The Harz Mountains

Normally our vacation travel involves jets and foreign languages that we do not understand. We head to Tegel, jump on some cheap flight and leave all things German behind in a swirling cloud of CO2. I hate to think of how much greenhouse gas we have contributed to the world in the last three years. Our initial plan for Easter vacation week was to pop down to some sunny beach in Greece, soak up the warmth, take a turbo charged tour of Greek antiquity, and then hop up to the Netherlands for a family weekend. Just another escapade for the jet set King family. Well, popping down to Greece ended up requiring a small fortune. What happened to €100 flights… it was more like €1000! Then the Greek economy imploded and the rioters took to the streets like ants at a picnic. Hmmm, how’s about a little drive through northern Germany kids? Initially that was a tough sell. March 27 – April 3 is not exactly a hospitable time to vacation in the northern hemisphere, and the idea of sitting in a car interspersed with stopping to tour a dusty museum was not well received. What is a parent to do? Eureka! Find another family (preferably one that loves to laugh, loves being outdoors, doesn’t mind inclement weather and is generally a blast to be around) then travel with them to a place where everyone can get outside, see new things and which is preferably cheaper than staying in Berlin. Problem solved.

We rendezvoused with the Hämmerle family at the civilized hour of 10:00 and set off in a convoy west toward the Harz Mountains. Mercedes led the way with her trusty (or is it?) GPS system guiding us. The route led initially to Magdeburg. Mercedes did well until just after that, at which point she decided to take us off the main road, through a little village, and then back across the main road heading suspiciously in the general direction of Greece. I guess she did not like the change in itinerary. In the three years we have known her, she has become a bit senile, so we take it in stride. Anyway, we let her take a nap, and Marcus then led the way in the blue party van. From behind we could watch the silhouette of bopping heads, swaying arms and the occasional Rockette like kick. This family knows how to have fun!

Our first destination was the heart of the Harz, a stunning canyon with cliffs on either side and a rushing river below. The town of Thale lies at the end of the mini Grand Canyon on the Bode river. We did not exactly rough it after grabbing a Würst at the bottom and climbing into gondolas for a scenic ride to the top. The Harz are know for witches and devils, so we were greeted at there by statues of both. These were augmented by the little devils that we had brought along with us. We walked along the ridge gazing down at the river and off across the expanse of the national park. Eventually we wound down to the canyon floor and then toughed it again, stopping for coffee and cake in a cute restaurant. Following the river out of the valley, we were surprised to stumble across three yellow spotted salamanders. They looked glorious… and exactly like the endangered ones in Connecticut. We were later informed by our friend Bob that the German variety excrete a venom that burns if you touch it. Yikes.

Sunday I was surprised to have a little breakfast birthday party. the Hämmerles gave me a terrific present, a photo album from a canoe trip we all did together last year. Fantastic. We then headed out to explore a deep cave. It was first discovered in the 1700’s and is now an entertaining tourist attraction graced by ancient stalagtites and stalagmites as well as a 25,000 year old bear skeleton. Cool. After a delicious lunch we headed into the woods for a snowy hike up Brocken. This is the highest peak in the Harz (about 4,000 feet) and our trek took us through some beautiful pine forest on a hard packed snow trail. Unfortunately we did not quite make it to the peak because of dwindling daylight, but it was a great hike none the less.

Our final morning in the Harz was spent touring the lovely historic city of Wernigerode. It is the quintessential German town, complete with ancient wood framed houses, elaborately decorated public buildings, and a charming pedestrian only zone. After saying goodbye to the Hämmerles, we climbed into our little car and headed west toward the Netherlands. We had had a great start to our vacation.