Tag Archives: Grimm Brothers

Berlin, Fairy Tales, History, Photos

Gallery: Alter St.-Matthäus-Kirchhof

Elliott and I stopped by Alter St.-Matthäus-Kirchhof to see the graves of the Grimm Brothers. This is about 30 minutes away by train, a completely random and out of the way corner of Berlin near the Steglitz borough. As we are walking through the cemetery taking photos, I see someone slowly coming towards us in the distance that triggers a familiar response in me. We continue to walk up the path, stopping to photograph or read the headstones, and the person on the path does the same. After about 20 minutes of this, we get lose enough that I see who it is. Out of 3 million people in Berlin, our friend from Bellingham, Ben Kohn, is standing in front of me. Seriously, I can’t tell you how astronomical the odds of that are, that we happened to be at the same cemetery, at the same time, let alone that we happened to be walking up the same path he was coming down. We decide such implausible synchronicity deserved a beer.

Berlin, Fairy Tales, History, Photos

Gallery: Museumsdorf Düppel Fairy Tale Festival

Elliott alerted me to a sign he saw advertising a fairy tale festival at a museum that is a recreation of a medieval German village. We decided to attend, and while it was very lovely and fun, it was raining quite hard and the actually storytelling was forced into tiny tents. Rather than elbow children out of the way for my own selfish interests, I opted to wander the grounds and try to talk to the staff. Language proved to be a challenge, because contrary to popular belief not everyone in Germany speaks English, especially older people who grew up in the East before the reunification. However, I did manage to learn a bit about “Schlüsselblumen”, or “key flowers”, which is the flower we call Cowslips. She explained that it was part of the folklore of fairies, elves, and woodland spirits, although I am not certain how. It is also known as the more Christianized “Himmelsschlüsselblumen”, or “Keys of Heaven Flowers”. It was a lovely, if not rainy, afternoon.

Art, Berlin, Fairy Tales, Photos

Gallery: Der Märchenbrunnen im Volkspark Friedrichshain

The Fairy Tale Fountain was designed by architect Ludwig Hoffman from 1901-1913. Badly damaged in WWII, the fountain has been restored to its former glory. It includes statues of Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, The Seven Ravens, Little Red Riding Hood, Puss in Boots, Sister and Brother, and Cinderella. There are also statues of Ryubetsal and Mother Hulda nearby.

Fairy Tales

Tale: Brüderchen und Schwesterchen

Der Märchenbrunnen im Volkspark Friedrichshain, Berlin. Photo by Scarlett Messenger
Der Märchenbrunnen im Volkspark Friedrichshain, Berlin. Photo by Scarlett Messenger

Little brother took his little sister by the hand and said, since
our mother died we have had no happiness. Our step-mother
beats us every day, and if we come near her she kicks us away
with her foot. Our meals are the hard crusts of bread that are left
over. And the little dog under the table is better off, for she
often throws it a choice morsel. God pity us, if our mother only
knew. Come, we will go forth together into the wide world.
Continue reading Tale: Brüderchen und Schwesterchen →

Fairy Tales

Tale: Hänsel und Gretel

„Gretel“ aus Hänsel und Gretel - Gretel from Hansel and Gretel, Der Märchenbrunnen im Volkspark Friedrichshain, Berlin. Photo by Scarlett Messenger
„Gretel“ aus Hänsel und Gretel – Gretel from Hansel and Gretel, Der Märchenbrunnen im Volkspark Friedrichshain, Berlin. Photo by Scarlett Messenger
Der Märchenbrunnen im Volkspark Friedrichshain, Berlin. Photo by Scarlett Messenger
Der Märchenbrunnen im Volkspark Friedrichshain, Berlin. Photo by Scarlett Messenger

Hard by a great forest dwelt a poor wood-cutter with his wife
and his two children. The boy was called Hansel and the
girl Gretel. He had little to bite and to break, and once when
great dearth fell on the land, he could no longer procure even daily
bread. Now when he thought over this by night in his bed, and
tossed about in his anxiety, he groaned and said to his wife, what
is to become of us. How are we to feed our poor children, when
we no longer have anything even for ourselves. I’ll tell you what,
husband, answered the woman, early to-morrow morning we
will take the children out into the forest to where it is the
thickest. There we will light a fire for them, and give each of
them one more piece of bread, and then we will go to our work and
leave them alone. They will not find the way home again, and we
shall be rid of them. No, wife, said the man, I will not do that.
How can I bear to leave my children alone in the forest. The wild
animals would soon come and tear them to pieces. O’ you fool, said
she, then we must all four die of hunger, you may as well plane the
planks for our coffins, and she left him no peace until he
consented. But I feel very sorry for the poor children, all the
same, said the man.
Continue reading Tale: Hänsel und Gretel →