Looking for somewhere to spend a weekend with our dear friends from Frankfurt, the Kellerwald-Edersee national park, not too far from the city of Kassel, caught our eye. It is geographically conveniently situated between our homes and it turned out to be a great place for a longer Spring weekend camping trip. It is also one of the last beech forests of its kind in Central Europe and therefore also a part of Unesco World Heritage site. Here is more about what we did in the national park and around.
CAMPING TEICHMANN, Kellerwald – Edersee NP | GERMANY
There are many CAMPING PLACES at Edersee lake, but keep in mind that many of them get quickly booked out on such longer weekends when the public holidays are on. Anyhow, both of our families have CAMPER CARS so we weren´t worried about finding a place to stay. Having said that, we still had to search a bit and eventually found a spot at TEICHMANN CAMPING.
We decided to stay outside the camping and paid only 15€ a night, but could use all the facilitates the camping had to offer. And there were many! It was still too cold for SWIMMING but obviously this is activity number one in the summer. Besides this, you could rent BOATS, there was a MINI GOLF PLACE, PLAYGROUNDS, TRAMPOLINES, you name it. Of course also RESTAURANTS and BARS. But we spent most of the time out in the park, enjoying the nature. And in Spring time there were many blooming RAPESEED FIELDS around.
TREE TOP WALK, Kellerwald – Edersee NP | GERMANY
One of the main attractions around the lake is the WALDECK CASTLE, built in the 12th Century. Today, you can visit the MUSEUM and even spend a night in a CASTLE HOTEL. The views from up there are stunning, you really get to see the whole lake. It is possible to drive or walk up to the castle, but you cna also take the little GONDOLAS from close to the lake, called WALDECKER BERGBAHN. Unfortunately we only admired the castle up on the hill from the lakeside and had to skip the actual visit due to lack of time.
EDERSEE LAKE, Kellerwald – Edersee NP | GERMANY
Instead, we decided to spend most of our time outside, at the lake. This made sense considering the warm and sunny weather which should not be taken for granted here in Germany. There is so much to do by the lake, you can WINDSURF, SAIL, FISH, SWIM or RENT A PADDLE BOAT and more.
We decided to rent this beautiful ELECTRIC RIVA BOAT for a couple of hours. You can drive these boasts without licence, the kids loved it and we got to see most of the from a different perspective, while we also had a little picnic onboard. It cost us around 80€ but since we were 4 adults and 3 kids it was okay for what we got out of it.
And if you are not keen on driving a boat on your own, you can hop on a much bigger BOAT and take 1 HOUR BOAT TOUR AROUND THE LAKE or simply use it as a WATER TAXI to get from one place to another. There are different routes and stops, you can check it online under the name “PERSONENSCHIFFAHRT EDERSEE”.
TREE TOP WALK, Kellerwald – Edersee NP | GERMANY
Such WOODEN WALKWAYS high up between TREE CANOPIES are a popular attraction in many parts of Germany and I have to say, they are always a hit when you are visiting with kids. And not just that, there is always something interesting for the grown ups as well. Here, you can walk the 750m LONG TRAIL which has INFORMATIVE STOPS on the way. You learn about the forests, animals and the national park as you go.
“WILDTIERPARK”, Kellerwald – Edersee NP | GERMANY
Very close to the Tree Top walk there is also a LARGER FOREST AREA where you can see a few WILD ANIMALS. It is not quite like a ZOO, but there are of course still fences around. Not exactly my type of attraction to be honest but our tickets were combined so we took a look. There were great VIEWS ON THE LAKE below and it was nice to walk around in the forest.
CHURCH IN THE LAKE, Kellerwald – Edersee NP | GERMANY
There is quite an interesting story behind this. EDERSEE LAKE is actually a man made WATER RESERVOIR and there is a small village called NIEDER-WERBE about a kilometer away from the actual lake. A part of this village was unintentionally flooded by water and many homes and farms were lost here. Every few seasons the water level drops significantly and the PARTS OF VILLAGES that had once been there are revealed.
Once, people found the REMAINS OF AN OLD CHURCH, basically just the base of it. And since then, visitors were looking for it, but mysteriously could not locate it. Long story short, the authorities have “given” the people their “CHURCH IN THE LAKE” and decided to put a REPLICA OF THE ORIGINAL CHURCH on the same spot where it was once standing.
BERGPARK WILHELMSHÖHE, Kassel | GERMANY
We spent the last night on this mini road trip holiday in Kassel, a city known for its palaces, parks, museums, DOCUMENTA EXHIBITIONS and art, but the most known feature over here is the beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site called BERGPARK WILHELMSHÖHE. Here, you can visit the wonderful WILHELMSHÖHE CASTLE, check out the HERKULES STATUE, the park and the LÖWENBURG RUINS.
In the warmer months, from May to October, you should not miss the so-called WASSERSPIELE – it´s a special moment, which happens only a few times in a day, when the WATER CASCADES and FOUNTAINS are switched on. Definitely check before when is the best time to see this.
Both of these places, Kassel and Kellerwald-Edersee the national park are about 2 hours car driving from Frankfurt which makes them a good choice for a weekend getaway if you live in this part of Germany or passing through while on a road trip.
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