Tripping to Germany & Belgium - First Stop Kassel

Mastering the Autobahn

On July 15 we set off for a weeks vacation into southern Germany and Flanders Fields in Belgium. We travelled by train, outside of the Netherlands, on our two previous visits to Europe. Getting behind the wheel of a car for a longer journey is a new experience for us.

We were quite excited (and somewhat relieved) to discover that our little Citroen C1 rental car was peppy enough to keep up with most of the traffic on the German autobahn highways. I don't ever recall a time when Delmer has driven with both firmly placed on the steering wheel at ten and two, but they never strayed on this trip. Freda (our GPS) was invaluable in keeping us cued for inter-exchanges and exits, and was a lifesaver on sorting out a few highway detours that we encountered between Regensburg and Heidelberg.

Dietary Must Haves

We both love German food. Our mission was to make sure that we ate from most of the "German food groups" including: wurst, schnitzel, schweinshaxe, knodel (potatoe, bread dumplings), spatzle sauerkraut, and red cabbage. Das ist gut!

Kassel

After five hours of hectic traffic we arrived in Kassel. Our sightseeing plans included Bergpark Schlosspark Wilhelmshohe which had recently been designated a UNESCO World Heritage sight. This man made waterfall starts hundreds of meters above the schloss (palace). It was a very hot plus 30 Celcius, so we took a bus up to the top and walked down along side the cool waterfalls to the Schloss at the bottom. 

 

We had booked a B&B  called Landhotel - Restaurant Schwalbennest in a nearby village called Zierenberg. We had a very nice room and enjoyed a delicious schnitzel supper with scalloped potatoes laced with cream and cheese in the hotel's restaurant. Breakfast was equally as delicious.

On our bus trip to the top of the Schlosspark, we meet a very nice fellow from Hong Kong. He suggested that we take time to visit the "yellow palace" in the nearby town of Bad Arolsen. We searched it out and went for a short visit before getting back on the road to our next destination, Bamberg.