Excursion on 10.06.2015 From Kassel to the East Coast of America - Fairy tales reinterpreted

The trip to the Reinhardswald 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 brought to the listeners in an interesting way with his knowledge as a hunter and environmentalist. The enchantment of the primeval forest Sababurg was a fitting introduction to the fairy tale excursion.

The next stop of the excursion was the "Sleeping Beauty Castle". A guided tour of the Sababurg, which was completed by a narration of the fairy tale  Sleeping Beauty , met with such great interest among the students that no one fell into a 100-year sleep. The scent of roses on the castle walls, as well as the presentation of the fairy tale 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 shut down for about two years for renovation work.

On Trendelburg Castle, some dared to try 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-meter-long self-braided 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 as well as 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, excitement was high as a crime against Snow White had to be solved. The group of students had succeeded in a very successful transfer of the fairy tale Snow White into modern times.

In the new interpretation, Snow White lives with her father and mother on the East Coast of America. After the death of her mother, her father marries again. The new wife hates Snow White and instructs the huntsman to kidnap and kill the 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. Snow White fortunately awakens and marries her doctor, Dr. Steven Prince. 

Enchanted by the journey to the land of fairy tales, the group made their way home together. It was now clear to all: 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