RO: Ca Bavaria e plina de castele care mai de care mai impunatoare, mai somptuoase ori mai cocotate in varf de cine stie ce deal semet, cu privelisti de ti se taie respiratia catre vaile din jur, cu ziduri inalte de piatra, turnuri si turnulete, sute de camere cochete, gradini ca scoase din povesti si-o istorie de sute de ani, stiam deja. Dar ca pe aproape de Frankfurt, orasul corporatist al Germaniei (despre care umbla vorba in targ ca ar fi plictisitor si ca n-ar avea nici bucatica din farmecul bavarez al Munchen-ului sau din atmosfera plina de viata si culoare a Berlinului), s-ar afla o minunatie de castel ascunsa in mijlocul padurii, de parca ar fi o oaza de liniste si verde care face nota discordanta cu haosul specific zonei, habar n-aveam! Asa ca spunem sarut-mana Tripadvisor-ului (pe care nu prea il folosim de regula) pentru recomandarea facuta. Nu de alta, dar hotelul-castel Kronberg e la doar o aruncatura de bat de centrul Frankfurt-ului, in oraselul Kronberg im Taunus, aflat la vreo 30 de minute de mers cu masina de la aeroport, in mijlocul dealurilor impadurite, a gradinilor de trandafiri, a copacilor vechi de cand lumea si-a terenurilor de golf!

EN: The fact that Bavaria is full of imposing and sumptuous castles, perched up on some high and mighty hills, with breathtaking views towards the valleys that surround them, with tall walls made of stone, towers and turrets, hundreds of stylish rooms, gardens as taken out of a fairy tale and a history of hundreds and hundreds of years – that’s something that we already knew. But the fact that somewhere close to Frankfurt, the corporate city of Germany (rumor has it that the city is boring and it lacks Munich’s Bavarian charm or the atmosphere full of life and color from Berlin) there is a gorgeous castle hidden in the middle of the forest, as if it would be an oasis of tranquility and greenery that is opposing with the so typical chaos from the area, well… that’s something that we simply had no idea about! So we thank Tripadvisor this time (which we do not use so often) for the recommendation made. The schlosshotel Kronberg is just a stone’s throw away from the center of Frankfurt, in the small town of Kronberg im Taunus, at about 30 minutes driving from the airport, in the middle of the forested hills, the rose gardens, the old trees and the golf terrains!










RO: Si daca Neuschwanstein pare sa musteasca in dulcegarii si romantism, ei bine, povestea castelului Kronberg bate orice scenariu de Disneyland 🙂 Pentru ca in spatele arhitecturii gotice, a zidurilor reci de piatra si-a interiorului impunator, se afla povestea de dragoste dintre printesa Victoria si Frederic al III-lea, cel care a condus Germania in 1888 pentru mai putin de 100 de zile. Nici nu-i de mirare ca tot castelul e plin de simboluri si declaratii de iubire pentru “Fritz”, tablouri si portrete, mesaje, fotografii alb-negru si tot soiul de inscriptii. Ba mai mult chiar, printesa Victoria si-a dorit ca primul lucru pe care il observa oricine intra in castel sa fie chiar portretul sotului sau, in balconul din lobby-ul hotelului. Iar apoi, pe terasa din spatele castelului, ce da fix inspre terenurile de golf, sta inscriptia initialelor celor doi, tocmai ca oricine serveste micul dejun pe terasa sa isi aminteasca de iubirea printesei engleze si-a conducatorului neamt. Si adevarul e ca mixul acesta britanico-german este tare reusit! In prezent, castelul apartine casei de Hessa, la fel ca cel din Fulda sau ca cel din Johannisberg (cu tot cu podgoriile care il inconjoara).

