The Laura is here to stay

17 Mai 2007

Three days after my arrival in Kassel I am still adjusting to strange circumstances. My host mom endearingly refers to me to her kids as 'die Laura' (the Laura). It's as if I'm a seasonal sand storm or hurricane or something: 'Don't bother the Laura,' 'The Laura is here for 6 weeks.' I have my own room on the third storey of their house and from it I can see the Wilhelmshohe castle nestled on a forested hill just a few kilometers away. The castle was built in the 1700s by some duke Ludwig who decided a palace with a Hercules statue and waterworks was better than none. The Hercules statue is being repaired (his muscles are cracking?) and so from a distance the palace looks like an abandoned factory with a lopsided radio antenna (the scaffolding), or a forest watchtower that happens to be in line with one of the main boulvards. Waterworks cascade down the hill to another palace and apparently it's quite a sight.