Why a Booktrail?
What is the story behind the famous Nutcracker tale?
Hiddensee
What you need to know before your trail
Hiddensee imagines the backstory of the Nutcracker, revealing how this entrancing creature came to be carved and how he guided an ailing girl named Klara through a dreamy paradise on a Christmas Eve. At the heart of Hoffmann’s mysterious tale hovers Godfather Drosselmeier– the ominous, canny, one-eyed toy maker made immortal by Petipa and Tchaikovsky’s fairy tale ballet– who presents the once and future Nutcracker to Klara, his goddaughter.
Travel Guide
Hiddensee
Hiddensee: An island of white sandy beaches, salt marshes, steep cliffs, and pine forests north of Berlin in the Baltic Sea, an island that is an enchanting bohemian retreat and home to a large artists’ colony– a wellspring of inspiration for the Romantic imagination .
Hiddensee is a car-free island with around 1,300 inhabitants. It was a holiday destination for East German tourists when Germany was separated by the wall, and is still very popular today.
Grieben is the oldest, northernmost and smallest village on Hiddensee Its name comes from the Slavic word grib (for “mushroom”)
Vitte
The main settlement and the largest and most central village on the island. Its name comes from the word Vit’ which used to donate a place where fish was sold. Horse and cart still transport many goods which come ashore but tractors and other farm vehicules transport the rest.
German folklore
It’s in Vitte where you will really feel the Nutcracker and Brothers Grimm gothic german landscape. Here you can visit the oldest surviving house on the island, the Witch’s House (Hexenhaus), the old summer house for Adolf Reichwein. To make your visit even more magical and spooky, a tented cinema and the Seebühne Hiddensee puppet theatre will complete your visit.
Neuendorf is the southernmost settlement on Hiddensee and has its own harbour.
Booktrail Boarding Pass: Hiddensee: A Tale of the Once and Future Nutcracker
Destination : Hiddensee, Munich, Bavaria Author/Guide: Gregory Maguire Departure Time: Timeless
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