Monday, May 17th.
This morning before we left I washed a load of clothes. Neither Heidi or Gina have a clothes dryer, so I just put the clothes on a rack and left them in the laundry/boiler room...hoping they would dry in time. I had hoped to do two loads but don´t have the time.
Our plan today is to visit the town of Wernigerode. We drove to Goslar to pick up Heidi´s Mom, Barbara. I had been to Goslar when I visited Heidi and Werner in 1999 and it was just as beautiful as I remembere--if not more so. I had met Barbara in 1999 too. I met Barbara's new husband, Wilhelm. They have recently married after being together for 13 years.
I asked Heidi how they had met and Heidi confessed that she had placed a "lonely hearts" ad in the paper WITHOUT her mother's knowledge! Then Heidi had to tell her mom what she had done. Her mom just laughed and said "why not". She got six replies and two of them seemed to be from men she would like to met. Wilhelm's letter was one of the two. And, as they say...the rest is history. Heidi said there are still "lonely hearts" ads in the paper, but mainly they are placed by older people who are not internet savvy.
Goslar is located at the edge of the Harz mountains. Heidi was born there and said it took her a long time to get used to not seeing the mountains when she moved to Hannover. It is a world heritage site with a population of around 45,000. It is full of half timbered houses, some with intricate slate siding. I saw one house that had 1654 on it as the year it was built. The highest slope in the Harz moutains, Blocksberg (or Brocken), overlooks the town. There is a hotel at the top that can be reached by car or by an old steam train. Goslar really is a gorgeous town, one of the prettiest I have seen.
The Blocksberg has always played a role in legends and myths. It has been connected with witches and the symbol of the Harz mountains is a witch. One legend is that on the last day of April the witches gather on top of the Brocken. Goethe used some of the legends in his play Faust. The Brocken spectre is a common phenomenon on misty days where a climber's shadow cast upon fog creates eerie optical effects.
The Brocken is located in what was East Germany and after the Berlin wall was erected it was designated as a military high-grade security zone and turned it into a fortress. Due to its high altitude the radio station also served to spy on communication signals from the surrounding area. One good thing is that due to the restricted access for so many years the environment has not been damaged and the area has many endangered and nearly extinct species.
Off we went to Wernigerode. This town is located in the former East Germany (the GDR--German Demogratic Republic). On the outskirts of town were some typical East German buildings (probably apartment blocks) but overall it did not look as I imagined an East German town would. Heidi said it had been a resort town for East German workers and was also used as an (inaccurate) example of typical life in the GDR.
The town is picturesque and charming with narrow cobblestone streets and beautiful half timbered buildings. wth intricate carving and detailed doors. There was one building where the entire facade, all four stories, is covered in carvings. Heidi said it is known as the colorful town with the exterior of most houses and shops painted. As opposed to Goslar which is just as beautiful, but the buildings are mainly white with brown or black timbers and often the grey slate. The town hall is a painted a terra cotta color with dark wooden half timbers and overflowing flower boxes. There are figures underneath the roof line of different occupations--baker, blacksmith, farmer, etc to honor the workers. The downspouts on the front of the building are dragons. This building has not changed much (on the exterior) since it's last rebuilding in 1544. There are little hidden alleyways to wander down, and as in every other town I have been to numerous fountains--some classical and some modern.
As a Texan where buildings are considered old if they were built in the 1920's or 1930's that is just amazing. The fact that they were so well built is impressive. I have to wonder if any of the new construction we have today would survive for 500 years.........
There is some grumbling in "western" Germany about the taxes they are having to pay to improve the infrastructure of the former east Germany. But Heidi and Barbara realize that it improves Germany overall. Wernigerode is quite a tourist town, but mainly German and some Dutch. It has not been discovered by Americans, with only 3% of the tourists being Americans. I would highly recommend visiting it and Goslar.
This is asparagus harvest time in Germany with fresh asparagus sold at roadside stands and in the markets. It is specially featured on restaurant menus. Unlike the green asparagus I normally see at home, this asparagus is white and the stalks are huge.
There is a castle high on the hill overlooking the town. To get to the castle we rode in a green tram made to look like a train with the drivers car made like the engine. When I first saw the tram I thought---that would be a fun job, driving the tram all day. But after a teeth rattling ride up the hill where we felt every cobblestone I changed my mind!
Once we got off the tram we walked further up the hill and then up more stairs. I just about managed to keep up with Barbara, who is 12 years older than me.
The castle tour was impressive. We each had hand-held recorded tours. But I will say that there was so much information we wondered if there would be a test afterwards! Unlike castles like Neuschwanstein that are symetrical, this castle was built to be asymetrical to take advantage of the magnificient views. It is constructed to each exteroir room has a breath-taking view. As beautiful as the castle was I am glad I didn't live "back then". It would have been so cold, damp and dark....not to mention all the steps!
