Wednesday 21 July 2010 Harz Mountains

We are off on a tour of the Harz Mountains in the company of a local guide, Michael.
We all meet at the coach at 09:30 and Michael introduces himself, telling us that we shall have four stops (it was six in the end!) along the way seeing some lovely scenery.
All of today is new to me and I am always keen to visit places I haven't been to before. It is always extra strings to ones bow!
We drive through pretty Bad Harzburg to our first stop at Torfhaus, a highpoint that offers great views of the surrounding area. This is the highest point we drive to today and although not spectacular it is still very impressive. There are cafes, restaurants, souvenir shops and a small museum. We can see across to the Brocken where we were yesterday.
Stop two is in the town of Bad Lauterburg. We are visiting a type of visitor centre that has a museum, bar, local items for sale and a wonderful garden. Oh, and toilets! I think most of the group use the loos and queue for a coffee at the small bar when they are missing the gorgeous gardens. We don't have time to visit the town but that looks lovely as well and this is definitely somewhere you could spend a lot longer, it would make an ideal lunch stop.
Stop three is in the university town of Clausthal-Zellerfeld that is home to one of the largest wooden churches in Europe. The passengers all visit the church and I think are a little disappointed they couldn't join a proposed tour by a man working there. They all thought it would take too long which is a shame. Where we parked there were a couple of workmen working in the road and one of them is wearing a Chelsea shirt! The word is reaching far out places and there is no escape!! Probably a Michael Ballack fan. There is a mining college here and Michael shows us a couple of massive waterwheels as well as explaining about the various university buildings. There are a lot of Chinese people here which is unusual in these parts. I later learnt that he studied mining engineering here.
Stop four is at the home of the puff king! "Der Windbeutel-Konig"Here you are welcomed by the puff king's parents (he is away) ringing a bell at the entrance to their restaurant. The setting is lovely beside the Oker lake. They are famous all over Germany for their puff pastry dishes that come in medium and large sizes. If you eat two large puffs you can have a thidr free! The medium size is big and the large is bigger!! They come with most types of fruit with cream or you can have savoury puffs with local cheese and hams. I play safe with a goulash soup. Some of the passengers try them, some even eating the large ones! Yes you know who you are!
This is a great place to stop for lunch and a must if ever out this way.
Stop five is a little further up the lake to a viewpoint that takes in two arms of the lake and two bridges, an impressive sight.
Stop six is at the dam at the endof the Okersee and again this is impressive. It is so hot now that even I eat an ice cream, something I rarely do. The temperature is 33 degrees.
On the way back to Goslar Michael takes us to the Rammelsburg mine, a magnificent building high above the town. We only drive by but Colin and Pat Langrish visited here on Monday and did all three tours. It sounds like a place that must be seen when I come back to Goslar.
The tour has been very interesting and Michael has put a lot of thought into the itinerary. Everywhere we have visited has been different and interesting in its own right and Michael has proved to be a great guide. I have learnt a lot today.
We have seen a lot of forests and pretty towns and even driven up a 18 degree slope that made me feel I was sitting back in an armchair as I drove up! A lot of the buildings are covered in coloured wooden planks and it reminds me very much of Norway.
It has been exceptionally hot today and the coach air conditioning is struggling a bit, I think it needs the gas topping up.
There is a folk evening on tonight which most of the group have paid €4 each to attend. It is in the dining room we use and is not one of the best nights out! It is much too hot in the room and from what I can gather (I didn't see it) it is a little boring. The highlight of the evening is a bust up with a fat Danish driver/courier and some English people who have sat in the wrong seats. Well, the wrong seats in the eyes of doughnut man. He really loses it and makes himself look a bit silly. I wish I was there!
I cannot cool down and am very tired so end up going to bed by nine and lying in the cool breeze of my fan. It takes me a while to cool down.