Hameln was a particularly adorable place. It has a story, which many of you probably know, about the Pied Piper. If you don't know it, it goes like this:
In the 13th century, the town of Hameln had a plague of rats. The Pied Piper (dressed in many colors) heard about it and offered his help for a price. The town counsel, desperate, agreed, and the piper played a tune, entranced the rat, and led them into the river to their deaths. When he came to the counsel to collect his money, however, they refused, saying it was too much. Enraged, the Piper played a different tune, and all the children of the town heard it and followed him. One child, however, was deaf, and therefore immune to the tune. She held back her blind brother as he tried to follow, and together they returned to the village as the Piper led all the other children, entranced, into a crevasse, which closed up behind them. They were never seen again.
So, dark as that story is, the whole town is devoted to it. There's a statue, rat pictures everywhere (in the pavement, on top of the bridge, made out of bread in the bakery...), a re-enactment by the town children done every year, and a Glockenspiel which goes off three times a day (that's a click with bells that also has a little automated puppet show that goes with it). We saw the statue (unfortunately under construction) and watched the Glockenspiel, which was adorable. But even without the Pied Piper, Hameln is a really cool town, full of buildings from the 1200s on. Also, I found a Kartoffelhaus, which made me happy because, according to Jackson, I am a kleine Kartoffel. So I thought I should probably live in the kartoffelhaus.
(btdubs - Kartoffel means potato. Don't ask me why I am one, but Jackson thinks so.)
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