EN: And if Neuschwanstein seems to abound in sloppiness and romanticism, oh well, the story at Kronberg castle beats any Disneyland scenario  🙂 Because behind the gothic architecture, the cold stone walls and the imposing interior, we have the love story between princess Victoria and Frederick III, the emperor that ruled Germany in 1888 for less than 100 days. No wonder the castle is full of symbols and love statements for “Fritz”, paintings and portraits,  messages, black and white photographs and all kind of inscriptions. Even more than that, princess Victoria wanted that the first thing one can see when entering the castle to be precisely her husband’s portrait, in the balcony from the hotel’s lobby. And then, on the terrace behind the castle, which leads directly to the golf course, there is the inscription with the initials of Victoria and Frederick, so that anyone who serves breakfast on the terrace to be reminded of the love between the English princess and the German emperor. And the truth is that this English and German mix is a really successful one! At the moment, the castle belongs to Hesse family, as well as the one from Fulda and Johannisberg (as well as the surrounding wineries).








RO: Toate ca toate, insa mai presus de exteriorul impunator, gradinile superbe pline de trandafiri si alei pietruite, terenurile de golf si padurea care se intinde pe hectare intregi, sunt camerele si intregul interior al hotelului. Atata istorie si atatea obiecte antice, autentice, atatea detalii perfecte, toate te fac sa ai impresia c-ai nimerit taman pe la 1900, la vreun cocktail sau serata dansanta, printre familiile regale 🙂 Castelul Kronberg, numit initial Friederichshof, a fost terminat in 1893 (la cinci ani dupa moartea lui Frederic al III-lea), iar de la 1954 pana in prezent a fost folosit ca hotel de lux. Era impresionant si pe vremuri, insa de curand a fost restaurat si redecorat de catre un designer britanic. Care pare-se ca a facut o treaba absolut geniala, pentru ca a pastrat caracterul original al celor 62 de camere,  decorandu-le in acelasi stil si punand in valoare obiectele antice, originale, ale printesei Victoria, insa a adus si o nota moderna, cat sa nu-i lipseasca nimic turistului venit sa se bucure de farmecul secolului trecut. Semineu in salonul central, biblioteci uriase doldora de carti vechi, podele de marmura, sculpturi, decoratiuni somptuoase, multe dintre ele fiind chiar cele originale (indeosebi in restaurant), sau ferestre inalte, din lemn autentic, ce dau inspre gradinile din spatele hotelului sau inspre padurea ce acopera dealurile Taunus. Aaa si cireasa de pe tort e faptul ca-ti poti lasa pantofii la usa camerei (in exterior bineinteles) si-a doua zi ii gasesti gata lustruiti si dichisiti 🙂

EN: All in all, but above the imposing exterior, the gorgeous gardens full of roses and cobblestone alleys, the golf courses and the forest that expands on acres, there are the rooms and the entire interior of the hotel. So much history and so many antique objects, authentic ones, so many perfect details, which all make you think that you’ve been transported somewhere in the 1900, at a cocktail party or who knows what dancing party, among royal families 🙂 The Kronberg castle, initially named Friederichshof was finalized in 1893 (five years later after the death of Frederick III), and since 1954 until present times it has been used as a luxurious hotel. It was impressive in the old times as well, but now it has been recently renovated and redecorated by a British designer. Who has surpassed herself and did an amazing job, because she kept the original character of the 62 rooms, decorating them in the same old style and making the most of the antique, original objects that belonged to princess Victoria, but at the same time bringing a modern touch, so that the tourist will have everything he wants so that he can enjoy the charm of the last century. Fireplace in the central saloon, huge libraries packed with old books, marble floors, sculptures, sumptuous decorations, most of them the original ones (especially in the restaurant) or tall windows, from authentic wooden, which open towards the garden behind the hotel or towards the forest that covers the Taunus hills. Aaaah and the cherry on top is the fact that you can leave your shoes by the door of the room (outside the room, of course), and the second day you will find them already polished and cleaned 🙂














