On Sunday our plan was to visit Münzenberg Castle. I couldn't find anything online about it's COVID status other than it wasn't "temporarily closed."Being an outdoor ruins, I figured we could visit no problem. I was wrong. The castle is open for viewing, but an appointment is required via phone or email. We took a short walk around the castle grounds, but there wasn't much else there and the kids were ansy so we headed home. On the drive home we all felt we weren't ready to go home quite yet. We wanted to see something!
I have mapped parks, castles, hiking trails, playgrounds, gardens, historic sites, and about everything I can find COVID-friendly within thirty minutes of our home. One such location popped into my head, Burg Vilbel in Bad Vilbel. The drive was easy, the town was easy to maneuver, and there was parking around the Kurpark near the burg. Being it was a beautiful Sunday afternoon, it was busy, but we didn't have a difficult time parking. We parked right next to the Nidda river and started down a lovely walking path that paralleled the peaceful water. The burg was just around the corner from where we parked. It was small, but beautiful. Surrounded by water and adorned with artistic statues lining the exterior walls, the castle was a treat to see. It was in beautiful condition as it is still in use for Burgfestspiele. Burgfestspeiele is a theater festival founded in 1987 with performances from June until September held in the castle. According to the Burgspiele website, they are optimistic about summer performances resuming this year. To find out more, here is the link: https://www.kultur-bad-vilbel.de/burgfestspiele/aktuelles/
One wonderful aspect to Burg Vilbel, is that it sits right in the middle of a lovely Kurpark. The Kurpark itself was teeming with flowers, walkways, art statues, places to picnic, and playgrounds. There was a walking bridge to cross to the other side, and a little cafe that was open with food and drinks, restaurantcafé in der Alten Mühle. We didn't get anything, but there was a line and we saw people with bier, kaffee, and kuchen. There was even a little built-in area on the bank of the river to sit and enjoy your cafe treats right next to the water.
We didn't stay long, but some meandering around the kurpark and downtown was enough to help us relax, and enjoy a beautiful Sunday afternoon.
