Today we picked up and made a pilgrimage to Steinau, where the Brothers Grimm grew up and found inspiration for so many of their stories. According to Cara, it was a ‘no clouds in the sky day’, perfect for an easy day of exploration!
Steingau is a very small, cute German village on the ‘Fairy Tale Road’ route – it boasts just the Brothers Grimm House, a Renaissance castle, and a pretty stream running through the town. Our first stop was the Brothers Grimm House; before leaving home, we were assured by the museum’s website that it wasn’t anticipating running out of space for visitors despite virus restrictions limiting the number of people inside to 12. But wouldn’t you know it, when we arrived at 10:20am, the museum was in fact already at its 12-person limit, and we were informed that we should come back in an hour (!). Besides cracking us up, this gave us a chance to visit the adjacent Steinau History Museum, a must-see on anyone’s German adventure itinerary. If you want more information about this important trading post town, I am happy to oblige, but our highlight was being part of the Wall of Fame for a moment:
Once we were able to go inside the actual Brothers Grimm House, we had an awesome time seeing all of our fairy tale classics, from ‘Cinderella (Aschenputtel)’ and ‘Rapunzel’ to favorites like ‘The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage’ and ‘The Girl Without Hands’. The Brothers were also responsible for writing the most comprehensive dictionary of the German language, ever. Who knew?! While photos inside weren’t allowed, we snapped some pics in the garden and in the toilet room (such a cute way to store TP!):
The Witch’s House from Hansel and Gretel 
TP stored in its own windowed cubby 
Big chair
We ate lunch in the shadow of the Brothers Grimm House, watching the stream and enjoying the small but engaging playground. I swear, the virus has made me appreciate life in ways I never did before – I could have stayed here all day long without agenda:
View from the Grimm House 
Note the witch-testing/ torture cage just behind the kids 
Handsome fella 
Lunch on a slackline 
Babbling brook 
Old locks system
Next we checked out the Steinau castle – it was actually really big (and free!), and we enjoyed exploring the grounds. Our kids never get tired of running amok on castle walls and rocks, making up stories and playing out scenes, and this palace was no exception. As a bonus, there was an awesome playground located in the moat, where even Matt couldn’t resist the merry-go-round!
Hang on, Matt! 
Castle Bathroom
It was a great day and while we missed the hustle and bustle of a normal Saturday in Germany – it was quiiiiiiiiiiiet, presumably because of the virus – we were so thankful for the chance to visit a new place and get out of the house a bit. Everyone we met was very kind and welcoming!
Newmans in a New Land 