When making our plans for Germany Erik tasked me with creating the path from Frankfurt to Hamburg. From my research we could either travel to Cologne and Trier along the western border, or we could travel more toward the middle along the “Fairy Tale Road.” We chose the latter thinking the kids would be interested in seeing the various inspirations for many of the Grimm Brother’s stories. So after saying good-bye to Dieter and Karen we made our way toward Kassel, Germany. Our main destination on this day was Bergpark Wilhemshohe, which come to find out had nothing to do with Fairy Tales! We weren’t quite sure what to expect as all of the travel sites we found were in German. However both Karen and Dieter highly recommended we go, plus they had some sort of special attraction that is only done on Wednesday and Saturday. And guess what…..it was Wednesday! We found our way to this UNESCO site and ate a lovely picnic lunch. After lunch we followed the signs to the bus. We rode a city bus through the city of Kassel until we found ourselves at the top of a large monument called Hercules. Still confused we looked to buy tickets and were surprised to discover there was no cost (we didn’t have to pay for it!). We toured the top of the Hercules monument but this “special event” did not occur for another hour, so we continued walking. We walked down a large staircase spotting various sculptures along the way. Katie was proud to explain the different statues which included Greek gods. We saw a large crowd at the bottom and decided to “follow the crowd.” Finally at 2:00 sharp the “show” began. It was a series of water canals that were built in 1689. The canals created a huge waterfall of sorts which started at the top of the Hercules monument and gradually worked itself down to a grand waterfall at the bottom. This was all very impressive to me and I thought a wonderful display but guess what? There was more! 

We continued to follow the crowd through the woods to the 2nd step in the “water show.” This was a smaller area and using our Lilla Team skills, which mostly involve “following your blocks,” we made it to the front of the show. Another series of waterfalls emerged and we were now starting to understand. The Bergpark was a step by step water system created by the Landgraves Carl of Hesse-Kassel. We continued to Step 3 in the process learning along the way that we must hurry so we wouldn’t miss the next part of the show!

The next part included a bridge but we opted for the view from the bottom. A beautiful waterfall quickly emerged – the steps were getting closer together! The water continued to move quickly through the forest. We moved with it!The next stage was an aqueduct and the kids learned more about historical water systems (a couple of them were less than thrilled at this point :). We found ourselves in front of a huge waterfall which fell down from the abrupt end of the aqueduct. Finally we made our way to the bottom to view the “Grand Fountain.”

This is a huge, geyser-like fountain that shoots water 50m into the air. Unfortunately at this moment Sam decided she needed to use the restroom (I guess all that water didn’t help) so we quickly viewed the fountain and then went searching for a bathroom! After a quick bathroom break we enjoyed some yummy treats at the Schloss (castle) which was at the base of the water experience.

We thought we would tour the castle but unfortunately it was already closed for the day. Probably for the best as we needed to find our evening’s accommodations. We trekked back to the car (bus to the top, walk to the bottom!).

We journeyed to our apartment for the night and found our new hosts to be very welcoming. They seemed to be genuinely excited to have kids there and the kids loved the toys they found in the house! We were all very hungry at this point and somehow (it’s a miracle!) all agreed to try the Chinese restaurant around the corner. This turned out to be such a blessing! Everyone (even Charlie!) agreed it was the best German-Chinese food we have ever had. Ok, it was the first German-Chinese food but it was incredibly delicious! Although our bellies were stuffed we somehow found room for some ice cream (Germans LOVE Eis!). With full bellies, tired legs, and happy hearts we walked back to our house and quickly fell asleep!