The Monster Mash

Burg Frankenstein sits atop a hill in Darnstadt - a town 30 minutes from here.  Our friends, Susan and Adam, invited us to see the castle and to fulfill my longing for Rosa Mexicana at a place nearby.  (Quick sidebar:  Dave met Susan dropping off Owen at school; their daughter is in Owen's class.  A few conversations later, they realized Susan's best friend played on the women's basketball team at Mary Washington and shared many bus rides with him.  Susan walked down The Lawn with me at The University in May 1999 though we never met.  Both attended similar high schools.  Small world.)

Lord Conrad II erected the castle before 1250.  Through the centuries, the owners changed, the castle split, the castle's function changed, and now only ruins remain.  Urban legend links the castle to Shelley's Gothic novel through the alchamist Johann Conrad Dippel.  He was born there in 1673 and Shelly visited the Rhine region in 1814 just before composing the famous book. (Yes, two completely unrelated facts.)   Frankenstein, which Shelley wrote when she was 19,  resulted from a competition Mary Shelley and three friends had to see who could write the best horror story.

Of course, our visit included snow.

In 1976 the American soldiers brought Halloween to the castle and founded an annual festival which is now one of the biggest in Europe.

After searching for Frankenstein, we headed to margaritas and fajitas.  Germany does not boast a Mexican influence so there are few restaurants in the area.  I even miss Chipotle (not authentic, but still delicious).   Adam assured us this place would meet our standards - and it did.