Kassel

Kassel - 28/9/13

The drive from Aachen to Kassel should have taken us 2-3 hrs but instead it took 6. Two traffic jams on the autobahn meant we we were travelling an average of 7km per hr for 3 hrs.

Once we crossed the Rhine the first jam cleared because the jam was caused by constricting the 4 lanes down to 1 to cross the bridge then the restriction was lifted and we moved on at 160km/hr until there was another bit of road work that needed 1 lane. Real pain. We avoid autobahns now.

Arrived at Kassel about 8pm. The tomtom took us to the address but we could not see a B&B that was our destination. Asking at a house, they knew the B&B and said it was just down the road. Well we could not see it and finally called the number we had. It was just down the road but there was a long dark space between where we were (at No 4) to where the Hotel was (at No 3).

It was a modern hotel going by the name of B & B Hotels. Inexpensive, clean and modern but very basic.

Found our dinner at a take away run by a Romanian woman, Kassel rolls up its streets at about 9pm.

Kassel's claim to fame is Schloss Wilhelmshoehe where they kept Napoleon III after he was deposed.

Looking up to the folly at the top of the hill. Has a huge
statue of Hercules on top of the tower

Ruined castle in the distance

Tearing ourselves away from the beauty of Wilhelmshoehe we told tomtom to take us via any road but an autobahn, so we had a delightful drive into the Haartz mountains to our next destination, 

Bad Soderode, a quiet holiday village where we had booked a pension for the night. A very quiet town with a lot of pensions and as it was out of season there were few around and only one Cafe for dinner. Good meal and good beer. Extremely quiet night, not a sound anywhere.

Off on Monday morning for Berlin but by back roads, at least so we thought. We did get off the Autobahn again and arrived at Wittenberg, Martin Luther's place of fame.

The "door" of the 95 theses, now in bronze

The feudal castle on the right and Luther's church on the left(hidden)

The Rathaus in Wittenberg with a 12th C church in the background