Fairy Tale Town Under the Witch Tower
"Idstein": A name full of "German" flavor, a unique and charming town, a place that makes people feel childlike and innocent.
This is a suburb only 40 kilometers from Frankfurt, rarely visited by Chinese tour groups. Unexpectedly, this deep tour brought us to a place where Germans vacation.
This is a fairy tale town that can cure everything—colorful, richly vibrant half-timbered houses, winding cobblestone streets. It is tranquil and quaint here, with few tourist buses from afar, and the residents' friendly smiles greet visitors.
When you look up after parking, you see a hexagonal tower standing in the cotton candy-like clouds, also known as the "Witch Tower"❶⓲. The hexagonal tower has been around for years, dating back to 1170, and is a landmark building here. It is said that witches were often hunted in ancient times, and the hexagonal tower was used to imprison witches.
To the lower left of the ancient tower is the most interesting "Crooked House" (Das Schiefe Haus)❺❾(above): an imaginative building painted bright blue with yellow window frames, looking quite unserious compared to the houses next to it.
Next to the blue crooked house is the very neat red house❾(above), which contrasts sharply with it. This "Town Hall" located in the central square has every window filled with white flowers, making it particularly eye-catching.
Idstein is very small, with only 23,000 people. The "King Adolf Square" in the center of the old town probably formed in the 15th-17th centuries. Today, this area is entirely a pedestrian zone, with exquisite shops, restaurants, and cafes.
A cafe called Killingerhaus is the most beautifully decorated house in Idstein❾(lower left in the picture), with many carvings on the front, presented in mint green. This cafe was established around 1350 and is one of Germany's most artistically valuable half-timbered buildings, very pleasing to the eye.
Next to it is another beautiful wooden house cafe called Cafe zum Löwen (❾lower middle in the picture). Why recommend it? Because it has ladies' favorite Black Forest cake ice cream.
I wandered alone into the depths of the town. At this moment, having a lollipop in my mouth might be the most fitting.
I walked into a neighborhood by the street, where there are still residential houses with wavy roofs❸, a church with oval windows⓱, street-side balconies from 1650❹... Everywhere is filled with novelty and childlike fun.
More than 200 colorful half-timbered houses from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance still stand in the old town❷❸❺❽❾❿⓭⓮⓯, and the 600-year-old fairy tale continues. Elderly ladies strolling leisurely, old men smoking pipes on benches, time seems to slow down here.
Walking and walking, I stopped in front of the window of a real estate agency, looking at the pictures of beautiful houses for sale, suddenly thinking: Living in this "pleasant little town" as the Germans call it, would I "rejuvenate"!