RO: Adevarul e ca intregul hotel pare un muzeu, in care abia indraznesti sa atingi obiectele expuse. Si-atat de pretios pare totul la Kronberg, ca simti cum te transpui in timpuri trecute, pe vremea cand Wilhelm al II-lea, fiul Victoriei si-al lui Fritz, isi concepea planurile, ideile si viziunile complet diferite de ideologiile liberale ale parintilor sai. Dar hei, Kronberg nu este despre Wilhelm al II-lea si nici despre primul razboi mondial, ci despre dragostea dintre Victoria si Frederic al III-lea, o dragoste sincera in ciuda faptului ca cei doi au avut o casnicie aranjata – ca mai toate casatoriile de la acea perioada dintre britanici si nemti 🙂 Ei si uite ca de-acum incolo nu mai avem motiv sa evitam Frankfurt-ul pe motiv ca nu-i deloc reprezentativ pentru Germania. Poate ca n-o fi la fel de frumos ca Munchen-ul, insa are atat de multe locuri frumoase, sate autentice si castele de poveste in imprejurimi, ca parc-ar merge un road trip de vreo doua zile pe valea Rinului 🙂 Ca tot le place nemtilor sa se laude cu drumurile lor tematice (ne amintim si de Drumul Caselor de Barne, si de Drumul Romantic din Bavaria, Drumul Vinurilor sau Drumul Povestilor Fratilor Grimm), asa facem si noi un Drum al Rinului sau si mai bine, un Drum al imprejurimilor Frankfurt-ui si trecem rapid pe lista, la o prima cautare pe harta, si Konigstein, si Limburg, Friedberg, Wiesbaden, Mainz, Bad Soden sau Bad Nauheim, Sulzbach, Hoffheim, Steinfurth, Munzenberg, Rudesheim sau Marburg (ca prea ne-a tentat cu castelul cocotat pe deal, vazut de pe autostrada, in drum spre Hanovra). Cat despre alte castele frumoase din preajma Frankfurt-ului, sigur vom merge sa vedem si Schloss Johannisburg si-apoi neaparat castelul Heidelberg! Dar pana una alta, mai stam putin, numai putin in curte la Kronberg, ca prea e vremea minunata si nu ne mai saturam de gradina de trandafiri!

EN: The truth is that the entire hotel seems to be a museum, where you barely dare to touch the exposed items. Everything is so precious at Kronberg, that you can almost feel like going back in time, when Wilhelm II, the son of Victoria and Fritz, was conceiving his plans, his ideas and his vision, completely different from the liberal ideology of his parents. But hey, Kronberg is not about Wilhelm II, nor about the first world war, but about the love between Victoria and Frederick III, a true love despite the fact that they had an arranged marriage – as almost all the marriages between the English and German people from that time 🙂 And looks like from now on we have no reason to avoid Frankfurt anymore, even though it might not seem representative for Germany at all. Maybe this is not as beautiful as Munchen is, but it has so many beautiful places, authentic villages and fairy tale castles around, so the idea of a two days road trip on the Rhine valley sounds pretty good 🙂 We already know that the German people like to brag about their themed roads (as the Timber Frame Road, the Romantic Road from Bavaria, the Wine Road or the Grimm Brothers Fairy Tale Road), we should also invent a so called “Rhine Road”  or “Frankfurt’s Surroundings Road” 😀 And we’ll rapidly include a couple of places that caught our eye at a first glance on the map: Konigstein, Limburg, Friedberg, Wiesbaden, Mainz, Bad Soden or Bad Nauheim, Sulzbach, Hoffheim, Steinfurth, Munzenberg, Rudesheim or Marburg (as it tempted us with its perched on the hill castle that we’ve seen from the highway, on our way to Hanover). As for the beautiful castles around Frankfurt, for sure we’ll visit the Johannisburg Castle and then the Heildeberg one! But until then, we spend a couple of more minutes at Kronberg, as the weather is lovely and we can’t seem to get enough of this rose garden!