I'm back from what has to rate as my biggest adventure yet since arriving in the UK - a trip to the Harz Mountains in Germany. I have to say it was a blast, and I'll definitely be going back sometime.
So why did I go, and why there? Well let's face it the whole point of being here is to be able to travel. As previously mentioned in the last blog post or two, with not much looking like happening on the job front prior to Christmas I started toying with the idea of going away for a bit. Not just to make use of the time I'd otherwise be sitting in the flat "twiddling my thumbs" but to give Jeremy and Rachel a break from me crashing at their flat and give them a bit of space.
By the time it was obvious I should do a trip, there wasn't really much time to sort it. I had a few ideas in mind, but was open to suggestions. I sat down on the 11th and looked up various options - a limiting factor was a need to plan around my trip to York on the 17th. Do I explore the UK? Go north to Scotland? What about Wales? No, I'm so close to different countries I should go visit Europe, it would cost probably the same. Ireland? That's outside the UK, quite close but what about Continental Europe? That seemed more appealing. By the end of the day I had conducted numerous paper studies researching various trips and options, and variations thereof and narrowed it down to 3 options. These were 2 trips to the Netherlands - one cheaper, 3 day trip bolting into the York trip and one more expensive, 4 day trip which preceded the York trip but would be far more exciting and adventurous; and a 5 day trip to Germany, to visit the Harz Mountains, which was in the middle costwise. After careful consideration, the 5-day Germany trip won out - the most cost-effective trip per day, and the best chance for me to visit it without the constraints of work.
What's so great about the Harz? I wasn't really sure other than I knew there was a railway system in the mountains that still used steam locomotives; information about it seems lacking in NZ railway circles but a Pom now living in Christchurch that I knew thought it was the "bee's knees" and the Brits and Europeans seemed to go nuts about it, especially in the winter time when there was snow. I figured why not go and see what the fuss is about first hand; and a chance for me to visit Germany as well. I should point out that the other 2 short listed trips also involved train interest components - it's easier for me to justify a trip by doing so, funnily enough! This trip also would not try to be a comprehensive visit to say I've "been there, done that" but rather an introduction to it, to get my head around it and lay the groundwork for possible future visits - but also be enough that if I didn't manage to go back, I wouldn't feel as if I have missed out on anything.
Planning the trip took a bit, knowing little about the place. Thanks to reading the tour outline of a rail-based tour company it seemed like the best place to base myself out of the 3 main towns the railway ran to was Wernigerode; this was where the most popular trip ran out of, up to the top of the Brocken. Getting from London to Wernigerode took a bit of investigation; flying into the closer major cities was hellishly expensive; same for slightly further away cities and while it was cheap to fly into some neighboring countries, catching the train from there threw the costs up. In the end, flying into Dortmund and training across proved to be cheap enough to consider the trip viable; it had the benefit that I'd get to see the countryside as I'd spend 4 hours or more travelling across Germany. After scoping a few other options a cheap deal on accommodation at a Wernigerode hotel through Booking.com was found, with the benefit that it was 5mins walk from the train station. After deciding to go for it, everything was booked.
Day 1 - London to Wernigerode: Travel and Camera Troubles
Thursday - a day consisting of essentially only travel from London to Wernigerode via a multitude of places, and one that started fairly early - 3.30am bus from the flat to St Pancras Station; a train from there at 4.20am to Luton Airport, arriving an hour later; breakfast at the airport, then security (took a while - a lot of people at the airport!), and then boarding the Easyjet plane at 6.15am ready for a 7.00am departure. It was pretty much just like flying Jetstar, and arrival in Dortmund was on time at 9.15am their time (an hour faster than UK time). Proceed through formalities, exit the airport, wait for the bus from Dortmund Airport to the main station, arrive at the main station; have about 45mins free, then catch my 11.48am high speed ICE train to Hanover, arrive there 2 hours later; change trains at Hanover for one to Goslar; arrive at Goslar 1 hour later; manage to find the train I need with a bit of difficulty at Goslar for Wernigerode, arriving at Wernigerode about 40mins later at 3.45pm. It sounds easy when I say it like that, and apart from the train change at Goslar it was mostly - time went quick though! but that's the guts of it.
I don't speak German. I know some words, not anywhere enough to make a sentence. I was told by Jeremy and others that most people in Germany speak English as well and that they never had any problems, you just talk to them in English and they'll either respond in English, or say they don't speak English. Seemed simple enough.
