Wandering Germany’s Fairy Tale Trail

While living next door to Germany, in the Netherlands, we found ourselves visiting Deutschland a couple of times a year. On one occasion we had to visit a small town called Marburg for work. Neither of us had ever heard of the place, so we googled it, and discovered it’s on the fairy tale trail.

Fairy Tale Trail

The Grimm Brothers Wrote Classic Ferry Tales like Snow White

Sounds enchanting, right? The fairy tale trail is a 600km route through Germany that allows you to follow the lives of the brothers Grimm who were born in Hanau and are famous for many of your most beloved children’s fairy tales like Little Red Riding Hood and Snow White.

Fairy Tale Trail

Marburg is on the German Fairy Tale Trail because the Grimm brothers attended Philipps-Universität where they studied law. With just under 80,000 residents, you immediately feel a bit like you have stepped into a fairy tale upon arrival. There is a large tower on a big hill that can be seen from town and it looks like the perfect place for Rapunzel to throw down her hair. Alex and I walked up the hill to see this tower and were expecting to see the Big Bad Wolf jump out from behind one of the tall trees!

Fairy Tale Trail

Marburg, Germany

Fairy Tale Trail

Aside from feeling like you are walking in an enchanting tale, the town has some great places to drink and eat. On our first night Alex and I enjoyed delicious pork schnitzels doused in rich gravy at Restaurant Ratsschänke, which can be found at number 3 in the Markt (main square). The place has an ambiance reminiscent of Grandma’s kitchen (minus the yelling). Their friendly staff elicits a tranquil feeling in the cozy environment. The restaurant is next to the Cuckoo Clock tower, which Alex enjoyed immensely. The rooster sings cock a doddle do on the hour, which is fun to mimic!

Fairy Tale Trail

Marburg is a student town, so there are loads of great bars. We particularly enjoyed Hinkelstein, a cavern/cellar like bar in the main square. There are great local lagers to be enjoyed. Everything we drank was far superior to any mass produced lager.

The best way to get to Marburg is via train, which is a lovely trip. There are direct trains from Frankfurt. If you’re coming from elsewhere, you’ll have to work out the regional train schedule. The Deutsche Bahn website is pretty user-friendly. Though don’t expect the trains to be on time. Despite Germany’s reputation for efficiency, Alex and I always had connection problems!

Fairy Tale Trail

Author

  • Alex&Bell

    Alex and Bell originally met while solo traveling after finishing university in 2002, in Brugge, Belgium. Alex grew up in the USA and Bell hails from Australia. During our nearly 20 year marriage we've lived around the world, including spending six years living in the Netherlands and Ireland. We have traveled to nearly 70 countries and enjoy giving readers authentic and quality travel tips. Alex is an award winning travel journalist and travel planner, who also freelances for other outlets. Bell is an award winning PhD scientist who currently works for a non-profit lung cancer advocacy research organization called Lungevity. Happy travels and if you have any questions leave a comment or drop an email!

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