Fairy Tale Road - Part 1

We started our journey in Kassel.  After waiting for the ice all over everything to melt enough to drive, we got a late start on Thursday, and got in to Kassel after dark.  We looked up our hotel for each night, on the road, from the car navigation system, and booked as we went.  Beats driving around and looking for one!  In the morning we hoped to visit the Bruder Grimm Museum, which is why Kassel was our first stop, only to find it closed for renovation.  Did manage to snap this shot of their statue, though.

Our next stop was Hannoversch Muenden.  An adorable little town, well worth the stop.  It has over 700 Fachwerk or half-timbered houses.  Definitely haven't seen that many altogther before!

One of the things that distinguished the fachwerk in the north, from the fachwerk we're used to here in Bayern, was the painted, carved elements seen on may of the buildings.  Th eone below was the book store where we bought Luna's new copy of the Grimm's most classic tales.

We saw lots of towers (look deep in the mist) like this one along the way, but we decided this one was Rapunzel's tower...

Saw this in the bakery we had coffee in...  store keeper told me photos were "Verboten!" So I waited till we went outside...

See Frau Holle up in the dormer???

The little goat who hid in the clock?

After Muenden, we headed out a little road up into the Tier Park area, which was absolutely deserted.  Which was good, because it was also a sheet of ice.  This is what happens when you get freezing rain on snow-packed roads!  But these really give you an idea of what the fog was like on our first day.  It had stopped raining, so it was a magical way to see the Fairy Tale settings!

We hadn't passed anyone in several miles, so it seemed safe to stop the car in the middle of the road to take pictures!

Luna didn't notice the fog... she was too busy watching Sleeping Beauty, which was appropriate...

Because Sleeping Beauty's castle was our next stop!  This castle is marketed as Sleeping Beauty's castle, who knows why, but it operates as a hotel, and was quite beautiful in the fog.

It was a bit overgrown...

The roof was gone...

It does look as if everybody has just gone to sleep...

But here she is!  Sleeping Beauty!

Wooden sculpture just outside the castle area.

Next stop was a little town called Hoexter (my umlaut isn't working...)  turned out to not be much to see, especially after Muenden, but got a couple fun shots.

Next Stop... Hameln (As in the Pied Piper of...)  Stay tuned...