While I was waiting at the Bus stop at the Airport for the main train station (along with quite a few others) this girl comes to the stop, turns to me (not any of the lots of other people there - just me) and speaks to me in German. This startled me - I hadn't expected people to start talking to me without me initiating conversation, and of course I didn't understand a word she said. After a couple of awkward seconds I replied "I'm sorry I only speak English", and then she replied "Is this the bus stop to Dortmund Hauptbahnhof?". I didn't understand Hauptbahnhof - this must have showed on my face because she quickly followed it up with "The main station?". "Yes it leaves from here" was my reply, and then she made a comment about how grey the weather was and how she thought only England was like that. I didn't reply to it because I didn't know how to follow it up and I couldn't decide if she was English or German, or even if she was from somewhere else entirely - if I made a comment, would she understand it? Before I really had much of a chance to reply, a bus pulls up and she pushes her way to the front of the queue and gets on it. It wasn't the bus to Dortmund Hauptbahnhof, it was to the station at Holzwickede. In between that bus leaving and my one arriving, I realised Hauptbahnhof was the full word of what the "Hbf" was next to the name of the Dortmund main station and that how Hauptbahnhof was said was different to how I expected it to be - it was more "Haptbahnoof".
The signs at Dortmund Station were in both German and English; the menu at the McDonalds at Dortmund Station was in English and I'd ordered in English without even thinking that the person behind the counter might not speak English (they did). The further away I got from Dortmund, however the clearer it became that the way place names were pronounced differed wildly from what I expected - my destination of Wernigerode was the classic example. I was able to read the sign saying the next stop was Wernigerode fine, but heard the voiceover say something completely different sounding. It took me a few days to finally work out that Wernigerode was pronounced "Er-nii-ger-wo-der" and not the "Wer-nig-erode" I had been using in my head. It also became clear that I was in an area where virtually no-one spoke English. Wernigerode is in the former East Germany - has to be, right? the steam trains here have only lasted because the East Germans couldn't afford to replace them, and when the Wall came down their value as a tourism asset was realised. As such, no one here would have had much cause to learn English - especially the older generations. So, for much of my time in the Harz there was a language barrier although the receptionist/waitress at the Hotel spoke perfect English which helped a lot. I recalled Alistair Maciver telling me that you don't need to know a country's language to get by; it is possible to understand body language, key words, pointing at maps or words to get the message across and when it comes to paying for things, fork over some money and they'll either give you the change or they'll let you know it's not enough. And so it proved to be - body language particularly was the biggest key, followed by key words. Uttering "Sorry I only speak English" when someone tried talking to you in German and didn't understand became common - they either spoke English, or more commonly used keywords or pointed to things.
Oh yes, my camera! I went to use it in Dortmund, only to find the lens didn't extend when I rotated the barrel to zoom; in short order I discovered the autofocus was "swimming" and wouldn't lock on; it would try to autofocus in manual mode, couldn't take photos; the lens lock also didn't work; and something was rattling around inside the lens. Naturally, I freaked out - I had gear failure somehow, right at the beginning of a trip which a huge part of it was getting photos! After some examination of the lens and camera during the vist to Dortmund McDonalds, I found I could manually pull and push the barrel to zoom; autofocus was ok but still slow in the shorter zoom lengths and the problems were entirely localized to the lens - the camera body was fine, and my spare lens was also fine. Some further tests showed it was possible to get photos with the lens provided it didn't get any worse - but it might be hit and miss. I started to feel a bit better but for the rest of the day I switched to using my little-used 35mm Prime Lens - because it might have to be the workhorse of the trip, I needed to learn how to use it best. And fast! Quite how it happened, I haven't a clue - my camera bag had to be inside my day bag as you were only allowed 1 piece of cabin baggage on the Easyjet plane (no smaller bag as well). It should have been well protected in the two bags on the overhead locker, but maybe it wasnt.
Day 2 - The Brocken Line
Friday - the plan was to get my 3-day all lines pass, travel up to the Brocken where there was supposed to be some cafés, shops and the remains of a Cold War listening post. This is the most popular line, and has the highest concentration of steam train services so I was going to go up on the 8.55am train, see where the good photo places were and slowly work my way back as I saw fit getting photos along the way. I imagined I'd spend quite a bit of time up at Brocken - the view was supposed to be good up there and seemed like the best prospect for photography.
