We have Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm to thank for making these fairy tales known. The German brothers thought folk stories and local myths reflected important things about the people who told them: emotions, dreams, desires. We think so, too. That's why we couldn't resist traveling to the real land of fairy tales, known in Germany as Deutsche Märchen Straße or Fairy Tale Road.

The Excellent Adventure:

We chose Kassel as our home base, a centrally-located city (about four hours east of Düsseldorf) that hosts a beautiful palace called Wilhelmshöhe, a towering Romanesque statue called the Hercules (or the Foot of Hercules), and even a comprehensive Grimm Brothers Museum.

We reached our smoky Pension in time to unpack and explore the city on foot before sunset. Kassel itself felt modern, like Düsseldorf, although the city dates back to the 10th century. Bright and early the next morning, we journeyed out to the Hercules, an unusual statue and cascading waterfall designed to celebrate the hero's victory over the giants. It was a little over 60 meters tall, and, during a crisp and foggy morning, we were among the few visitors at the time. As the pictures show, we enjoyed Hercules from many perspectives.

The Hercules statue is only a small part of the enormous grounds that surround Schloss Wilhelmshöhe. The sun warmed us up while we hoofed it in and out of August greenery; an aquaduct, the palace museum, schön public parks. And, after a quick lunch at an open-air Italian eatery nearby, we tip-toed through time and the Brothers Grimm Museum.

What a way to begin our fairy-tale quest! These brothers, steeped in classical education, cut their teeth on a German dictionary and were scholars and artists long before they became famous. Slowly, over time, they pursued their passion and one of the greatest contributions to children around the world (although they resented the implication that only children should or would be interested): collecting local stories and mythologies for publication. The museum in Kassel has gorgeous original texts from both the 1812 and the 1857 editions of the Märchen der Brüder Grimm, as well as personal correspondence, portraits and household effects of the Grimm family. While we were there, in fact, the top floor hosted an exhibit of artwork inspired by the Grimm Brothers' fairy tales.

We learned about the origin and impact of the stories. Now, we were ready to see these fairy tale places for ourselves.

The castle of Sleeping Beauty (Der gläserne Sarg/Little Briar-Rose) was our first stop. A scenic, twisting drive pulled us farther and farther into a picturesque German countryside. We plowed through forests and fields and farms happily lit under a pale late summer sun. The castle where the fairy tale was born is guarded by a thickly-carved wooden statue of Little Briar-Rose herself, near a small country road and sheep-grazing meadow.

Romance was in the air! As soon as we arrived, we realized that we were in the midst of a wedding-preparation - something similar to the rehersal dinners that we do. We wandered around the ruins and gardens of the castle, especially enchanted by the skinny deer munching clumps of grass around the fortress, the tracts and tracts of farmland so easily seen from the castle's vantage point, the purple flowers of the breakfast garden dotted with butterflies, and the tower...the tower itself!...that we were sure must have housed Sleeping Beauty prisoner as she and the rest of her people snoozed away.

But we hadn't had our fill of damsels in distress yet! Next, we were swept away to the castle of Rapunzel (Rapunzel/Rapunzel), distinguishable by its high seat over the rolling hills around it and the towers that pockmarked its skyline. Since the castle is privately owned and is now a hotel and restaurant, we couldn't explore its innards (without a reservation). We were able, however, to prowl its outskirts and gawk at the tiny window, now shuttered, where Rapunzel, Rapunzel, must have let down her fair hair.

The next day, another summer beaut, we drove around the farms and villages long known for the little red caps their young girls used to wear: Little Red Riding Hood (Rotkäppchen/Little Red Cap) territory. Little Red Riding Hood was unlike the other stories we chose to visit in that the main character wasn't a trapped (or tortured) princess. She was just a normal girl who visited her grandmother, ja? So, there wasn't a castle or a specific place that pinpointed the story's origin - only a region. The thick forests we traveled through didn't require much to imagine big eyes, big nose, big teeth, and the hot, smelly breath of the Big Bad Wolf...or was that the waiter?

How could we leave the Fairy Tale Road without visiting one of the most famous of all the Grimm Brothers' tales? The castle of Cinderella (Aschenputtel/Cinderella) was peacefully placed along a slim river. These days, its chalky brick ruins often host local theater group performances, but the hearth where Cinderella was supposed to have slept and the trees she planted - and which, in the Grimm's story, helped grant her wish to go to the ball - are still standing.

Finally, before closing the book on our fairy tale vacation, we stopped at one last castle where Otto the Marksman was from. His is a popular German story unknown to us, and we're still on the hunt for the Grimm Brothers' version. The castle itself was windy and lovely: we took Tarq and let him run to his little heart's content.