🇩🇪 Essen Day Trip | Fairytale Escape to Kettwig Village ✨

Just 30 minutes from Essen lies Kettwig - a storybook-perfect town straight out of Grimm's fairytales! Here's why this hidden gem deserves a spot on your North Rhine-Westphalia itinerary: 🏡 Step Into a Living Fairytale • Half-Timbered Houses with flower-box windows that look hand-painted • Cobblestone Alleys where you half-expect to see Little Red Riding Hood skipping by • The 13th-century Old Town Hall that could double as the Seven Dwarfs' cottage Pro Tip: Visit in December when the medieval Christmas market transforms the square into a gingerbread village! 🎄 📸 Must-Capture Spots 1️⃣ Kettwiger Altstadt - The postcard-perfect old town center 2️⃣ Ruhr River Promenade - With its charming watermill & weeping willows 3️⃣ St. Peter's Church - 15th-century Gothic beauty with a twisted spire 🚂 Getting There (Easy!) • From Essen Hbf: Take S6 train (20 mins) • From Düsseldorf: RE1/RE2 (15 mins) • Bonus: Your VRR day ticket covers the trip! 🍽️ Storybook Dining • Café Extrablatt Kettwig - Cozy terrace with homemade Black Forest cake • Brauhaus Kettwig - Try their "Sleeping Beauty" dark beer in a 300-year-old brewpub Fun Fact: The Brothers Grimm collected many tales just 50km from here! 🌿 Beyond the Fairytale • Baldeneysee Lake (10 mins away) - Rent a swan paddleboat 🦢 • Villa Hügel - The "castle" of Essen's industrial royalty #Essen #Kettwig #GermanFairytales #HiddenGermany