Germany 2008 - Harz and Thuringia

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Germany - Harz Mountains and Thuringia
Having enjoyed our teavels through Germany so far we continued heading east through the forested hills of the Harz Mountains to the town of Goslar, a UNESCO World Heritage site, intending to stay overnight at the stellplatz, but as we couldn't find the one listed in the Bord Atlas guide we drove around the town ring road and out through an industrial town of Oker then up a rocky gorge to Okerstausee, a large tree lined reservoir. We found a pleasant stellplatz overlooking the reservoir at Schulenberg a small village of mostly holiday homes and guesthouses. We returned to Goslar the next morning and found free motorhome parking in the lorry/coach park fairly near to the town centre. There are many interesting buildings in the town with distinctive slate-hung fronts, the former treasury with its carillon of bells and animated figures commemorating the town's mining history - best seen at midday, the huge Kaiserpfalz (Imperial palace), the cathedral and the old Kaiserworth with its intriguing decorative figures. There are several museums and art galleries throughout the town, also the large Rammelsberg mining museum is nearby.
Goslar - Hotel Kaiserworth Goslar - Treasury and carillon of bells	Goslar - ornate figures Goslar modern statues
Goslar - decorated building	Okerstausee from Schulenberg
From Goslar we drove through more wooded hills of the Harz national park to the small town of Braunlage which has a cable car and ice rink. It is a popular tourist destination with many shops, some having a witches theme and a very elaborate shop front at the backerei.
Braunlage baker's shop	Braunlage witches
After an overnight stop at the pleasant privately run stellplatz on the edge of the town we followed a route through more forests, stopping for lunch near Drei Annen Hohne, a junction on the Harzer SchmalspurBahnen (HSB) narrow gauge steam railway which runs over 140 kilometres including a steep gradient track to the top of Brocken, at 1140 metres the highest point in the Harz region. Whilst parked up in a small layby, three impressive very smoky trains passed within a few minutes. Continuing east to Wernigerode where the main depot of the railway is situated, we got lost in the narrow streets and eventually discovered a fairground set up on the stellplatz so we decided to drive to Quedlinburg.	HSB steam train
Once past the industrial outskirts it turned out to be a very pleasant town with three stellplatz (we stayed at the one below the castle) and a delightful old centre with over 1300 timber framed buildings which is not yet too touristy. Several of the old buildings are still to be restored but the town square was lively with pavement cafés and statues. Apparently the town was ruled by women for over 800 years and the was the home of the first woman to get a doctorate at a German university in 1754. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. Quedlinberg Quedlinberg town square	Quedlinberg decorated building Quedlinberg cafes Quedlinberg shop sign
The next day we turned south and after several diversions due to road works ended up at the spa town of Bad Langensalza and then into the Hainich National Park, although finding the main park centre proved to be elusive with very little signposting. Eventually after yet more road diversions we spotted a display board in the village of Behringen and eventually found a car park in the hamlet of Hütscheroda with an amazing cat mural on the hotel wall. From there we followed a walk around a waymarked trail with interesting sculptures and had an incomprehensible chat in German to a local farmer passing on a horse drawn wagon.
Sights on the sculpture trail in Hainich National park
Bypassing the large industrial town of Eisenach we arrived at another delightful small town of Treffurt in gentle countryside by the River Werra and the added attraction of a free stellplatz on the riverside. On the edge of the town there were many garden allotments which were traditionally given to town people in the Communist era, many now with small summerhouses. The old town centre had many distinctive timbered buildings and the next morning we walked up the steep hill to Schloss Normanstein which is being restored. Treffurt building detail Treffurt garden plots	Treffurt Schloss Normanstein above Treffurt
After using the autobahn again to avoid Eisenach we turned south into the Thuringerwald forest. Following minor roads from Friedrichroda and Schmalkalden through many small villages in the forest we arrived at the large town of Suhl with many modern buildings. From there the road climbed steeply through the thick forest to the small town of Schmiedefeld where we parked overnight at the stellplatz (with no services) which we eventually found after being somewhat confused as there was another stellplatz listed at Schmiedefeld - a different one about 40 kilometres to the east - don't trust your satnav!). The Rennsteig long distance footpath passed through the town and we also crossed the path at several places the following day. As it was mostly in dense pine forests we thought it would make a rather boring walk compared with the open trails at home.
Kronach old town	Kronach old houses
Our final part of the journey through Germany took us into more forests passing through several small working towns, although Lauscha looked more interesting, a small ski resort with glassware shops. We crossed the state border into Northern Bavaria and reached Kronach, a busy town with an old centre where we stopped overnight. We had a small mishap, breaking off the grey waste tank outlet hose as we drove off but amazingly there was a large B&Q type store a couple of hundred yards from the stellplatz so I was able to buy some pipe fittings for a temporary repair! Once fixed we headed east towards the Czech Republic, crossing the border (with no formalities required) on the main road to Cheb.
Useful Links Goslar HSB railway
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