Took the train to Kassel in northern Hesse, a city which everyone seems to agree is in "the middle of nowhere". It dates from 913 AD (then known as Chasella) and in the 16th century became a centre of calvinist Protestantism in Germany. This is an interesting counterpoint to nearby Paderborn which is known as the most Catholic of German cities. Kassel is also known as the place where the brothers Grimm resided when they collected and wrote the stories which fed all the fears of my childhood!

The city itself is pretty charmless. It lost more than 90% of its buildings through bombing at the end of WWII. 10,000 people, mainly civilians, were killed and 150,000 people were left homeless. So, like London and Berlin, there was a need to rebuild quickly meaning that there are now lots of very plain 1950s box buildings where once must have stood a beautiful old city. Of passing interest is that Kassel was considered a candidate for the capital of the newly created Federal Republic of Germany in 1945, an honour which was ultimately bestowed upon Bonn.

A few historic buildings were restored including the Museum Fridericianium.

The city is now known for Documenta, an exhibition of modern art which began in 1955 and now takes place every 5 years. I was just too early for the next instalment which is in June this year. Documenta's legacy is a series of artworks dotted through out the city centre. Some of these are quite unobtrusive - you really have to be told that they are there!

The perfect example of this is the artwork The Vertical Earth Kilometre by Walter de Maria. This is a 1 km long brass rod inserted vertically into the ground in Friedrichsplatz. All that is visible is the circular top surface of the rod which is embedded in a sandstone plate. To appreciate this work is to explore the depths of your own imagination. It is meant to be an allegory of our own planet and its infinitesimal presence in our universe.

My favourite installation was the glass walled stairway (seen above) in the AOK Hessen Consulting Centre. I found the artwork within to be elusive: it is a subtle sound installation. But the stairway is a great example of beautiful modern architecture hidden within an everyday office building.

And one of the more iconic artworks must be Man Walking To The Sky by Jonathan Borofsky. It is located in the square as you walk from the Hauptbahnhof and should be one of the first things you see upon arrival in the city. (It managed to elude me - I contrived to walk straight past it on my way to Friedrichsplatz and eventually found it by consulting my guide book!)

Wilhemshöhe

I the took the tram to Wilhelmshöhe which is on the western edge of the city. This is the site of the palace of the same name (built in 1786) and the magnificent Bergpark. The Löwenburg within the park was used to imprison Naploleon III at the conclusion of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. The whole site has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2013.

Being short of time I gave the palaces a miss and took a walk through the magnificent park up to the replica statue of Hercules (and I mean UP - it was quite a climb). Apart from being a beautiful environment the park is known for its water cascades. These were under renovation during my time there but in any case only run during the warmer months from May to October.

This is a place to which I must return!