On the tram ride down the hill we took a different route going through much of the town. To my surprise, this ride was even bumpier than the ride up the hill.
I asked Heidi how they had met and Heidi confessed that she had placed a "lonely hearts" ad in the paper WITHOUT her mother's knowledge! Then Heidi had to tell her mom what she had done. Her mom just laughed and said "why not". She got six replies and two of them seemed to be from men she would like to met. Wilhelm's letter was one of the two. And, as they say...the rest is history. Heidi said there are still "lonely hearts" ads in the paper, but mainly they are placed by older people who are not internet savvy.
Goslar is located at the edge of the Harz mountains. Heidi was born there and said it took her a long time to get used to not seeing the mountains when she moved to Hannover. It is a world heritage site with a population of around 45,000. It is full of half timbered houses, some with intricate slate siding. I saw one house that had 1654 on it as the year it was built. The highest slope in the Harz moutains, Blocksberg (or Brocken), overlooks the town. There is a hotel at the top that can be reached by car or by an old steam train. Goslar really is a gorgeous town, one of the prettiest I have seen.
The Blocksberg has always played a role in legends and myths. It has been connected with witches and the symbol of the Harz mountains is a witch. One legend is that on the last day of April the witches gather on top of the Brocken. Goethe used some of the legends in his play Faust. The Brocken spectre is a common phenomenon on misty days where a climber's shadow cast upon fog creates eerie optical effects.
The Brocken is located in what was East Germany and after the Berlin wall was erected it was designated as a military high-grade security zone and turned it into a fortress. Due to its high altitude the radio station also served to spy on communication signals from the surrounding area. One good thing is that due to the restricted access for so many years the environment has not been damaged and the area has many endangered and nearly extinct species.
Off we went to Wernigerode. This town is located in the former East Germany (the GDR--German Demogratic Republic). On the outskirts of town were some typical East German buildings (probably apartment blocks) but overall it did not look as I imagined an East German town would. Heidi said it had been a resort town for East German workers and was also used as an (inaccurate) example of typical life in the GDR.
The town is picturesque and charming with narrow cobblestone streets and beautiful half timbered buildings. wth intricate carving and detailed doors. There was one building where the entire facade, all four stories, is covered in carvings. Heidi said it is known as the colorful town with the exterior of most houses and shops painted. As opposed to Goslar which is just as beautiful, but the buildings are mainly white with brown or black timbers and often the grey slate. The town hall is a painted a terra cotta color with dark wooden half timbers and overflowing flower boxes. There are figures underneath the roof line of different occupations--baker, blacksmith, farmer, etc to honor the workers. The downspouts on the front of the building are dragons. This building has not changed much (on the exterior) since it's last rebuilding in 1544. There are little hidden alleyways to wander down, and as in every other town I have been to numerous fountains--some classical and some modern.
As a Texan where buildings are considered old if they were built in the 1920's or 1930's that is just amazing. The fact that they were so well built is impressive. I have to wonder if any of the new construction we have today would survive for 500 years.........
There is some grumbling in "western" Germany about the taxes they are having to pay to improve the infrastructure of the former east Germany. But Heidi and Barbara realize that it improves Germany overall. Wernigerode is quite a tourist town, but mainly German and some Dutch. It has not been discovered by Americans, with only 3% of the tourists being Americans. I would highly recommend visiting it and Goslar.
This is asparagus harvest time in Germany with fresh asparagus sold at roadside stands and in the markets. It is specially featured on restaurant menus. Unlike the green asparagus I normally see at home, this asparagus is white and the stalks are huge.
There is a castle high on the hill overlooking the town. To get to the castle we rode in a green tram made to look like a train with the drivers car made like the engine. When I first saw the tram I thought---that would be a fun job, driving the tram all day. But after a teeth rattling ride up the hill where we felt every cobblestone I changed my mind!
Once we got off the tram we walked further up the hill and then up more stairs. I just about managed to keep up with Barbara, who is 12 years older than me.
The castle tour was impressive. We each had hand-held recorded tours. But I will say that there was so much information we wondered if there would be a test afterwards! Unlike castles like Neuschwanstein that are symetrical, this castle was built to be asymetrical to take advantage of the magnificient views. It is constructed to each exteroir room has a breath-taking view. As beautiful as the castle was I am glad I didn't live "back then". It would have been so cold, damp and dark....not to mention all the steps!
On the tram ride down the hill we took a different route going through much of the town. To my surprise, this ride was even bumpier than the ride up the hill.
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