Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
There are lots of abandoned railway tracks throughout Europe – some became unnecessary because of the technical progress and some have been replaced by better (but often more expensive) routes. One example that has been revived is the track leading from Kassel to Naumburg, Germany – now used for steam engine rides.
Continue reading “The Hessencourrier”
Bad Harzburg is a small town within the Harz mountain range in northern Germany. It is a spa town, offers a casino and you can go by teleferic to the castle mountain above. Since 2015 it has another attraction – the “Baumwipfelpfad“; you can take a one kilometer long walk throughout the treetops of a forest. Continue reading “Between treetops”
Going to church on a sunday morning was never so pleasant than in Hann. Münden, Germany. That is because of a church close to the city center that has been transformed into a coffee bar where you can have a nice breakfast or a piece of cake. It’s quite a strange feeling to dine on an old altar, but this place has its own very special atmosphere.
The church of St. Blasius is located on the central place of Hann. Münden, Germany. It is a gothic style church with a nice tower where once warders kept watch to protect the city. The first remains in this place date back to the year 1000, but the current church has been built in three different steps between 1216 and 1519. Continue reading “Converted gothic church”
There are a lot of old mines in the Harz mountains you can visit – but not many offer to enter them by train. At the mining museum in Lautenthal, Germany (belonging to Langelsheim near Goslar) you can in addition also try to go by boat into the dark. This is possible because the miners established a multiple kilometers long transport system with small boats throughtout the mountains. Continue reading “Train into the mountain”
The city of Hann. Münden, Germany was once the most southern river harbour of the Kingdom of Hanover. That is why King George V. extended the existing railway track from Hanover to Göttingen (“Hannöversche Südbahn”) further on to Hann. Münden (and later to Kassel). To stay on the territory of the kingdom, a route had to be chosen that wasn’t easy to build and operate.
Continue reading “Abandoned railway”
The Kreuztor ist the town’s landmark of Ingolstadt, Germany. It is the only original city gate still standing and was once the connection to the leper house “Holy cross” – therefore the name (“Kreuz” = “cross”). It has been built in 1385 and carries seven medieval turrets.
The 1141 meter high Brocken is the highest mountain in northern Germany, belonging to the Harz mountains. It is also called Blocksberg, a special name used in conjunction with witchcraft and witches meeting there as described within the famous “Faust: The First Part of the Tragedy” of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The Brocken is today a famous touristic region used especially for hiking. Continue reading “On top of the highest mountain”
Riding a light railway train, especially when it is equipped with a steam engine, is a unique experience. It’s a fascinating technology and I like watching the locomotive being refueled with water and I always enjoy watching the steam hovering through the air and the surrounding trees. A good opportunity to do this is the Brockenbahn in the Harz mountains. Continue reading “Brockenbahn”
Hann. Münden, Germany is the place where the two rivers Werra and Fulda combine to a new stream called Weser – which is running through northern Germany to the North sea. In fact there was a linguistic border here and Werra and Weser are the same name in different dialects. The Fulda is therefore only a river floating into the Werra/Weser. But today nobody cares about this. Continue reading “Weserstein”