Excursion on 10.06.2015 From Kassel to the east coast of America - fairy tales reinterpreted

The trip to the Reinhardswald forest was embellished with information from Prof. Dr. Milena Mileva Blazic from the University of Ljubljana. 

In the primeval forest "Reinhardswald" Prof. Dr. em. Gerd Rohmann presented the importance of the role of nature in Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel and Snow White, which he explained to the audience in an interesting way with his knowledge as a hunter and environmentalist. The enchantment of the Sababurg primeval forest was a fitting introduction to the fairytale excursion.

The next stop on the excursion was the "Sleeping Beauty Castle". A guided tour of Sababurg Castle, which was rounded off by a retelling of the fairytale Sleeping Beauty , aroused such great interest among the students that no one fell into a 100-year sleep. The scent of the roses on the castle walls and the presentation of the fairy tale, which was prepared by a group of students, invited them to immerse themselves in the fairy tale. The students are now concerned by the current news that the "Sleeping Beauty Castle" is to be closed for around two years due to renovation work.

At Trendelburg Castle, some dared to attempt to rescue Rapunzel from her tower. The narrow spiral staircase proved to be a real challenge. "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!" was the motto of another group of students who found that their 8-metre-long braid was still too short to allow the prince to enter, even from the lowest window of the tower.

The multilingual interpretation of the fairy tale Rapunzel with an Icelandic-speaking father, a dialect-speaking Rapunzel and an English-speaking prince was particularly successful and gave the fairy tale a new charm.

At the last stop in the "Snow White village" of Gieselwerder, the excitement was great as a crime against Snow White had to be solved. The group of students had succeeded in successfully transferring the fairy tale of Snow White into the modern age.

In the new interpretation, Snow White lives with her father and mother on the east coast of America. After her mother's death, her father remarries. The new wife hates Snow White and instructs the huntsman to kidnap and kill her stepdaughter. She escapes and finds shelter with seven social workers. Although they warn her, Snow White eats one of her stepmother's apples and faints. The police then interrogate the suspects and the crime involving Snow White is solved. The stepmother is guilty and is punished. Fortunately, Snow White awakens and marries her doctor, Dr. Steven Prince. 

Enchanted by the journey to the land of fairy tales, the group set off home together. It was now clear to everyone that fairy tales mean more than simply reading a story. Fairy tales are representation, fairy tales are storytelling, fairy tales are change and fairy tales can be brought to life in different ways.

Vanessa Döring, Lisa Lavall and Prof. Dr. Claudia Finkbeiner