All the gauge
Get on board for a magical trip into Germany’s Harz Mountains
Some would say I’d found my natural habitat… with the wicked witches on Brocken Mountain. But I did ditch the pointy black hat for furry ear muffs as I arrived a little early for Walpurgis Night on April 30, when the summit was still capped in winter’s white stuff.
Legend has it that Witches’ Night is when old crones like me gather at the 3,744ft peak – the highest in Germany’s Harz Mountains – to meet up with the Devil on the eve of the feast day of Saint Walpurga (an 8th century English missionary).
I don’t think German folklore quite gets it right about the Devil – so spellbinding is this special spot, which offers a huge panorama of gorgeous views, that one feels closer to a far more heavenly being.
My broomstick was due a service, so I let the marvellous Brocken steam train take the strain of getting me to the top, all the while puffing out magical clouds of vapour with a cheerful whistle while it worked its wheezing way up to the pinnacle. So happy is its Thomas the Tank Engine disposition that fans rush to pay homage along its merry route.
Whatever the season, this is an experience not to be missed, whether you’re there purely for the views, the nostalgia of steam travel or to get those feet walking along one of a myriad of meandering paths downhill.
Trains were of course quite a feature of this Rail Discoveries holiday. And how wonderful it was not to have to deal with airport angst or a no-thrills airline luggage allowance equivalent to an envelope, and come all the way from the UK by rail – generous seat space, big windows looking out on a changing landscape, even free wifi from Brussels onwards for those who can’t go long without a screen fix.
Yet another chance to release your inner trainspotter is to venture underground.
Who knew that exploring the ore mines of Rammelsberg on its rumbling rail track could be so fascinating? They are apparently the only such mines in the world to have operated uninterrupted for more than 1,000 years until their closure in 1998, after which they were turned into a museum. It was the first industrial monument in Germany to be recognised by Unesco and was given world heritage status in 1992.
I have to confess I was more excited to learn that George Clooney spent some time down there filming scenes for 2014 movie The Monuments Men. I could almost feel his caress as I touched the very same wall, which is like a beautiful painting with different colours created by reactions to water and oxygen.
The nearby old town of