It was supposed to be the last day the 8.55am train ran according to the timetable. It didn't run that day - there was no train. But the ticket office didn't open until 9.20am anyway, the next train was 9.40am so I used the time to get a few photos around the yard - they had dragged out a green engine and another odd engine, and were lighting fires in them. Got my 3-day pass - by holding up 3 fingers and handing over the 70 Euros the ticket lady understood what I was after as she spoke no English. Departed on the 9.40am train, riding the lead platform of the last carriage and dressed for cold. It was ever so slightly spitting outside, but I was determined to stay on the platform the whole way to get photos and scope the line out for photo opportunities. We stopped at Drei Annen Hohne, where the Brocken branch separates from the main line - the climb through Wernigerode's streets and up to there had been pretty scenic. From there it got colder, and wetter and the train was now running through forest up to Shierke where we stopped again. From Shierke it got colder and wetter again, but I was braving it. Somewhere halfway between Shierke and Brocken the forest gave way and there was a steep dirt road that met the railway, and as I thought to myself "you'd have to be mad to come up here any way other than train" I saw two hikers walking along the road - one slipped on a big patch of ice as the train went past. By now I noticed visibility was getting worse, but I wasn't getting pelted in the face as much by raindrops - we were now in the cloud. It was cold. And when the raindrops turned into ice pelting my face I gave up and retreated inside. Not 3 minutes more and we were at the top station.
Brocken turned out to be a gloomy, wet and icy, desolate place with a horrendous wind, literally blowing people off their feet and it was covered in cloud/fog which didn't clear. Photography up here was not appealing in the slightest. I followed others in the direction of some barely visible buildings further up and got blasted by the wind and almost blown over. Once inside the building, there was not much - a cafe which didn't look to have much food and nothing else was open. I went back down to the station, found another cafe and got some custard & berry slice-type thing and Gluhwein, the German equivalent of Mulled Wine to warm up. I was not going to miss the next train down the hill - Brocken was a godforsaken place.
When it arrived I jumped on, and tried to dry my gloves and hat on the heating system in the carriage (runs off steam from the loco). We stopped at Shierke - I knew we were crossing another train there so I hopped off to get photos - it was still cold and lightly raining but better than Broken. It arrived, I got photos and then realised I might have enough time to follow an access track beside the railway up to a gap in the trees. I didn't - I heard it coming before I made it but I had a spot nearby lined up just on case. Got some neat shots, kept walking up until I found a crossing, from where I should get a train coming down the hill and hopefully might make it to the neat bridge further up in time for the next up train. When the next train arrived, it was going up not down - a quick scramble got some ok photos. The timetable wasn't quite accurate it seemed! So I decided to head back down to Shierke, where I had to wait under an awning as neither the ticket/souvenir shop nor the cafe were open for a 30-45min period at this time of day. Caught the next down train to Drei Annen Hohne, and decided to try and get some photos there then go to Wernigerode. The next downhill train arrived from Shierke - but it was not going to Wernigerode, it was heading off in the other direction or back up to Brocken, I forget which. But other trains arrived, locos swapped carriages and I worked out which train was heading back down to Wernigerode. It was a relief to get back down and to the Hotel - but drying my clothes was now an issue and thanks to bringing the absolute minimum to leave room in my bag for my camera bag, I didn't have much in the way of spare clothes. After a quick drying session they were dry enough to go to the restaurant for food - I didn't feel like venturing outside again, and then once back in my room tried to dry them more properly for the next day.
Day 3 - Wernigerode to Quedlinberg: The Big Loop
I woke up about 8.30am - so much for a sleep in! I wasn't sure why I'd woken up but while dozing off I could hear a train whistle occasionally, a train leaving Wernigerode. It was a chime whistle, different to the ones on the usual engines and the timetable said there was no train supposed to go at that time. After more dozing I got up, and spent the morning wandering around the village while planning to get photos of the morning trains passing through part of the village. During this time I had a real stroke of luck - getting to one spot much too early, a train came - comprised of the green engine and the other odd engine, pulling a rake of green carriages which were clearly older than the usual cream and red ones. A special charter train, with engines rarely used - this was the train which woke me up! The train I was intending to wait for came along shortly after. Then it was to the Werdingerode Westerntor station to catch the 11.59am departure to Eisfelder Talmulhe. This was a 2 hour ride, going to the junction with the line to Quedlinberg. Once at Eisfelder, I changed to a railcar which took me up to Stiege, along the branch line to Hassefelde and back; up to Alexisbad, then along the branch line to Harzgerode and back. The driver knew some English - and he gave me time to get some photos of the trains at Hasselfelde, and pre-warned me of a crossing with a steam train at some place including letting me off the railcar to get photos. Once back at Alexisbad, it was dark - and I caught another railcar back to Stiege, before then transferring to a steam train which went all the way to the end at Quedlinberg. The doubling back to Stiege to catch the steam train was simply a way to keep warm and dry - the weather had been cold and drizzly all day and it was either ride the train or stay in Alexisbad for nearly 2 hours.
The ride to Quedlinberg was warm but I couldn't see anything in the darkness. I could say I've done the line, but not seen it and have no idea if there are any photo opportunities to be had on this line in future. Arrival at Quedlinberg was at 7.30pm - there was no return service along the Harz railway to Wernigerode. Instead, I could catch a normal train back to Wernigerode with a change of trains at Halberstadt. It didn't leave until 8.33pm - I didn't realise I could have caught the earlier 7.33pm train which was right there when I arrived till after it had gone! It was 9.30pm by the time got back to the Hotel, rethinking my tentative plans for the next day.
