That's Joe and Claudia with Claudia's mother, Margret. They had come to Kassel, where Margret was born, 
to celebrate her 80th birthday with family. I connected with them at the end of my visit to Waldlaubersheim, and tagged along on our last day in Europe for a walk in this magnificent park.
Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe occupies just under a square mile on the side of a mountain. At the top, a copper statue of Hercules stands as a city monument, but we were far more captivated by everything Hercules oversees - forest paths, lakes and waterfalls, formal gardens and castle ruins. The park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in June 2013 [opens in a separate browser window or tab, and explains the waterworks which were not operating during our visit].
There was a monastery here in the Middle Ages; the current park traces its origins to the 1600s with the construction of the Hercules monument and its water displays. 
A classical palace, 
Schloss Wilhelmshöhe, was added in 1785. Like much of Kassel, Schloss Wilhelmshöhe was bombed during World War II; it has been rebuilt as an art museum. Other features inside the park include the picturesque Löwenburg, built around 1800. This pseudo-medieval castle was intended as landscape decoration, with a few rooms that could be lived in. But within a few decades, Löwenburg had become a Gothic mountain castle, a forerunner of some of the more famous European castles of the 19th century.
The pictures on this page show some of what we enjoyed during our walk through just a small part of this park. Click on More Wilhelmshöhe Photos to see more of its beautiful scenery, including Schloss Wilhelmshöhe, Löwenburg and the Hercules Monument.