Sunday morning in late autumn. A look out the window\u2014wow, the sun is announcing itself on the horizon. Unbelievable! This looks like the perfect day for a cozy hike in the Harz Mountains, and maybe\u2014just maybe\u2014it will be rounded off with a sauna session or two \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n
Wildcat Trail vs. Therapeutic Climate Walk<\/strong> Past the Old Ski Jump<\/strong> A Piece of History at the Upper Harz Water Management System<\/strong> After a bend, the trail leads into the forest and we follow the Goethe Trail for a while\u2014I hadn\u2019t even known it started in Altenau. At the Seerosenteich (Water Lily Pond) in Altenau, not far from the herb park, we pass a special stamp station and a Goethe memorial. Well, since my stamp booklet is already overflowing, I can safely ignore the stamp station and instead turn my attention to the fish in the pond. Gradually, we\u2019re on the home stretch. We walk past the herb park and head toward the center of Altenau. Unfortunately, the small Christmas market isn\u2019t open yet\u2014a mulled wine would have been a blessing for our stiff, frozen fingers.<\/p>\n At the church, we climb the steps and walk uphill back to our starting point. Once there, we grab our bags from the car and end the day in a very relaxed way with one sauna session or two at the Kristall Therme \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n
\nOriginally, the plan for this Sunday was the Wildcat Trail in Bad Harzburg. But since my battered muscles are once again in desperate need of some warmth, we quickly change plans and head toward Altenau, home of the sauna spa called \u201cHei\u00dfer Brocken.\u201d As several hiking trails start right at the spa\u2019s parking lot, we decide on one of the therapeutic climate walks. Since we are, after all, hiking in what is claimed to be Germany\u2019s cleanest air, we choose route no. 3 from the selection and set off.<\/p>\n
\nRoute no. 3, the Dammgraben, starts just above the parking lot. At first, our gaze is almost fixed on a so-called lost place: the former ski jump of Altenau. The path goes uphill for a bit\u2014unfortunately not steep enough to warm up our frozen private parts. It\u2019s quite cold that day, and there\u2019s also a stiff breeze blowing. Once at the top, we look back at Altenau, though the view is sadly spoiled by two pink high-rise buildings. No idea who approved such architectural sins. Anyway, we don\u2019t let it bother us too much and continue along a toboggan run where, ironically, sledding is forbidden. Gradually the path narrows and we reach the Dammgraben.<\/p>\n
\nAfter some time, in bright sunshine, we reach a historic spot: the intake of the Gro\u00dfe Oker with three regulating structures. Here, it becomes quite clear how arduous life must have been back then. I doubt work\u2013life balance was much of a thing in those days. We continue along a narrow path, hiking through a very sunny stretch. Looking back, however, we can see the sky slowly clouding over behind us. Along the way, we encounter a few hikers with young dogs that occasionally jump into the water despite the cold.<\/p>\n