Long, long ago there lived a king and a queen who wanted a child, but none ever came.
Then one day when the queen was sitting in her bath, a frog crawled out of the water and said, "You will get your wish; before a year goes by, you will bring a daughter into the world."
The frog's prediction came true and the queen gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. The king decided to give a great feast. He invited relatives, friends, and the Wise Women. There were thirteen Wise Women in his kingdom, but he only had twelve golden plates, so one of them had to stay home. As the Wise Women were giving the child their magical gifts, the thirteenth Wise Woman stepped in to avenge herself for not being invited and cried out, "When she is fifteen, the princess will prick her finger on a spindle and fall into a deep hundred-year sleep."
To guard his beloved child, the king ordered every spindle in the whole kingdom to be destroyed. The day she turned fifteen, the king and queen happened to be away and the princess was left alone.
She climbed a narrow winding staircase in a tower, which led to a little door with a rusty key in the lock. In the small room sat an old woman with a spindle, busily spinning her flax. "What are you doing?" asked the princess. "I'm spinning," said the woman, and with that, the princesss took hold of the spindle and tried to spin. Immediately, the magic spell took effect and she pricked her finger, falling on to the bed in a deep sleep that spread to the entire palace.
When the king and the queen came home, they feel asleep and the whole court with them. The horses fell asleep in their stables, the dog in the courtyard, and the flies on the wall. Even the fire on the hearth stopped flaming and fell asleep.
All around the castle a thorny hedge began to grow. Each year it grew higher until it surrounded and covered the whole castle.
A hundred years had passed and the day had come for Sleeping Beauty to wake up. As the king's son approached the thorny hedge, the thorns turned into beautiful flowers.
At last he came to the tower and opened the door to the little room where the princess was sleeping. He bent down to kiss her and no sooner had his lips touched hers than Sleeping Beauty opened her eyes, woke up, and smiled sweetly. The prince and Sleeping Beauty were married in splendour, and they lived happily to the end of their lives.
The End
Hannoversch-Münden
After leaving the castle, we were in search of the nearest Esso station (one of the few places where we are able to use our fuel coupons). We stumbled upon Hannoversch-Münden, a village filled with more than 700 half-timbered houses...
Notice the tilt
This is Dr. Eisenbarth, a "miracle working" doctor (although he had no doctorate)- honored with a summer festival in Hannoversch-Munden as well as this commemorative statue.
Sankt Blasiuskirche (St. Blasius Church)
Baptisimal Font
We also ate lunch at Hotel Schlosschanke, where I tried Spargel for the first time. Spargel is nothing more than white asparagus, covered while growing to prevent photosynthesis. I had it cold in a salad mixed with green asparagus and found it to be really good- not quite as stringy as the green asparagus and less of that strong "asparagus" flavor.
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