Today I decided un-change my schedule that I changed and decided to visit the town of Hameln afterall, (spelled Hamelin in the English.) It was a city I wanted to go to for a while, but wasn’t sure if I’d ever really come back, so I figured I should do it as long as I’m in the area. Weather and the length of train ride and delays made it a very short day, but still moderately enjoyable. The town of Hameln is famous for its long and colorful history, but it is most known for being the town of the sneaky Rattenfänger von Hameln (Rat Catcher of Hameln), also known as the Pied Piper. Who was he, and what did he do? Sometimes you hear the term come up, and I’m here to learn you good.

As the legend goes, it was kinda of a long time ago, back in the year 1287, when the mysterious Pied Piper came to the town of Hameln. Pied meaning colorful, with bright and gaudy, fancy clothes, and piper, meaning he played a Magic Flute. The town of Hameln was having a serious rat infestation problem, so the city folk had hired him to use his flute to lure away all the rats out of town, saving them from the plague, which he did. When the time came for him to receive payment for his services, the town decided they didn’t want to pay him, so he left. A short while later he returned with the flute and used it to lure away the town’s children who then disappeared, leaving the remaining families and townsfolk horrified.

But Jon, that’s just a fictitious tale! That never really happened! Well, you would at least be right about there not being a magic flute, but there are numerous historical reports from around 1287 that a strange man really did show up to the town of Hameln and managed to lure away up to 130 children. There’s various versions and meanings of the story written by the Grimm Brothers, and Goethe among others.

I went to the town church in the old town, St. Nicholas, which was neat, and went to the very top of the tower, step by step, and got a nice view of the old town. Its rather interesting as right in the middle of the old half-timber housing there is a large, modern and neat looking shopping mall. I went to the Hameln History Museum, a multi floor structure in an old clubhouse detailing the history of the city from it’s early days to its time during WW2. Inside is also a theater, with the strangest… weirdest… most… There’s no words, it just left me going “what?” It’s a mini theater and on the stage is a set of the town of Hameln with a large chest in the middle. Projectors on top project lots of little rats running around all over the place, then little Wall-E + Short Circuit Robot Hybrids arise out of the chest and say things, which I didn’t understand. Then a Megaphone on a forklift (representing the Piper) slowly wheels in and talks to the Wall-E rejects. The stage goes dark, the set opens up and the (a different) megaphone on a forklift wheels in and plays a tune, and the projectors portrays all the rats running out of the city. Stage goes dark, then lights up ago, then the megaphone wheels in to collect from the chest. The Wall-E rejects decline and he wheels out again. Stage goes dark, then lights up again, The Pied Piper comes in and plays the tune, and lots of little white shirts on hangers slide in and round out of the town on a track on the ceiling…

So I spent some time walking around, then suddenly it started raining really hard, and I had left my coat and umbrella back in the room as it was pretty clear when I left. So I just went back after getting dinner. There is a famous tour you can take with a guide dressed as the piper complete with flute that takes you around the city telling you of the town’s history, and the tale of the Pied Piper. Unfortunately it is only available in German, unless you book a private tour ahead of time for an English one at the cost of around $85 (for groups of 1-30). The trip to Hameln was a little disappointing (weather was a big factor) since it’s far out of the way for so little from my next stop, and coming straight here after Goslar then to Kassel would have been faster, but I don’t regret going. Also another change of plans, but this time a good one. I decided while writing this to change my next stop and add a city a bit closer.