Bergpark | June 20, 2020

We drove to Kassel home of the Brother's Grimm Headquarters. But since the museum was closed, we decided to go to Berg Park home to Wilhelmshöhe, a UNESCO site and Löwenburg Castle.

As you may know UNESCO preserves historical sites all over the world, but mostly in Europe. Because of the Coronavirus, there was no access in Löwenburg and Wilhelmshöhe, in addition the water wasn't running which was a little disappointing. I also read there is a 50 foot high fountain at the base of Wilhelmshöhe. Nevertheless, people came out to enjoy being outside. Since it is summer, the Germans are out in droves. I guess staying inside for 6 winter months causes cabin fever and the Germans need to get the hell out and enjoy themselves.

From the strawberry patch, we drove about 20 minutes to Kassel. We found parking and had to walk up to the palace museum. Malia was grouchy because she was thirsty/hungry and had to go to the bathroom. After we took care of business, we got a bite to eat and started walking up to Löwenburg Castle.

Jared was complaining about the walk which always gets Michelle upset and gets me irritated. He is going through the teenage rebellion and needs to do his test to see if his parents love him. We do a good job trying to explain things to him. At times we struggle to explain things to him and it gets him more upset. Parenting goes on, it does not wait for you learn and understand the problem.

Walking up took some strength. Michelle and I are still in good shape, so it wasn't too much for us. Malia and Jared were not having it, but they did very well. To get up took us over an hour. The walk through the forest was amazing.

Löwenburg Castle looks like something out of a movie. It is tucked in the forest and is loaded with towers. The history of the castle goes back to 1800 when it was build by Wilhelm IX as a place to show off his power and represent Hesse.

It appears they are doing a lot of construction. I heard one German say it would be 5 years before the finish. Sounds like Hawaii. I got a good picture in front of it, that was cool.

From here the kids were over it, but I tried to keep it going. We had to head uphill to Wilhelmshöhe. On the way there, the kids wanted to stop at the shop and get some ice cream. Diamond head should have something like that, a shave stand near the top. Germans like to take a break from their activity and eat something sweet or even drink a beer. Michelle, Malia, & Jared seemed tired and were over it. But I wanted to head towards the top to see the Hercules statue. As I was walking up, I seen Jared race up. He must of had some energy bolt. I was proud of him for trying. He did great and got to the top before me. The view from the top was outstanding. Again too bad the water wasn't working. According to the UNESCO site:

"Reservoirs and channels behind the Hercules Monument supply water to a complex system of hydro-pneumatic devices that supply the site’s large Baroque water theater, grotto, fountains and 350-metre long Grand Cascade"

The walk back to the car was great. The forest intrigued me the most. I could imagine the Brother's Grimm visiting these places and having their imagination run wild.