck and journeyed to Kassel, local guide Olie joined us and shared some history about the Grimm Brothers.  The Grimm Brothers wanted to learn about the history and culture of Hessen which motivated them to collect tales from the region.  In the process, they met a woman named Dorothea Viehmann who told them more than 40 of the tales we commonly hear today.  Her father was from France, so her tales had a French background, and this differed from what the brothers were expecting.  As a result, the brothers concluded these tales could happen at any place and at any time.  We still view these tales as universal and timeless to this day.

Upon arriving in Kassel, we toured Lowenburg Castle, known as the Lion's Castle.  This is a fake castle, built in the 1800s to look like a Medieval ruin from the 1400s.  Portions were purposely made to look destroyed.  The Landgrave Wilhelm IX was obsessed with the Medieval period, and wanted to show off his wealth, so every thing within his "castle" needed to look authentic to the Medieval period.  For example, despite his Protestant beliefs, the chapel was constructed to look like a Catholic chapel because the Reformation did not take place until 1526.  Protestant services were still held here. 

Lowenburg Castle

We learned that life in the castle was not as romantic as a fairytale would depict.  The knight's armor was very heavy and cumbersome.  Knights began training at the age of seven as servants.  At 14 they went to military school.  A special knight known as the Black Knight, guarded over the sovereign's deceased body for three days.  Legend has it that the Black Knight followed the leader into the grave because he often was the next to die.  In reality, this probably happened due to illness such as pneumonia which was brought on by guard duty in all elements combined with the weight of the armor on his chest.  Nobody wanted to be the Black Knight.

Princesses didn't have it easy, either.  Their main job was to produce children.  Daughters were to establish ties to other important families...Medieval Social Networking.  Sons could carry on the name and inherited the land so that it stayed within the family.  A woman's life expectancy was 30 years. 10 years less than a man's due to illnesses obtained during childbirth.  This was certainly not a fairytale life.

Wunderbar Waldeck

We arrived at Waldeck Castle mid-afternoon and were greeted by a knight.  He announced our arrival and opened the castle gate.

With free time before dinner, we explored the original areas of the castle.  This included a turret, the courtyard, the terrace, and the chapel.  We continued to the lower regions of the castle that once served as a prison complete with torture devices and a jail cell.  This area of the castle stays cool, albeit a little musty, which is fine in the summer months, but we can only imagine how cold it would have been down there in the cold German winters.  In the turret room, we were able to take on the point of view of the guards that once inhabited the space as we looked through the "window" where they would have placed their loaded weapons.

We learned that Waldeck Castle was originally a fortress (burg) used to defend the country of Waldeck.  What we know as Germany today was once actually 300 independent countries.  Each country needed fortresses for defense, so many castles sprung up amongst the hills.  As the need for defense dwindled, elaborate palaces were built to represent local wealth.  A castle that serves strictly as a palace is known as a schloß.  Any place that royalty lived is also considered a castle.  Castles, burgs, and palaces combine for a total of 20,000 structures throughout present-day Germany.

Surrounding the castle was a forest that could have served as a setting for any number of fairytales.  We easily pictured Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, Sleeping Beauty, or Little Red Riding Hood wandering along our walking trail.  It was dark, thick with trees, and ominous as though the villian could jump out at any moment.  Anxiety grew each time we were forced to choose from various paths.  At one point, we wondered if we should have brought a supply of bread crumbs, but luckily we made it out okay to our happily ever after.

This area was once inhabited by the Saxons and Francs.  Due to the 30 Years' War, portions of Waldeck Castle were destroyed.  Renovations made it into the hotel we were fortunate to stay in.

Fairytale Fantasy

What a great day!  We are truly in fairytale land as we write to you from our own room atop the Waldeck Castle.  Don't worry, we have modern amenities such as electricity, running water, flushing toilets, and internet (obviously), but we do not have air conditioning.

But let's go back to this morning.  After we loaded the bus and said "Auf Wiedersehen" to Heidelberg, we traveled to the storybook town of Alsfeld located in the Hessen region.  This quaint village is not frequented by tourists, and being a Sunday, almost everything was closed (this is common throughout Germany), but the museum was open and awaiting our arrival.  As we started our walking tour, who should we run into but

Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm!  The brothers walked with us for a bit, and then begged leave so they could get back to people watching and listening for new tales.

As we continued our tour of Alsfeld, we saw the pranger, a device used to punish petty criminals in the town square, the half-timbered structures that are original to the town, and the Goose Girl fountain, which pays tribute to one of the lesser-known Grimm's tales.

Next, we walked right into the retelling of Little Red Riding Hood (Rotkappchen). 

After greeting the characters following their performance, we ate a picnic lunch and prepared to leave for Waldeck.

We rode by bus for about 1.5 hours before reaching our own castle retreat.  During the bus rides today, we learned that Germany has more than 20,000 castles, which used to serve the 300 kingdoms of the lands we now know as Germany.  A house need only to be used as a royal residence to be considered a castle.  Fortresses were used primarily for defense, and palaces were fancy show places for the royal families.  Stephanie, one of our guides, also shared with us about her upbringing in East Germany as well as her memories of when the wall came down in 1989.

Tomorrow we will explore more of the castle and its surrounding village.

Tschüs!

Guten Tag from Heidelberg

Well, we made it!  We had a few hiccups with our flights (delayed) and one of Diana's bags (also delayed), but all is right in the world now.  This morning was our first full day of touring, and we started with a guided tour of Heidelberg Castle.  Our guide was Lisi, a washer woman from Medieval times.  She showed us the portions of the fortress that were destroyed in various wars and fires, and the portions that were added on throughout history.  We went under the castle into the tunnels that would have housed soldiers during wartime.  We also saw the chapel, the watch tower, and furnished rooms within the palace.  The castle itself represents the both the Gothic and Renaissance periods due to additions that happened over time.

After we visited the castle, we strolled along the narrow streets and made our way up Philosopher's Path.  From here, we had sweeping views of Old Town. 

Tonight, we will get to witness fireworks from the Old Bridge and the lighting of the castle.  This ceremony only occurs three times a year (representing the three times Heidelberg Castle was on fire), and we are fortunate to be here for the historical celebration.

Tomorrow, we move to Waldeck.  We have been fortunate to have a business center with free internet access in Heidelberg.  Unfortunely, we can't upload pictures (no SD slot and we didn't bring USB cords for the cameras), but we'll share photos as soon as we can.  We do not yet know how wifi/internet will function in the Waldeck region since it is more remote.  We'll update when we can!

Departure Day!

It's finally here!  We are both soooooo excited to begin this adventure!  Please keep an eye on our blog as we begin our journey this afternoon and keep us in your thoughts as we fly across the pond this evening.  We'll update as wifi and connectivity become available.

Auf Wiedersehen!

21 Days 'Til Departure!!

That translates to

1,814,400 seconds

30,240 minutes

504 hours 

OR

3 weeks

But, who's counting, right?? :)

Adventure goodies!

Adventure goodies!, a photo by tlbright on Flickr.

Our box from Adventures By Disney arrived today with our pre-departure information, adventure backpacks, a count down calendar, and other goodies! 42 days to go!