An Inauspicious Start

First we missed the train from Braunschweig to Frankfurt - got the time wrong. However that was just an expensive mistake.

Second: the taxi ride from our hotel out to the airport was a bit of a nightmare. We got caught in a traffic jam in a tunnel and the driver had to try a couple of alternative routes to the airport. That was probably expensive too. Plus the heavens opened just as we were reaching the airport and there was a major downpour with hail, thunder and lightning.

Thirdly: the incredibly heavy rain resulted in water coming through the entrance ceiling like a sprinkler, the whole doorway was flooded and Barry slipped over. A bit embarrassing and he got wet.

Then finally Barry got stopped at the security scanner when he walked through it, plus they went right through his pack.

Let's hope our flight is not delayed because the airport shuts down at 11pm and no flights go out after that. Our flight is due out at 10.10.

I think I'll have another wine !

Bye bye Bike, Hello Suitcase

We had a particularly yummy cheese cake at Barry's farewell afternoon tea except I don't think it had any cheese in it. The middle layer was made from yogurt cream elderberry and gelatine and the top had real strawberries in gelatine. Very light and yummy!

Last of the Sight Seeing

With our departure day fast approaching it was time to knock off the last couple of things I wanted to see in Braunschweig. Namely the remnants of the city wall (I have a fascination with city walls) and viewing the 'Quadriga' from the viewing platform on top of the old Palace.

There is only 1 small section of the original 5m high city wall still standing which was built in the 12th/13th century.  Most of the wall area has now been converted into parks.

The palace was heavily damaged in the war and was actually pulled down in 1960, then rebuilt as a shopping centre in 2004 using the original facade.  They also re-made the 'Quadriga', 4 horses pulling a chariot with the Goddess Brunonia at the reins.  It is cast in copper, stands 9m high and weighs 25.8t and is the largest in Europe.

Braunschweig had a rough time during the second world war and was one of the most heavily bombed cities in Germany, because of the armament factories here.  It was bombed 42 times, with the last bombing in 1944 when 233 bombers dropped their loads destroying 90% of the city centre and causing a fire that burned for 2-3 days.  Because of the fires, the 23,000 people in 5 of the 6 bunkers nearly died because they were running out of oxygen, but the fire fighters managed to create a water alley and only 1 group of people in the 6th bunker didnt survive.  It took them 17 years to clear the rubble.  The city was rebuilt rapidly but a lot of the original medieval city was cleared away to make room for cars, creating a 'second destruction'  of Braunschweig.

Today Braunschweig still has some amazing buildings but it has a lot more very ordinary buildings as a result of the fast rebuild and limited amount of money.

 

 

Apps for the iphone

There is nothing like travel to make the most of the apps on your iphone!

I have apps for the public transport in all the major cities we have been to: Frankfurt, Marburg, Braunschweig, Berlin, Paris, Hamburg and Dusselfdorf (although only Barry ended up going there), which allows us to find when the next tram or bus runs, which one to catch where, how much the ticket costs and even allows you to buy tickets; and also one for DB rail and Thalys for all the intercity rail trips.

I use 'Camera+' for all my photographs; I communicate with family and friends via skype, viber, facetime, snapchat, facebook and email;  I learn german from duolingo and have a german/english dictionary; I have an airNZ app for my flights; BNZ for banking; Strava for mapping the cycling and walking I do and to figure out where I am and where to go to; trip advisor to give advice on things to do, restaurants and to book tours; find friends and find iphone to keep track of me and my phone; cycle routes in germany - although the circles denoting all the coffee shops blocks the streets which makes it a bit useless in towns where you really need an app to show where you are and how to get somewhere; booking.com to book accommodation; and today I downloaded 'Tunein Radio' so now I am streaming "More FM Manawatu" - couldn't seem to find Radio NZ.

And I have found a use for the gaps between our beds!  (not an app though).

A Warm Sunday Afternoon

28 degrees here in Braunschweig so I did what all good germans do when it is sunny.  Go to the park and lie in the sun and read a book.  I didnt bother with the coffee and cake though!

Descent from the Harz Mountains

Clausthal-Zellerfield is at just under 600m with the highest peak of the Harz Mountain range (the Brocken) being 1100m. The Harz mountains and the Brocken are famous for their myths and stories of witches on broomsticks and Goethe wrote "Faust" based on this area.  The East-West german demarcation line also ran through the Harz with the Soviets having a spy station on top of the Brocken.  The removal of lots of little towns on the east german side of the line resulted in the ability to create the Harz national park after reunification.

The Harz Mountains are a skiing mecca in winter and a popular area for hiking, swimming and mountain biking in summer.  Being Saturday I passed hordes of people in the forest out nordic walking (with 2 poles), hiking and mountain biking.  There were also big groups of motor bikes passing along the busy highways that pass through the Harz region.

Once again I was on an old railway line but that soon changed to a four wheel drive forest trail down and around the very steep sided gullies on the hill side.  The area was made rich with mainly silver mining and you can still see the channels and dams cut into the hill side to direct the water to the mines.

I have to say I find it a little nerve wracking cycling through gravel tracks in dense forest for 30min or more never being 100% sure that I am on the right trails and hoping that when I pop out of the trees there will be a signpost and recognizable land marks.  Further down there were dam-ed lakes which aid in flood protection and also provide water and hydro power.  To fish there you apparently need a health certificate!

Old railway bridge

Cycle path over old railway bridge

Water channels in the side of the hill

Lake Sösestau

Ascent of the Harz

I still had a bit of the Weser-Harz-Heide cycle ride to do so thought I would knock off the Harz section before we went home.  That would mean I would have completed 309km of the 414km ride and as I had cycled along the Weser river I wasn't over-fussed about doing that section.  Also I am a bit over trying to navigate my way through towns and it is much harder when you are not following a river.

So caught the train to Goslar, then spent half an hour trying to navigate my way out of Goslar (ended up back at the railway station so never got lost).  Finally headed up hill and then discovered the small front chain ring on my bike wasn't working which made it pretty tough on the hills.

A lot of the trail was either next to a busy road or an old train track that used to go through the Harz mountains. The final part was a 3.5km climb up through forest on a gravel road where I had to resort to pushing the bike. I emerged out of the forest at the top and lo and behold there was a camping ground with semi permanent caravans and playgrounds.  I had arrived at Clausthal-Zellerfield in the middle of the Harz mountains and climbed 500m to get there.

Cycle way along old train track

Church in Clausthal-Zellerfield

Clausthal-Zellerfield