Day 4: The Rest and Something Different
Sunday - initially I had thought Sunday might involve visiting some Wernigerode attraction like the Castle there, and photographing trains. By Saturday morning, after failing to ascertain how you can get up to the castle and not really keen on anything else, it involved photographing trains around Wernigerode and a darkness run to Nordhausen and back. After Saturday night, the darkness run to Nordhausen seemed like folly so I came up with a few other ideas and looked up what to do in Nordhausen if I could be bothered going there anyway. What I found galvanized my thoughts and plans - but there was also snow being forecast for the Brocken line. I set my alarm for early, and would make my decision then.
When early came, I checked the weather - clear most places, it had snowed a little overnight on the Brocken line but rain was forecast for much of the day which would probably wash it away. But there was a good chance of snowing again later - so I'd go with Plan A, and keep my options open for later. What did Plan A involve? Catching the 7.25am train to Eisfelder Talmuhle, which the timetable said would be a railcar but I knew it would be steam. At Eisfelder Talmuhle, I changed to a railcar which said it was going to Nordhausen - the timetable said it would only go as far as Ifeld and I'd have to change to a tram for the rest of the way. Again the timetable was wrong!
Day 5 - Wernigerode to London: Day of Delays
Monday - time to head back to London, pretty much the same way I arrived just in reverse. The trip back had been booked as my flight back first, and then the trains to get there but it was much cheaper to travel earlier. This meant I had a couple of spare hours in Dortmund before I needed to be at the airport - it might even mean I get to do a little bit of sightseeing there.
Not so much, as it turns out. I left Wernigerode on time at 7.20am to Goslar, but my next train was late. The sign said 45mins late but it was more like 35mins. Still, we arrived in Hanover a few minutes after my high speed ICE train had left - but that was okay, I was pretty sure they'd just put me on the next one in an hour and I had the spare time to wait. That's what happened, arriving in Dortmund just after midday. The bus to the airport was late too - massive traffic jams into the CBD as cars tried to make it across intersections before the lights changed, didn't and then blocked opposing traffic from being able to get across. This was happening at all the intersections, compounding the problem - but we were heading out of the CBD and our lanes were relatively free flowing. My 3.45pm RyanAir flight to Stanstead was on time, and not too bad actually - they allocate seats now so no more "RyanAir Rush" to get good seats on the plane. I'd fly them again, it wasn't too dissimilar than flying Jetstar either. Everything was fine until we landed at Stanstead - and couldn't get off because Stanstead Airport was without power, and had been without for 90 minutes. 30 minutes later power was fixed, we got off but so did everyone on all the other planes so it was a lot of people trying to go through formalities. Once through those though, that's when you had to work your way through all the families and friends waiting at the exit, and beyond that the huge queues of people waiting to be able to proceed through customs to get on much-delayed flights. Absolute pandemonium. I thought about catching a train back to London to avoid the peak hour traffic buses would contend with, but the bus was far cheaper - as it turned out the trains were having problems too. Arrival back at the flat was 7.30pm UK time, so just over 13 hours from Wernigerode!
In all, apart from the camera woes it was a great trip. A really good introduction to the Harz Railway system and yes, I am very interested in going back to visit a few times - Brocken might actually be nice in summer? Definitely summer daylight hours will help with photography. I'd be tempted on one future trip to hire a car and use that to get lineside shots as well. Flying into and departing from somewhere closer to Wernigerode would be better - fewer "links in the transport chain" and lesser potential for lateness to muck me up as I dare say in the future I might not have a spare day in each direction to just travel. Should be possible if booked further in advance. Despite the broken lens I'm quite happy with the photos I got - once I got the hang of using the 18-250mm in it's broken state I was ok and it took more "hit" photos than "miss" photos than I expected. The real upside was forcing me to use the 35mm prime lens - I'm actually starting to really like it, now that I know how to use it. I kinda wish I'd used it earlier in particular instances but the truth is, I never had the time to "play" with it and it was always going to take something to force me to use it. As for the 18-250mm lens - I have started an insurance claim on it. If it gets accepted, I don't know if they'll try getting the lens fixed or just pay me out. Worst case scenario is the claim is rejected and I have to buy a new lens - a huge unbudgeted expense. But it does lead to some interesting questions - if I'm getting a new lens, what do I get? Another 18-250mm? Something a little different? Something a lot different? What's out there now? How much do they cost? All interesting questions. Meanwhile I've got Jessy and William asking me what's my next train adventure. Not sure just yet, we shall see in the New Year...