Adventures in Waldeck

Courtney and Fabian chose Schloss Waldeck, a historic-site-turned-hotel, for their wedding destination.  Fabian's family hails from Dusseldorf, a German city about two hours from Frankfurt.  Waldeck is a hilly region that dates back to the Holy Roman Empire.  We drove two hours directly nort on mostly single lane back roads to reach the wedding site.

First mentioned in 1120, the castle, Schloss Waldeck, switched owners several times until, in 1655, the Counts of Waldeck rebuilt it for their residence.  After they left, the structure served different purposes. Initially castle commanders occupied it, then, in the 1700s, prisoners.  In September 2009, the hotel opened.

With two little kids, the 200 euro a night hotel seemed impractical.  We decided to explore homeaway.com, a website where people rent their apartments.  We found a two bedroom condo a kilometer from the hotel on a farm.

We arrived late on Friday, ruled out the rehearsal dinner, and instead enjoyed a quick Italian meal in town.  On Saturday, Fabian's mother took us to Bad Wildungen, a small town first mentioned in 800.  Left untouched by the war, the half timbered houses and Baroque architecture create a scene from the movie "Hedi."

We entered a Gothic Evangelical Church from the 14th century that houses an altarpiece by Konrad von Soest.  He introduced International Gothic to the German art scene and influenced Northern European painting in the century to come.  The large winged altarpiece, originally dated 1403, shows scenes from the Life of the Virgin and the Passion of Christ and is the first piece in the region to show perspective.

The piece contains the oldest depiction of glasses north of the Alps.  The glasses signify the "new" Protestant movement.  

Emily wants to learn more Biblical stories and asks questions about each piece of art we see.  She actually asked Santa to bring her a book on cathedrals!  She also found a warm place to sit.

After a cappacino and hot chocolate, we returned to the farm to rest up for the big event.