There is always something going on at the weekends during the summer months. And that makes perfect sense: here in Germany, you should make the most of the warm season and get outside, because from October onwards, we will all be huddled around the heating again anyway. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n
This weekend, the town of Bad Harzburg invited everyone to its traditional Salt and Lights Festival. Since I had never had the pleasure of attending before, this year was finally going to be the year. We set off on Saturday evening. The first challenge, obviously, was finding a parking space. We struck lucky at the cemetery. That meant a roughly ten-minute walk ahead of us, but we are pretty good walkers, so no problem. Already on the way towards the town centre, it became obvious that we were heading towards a major event. The pedestrian zone was absolutely packed: food and drink stalls, along with all kinds of assorted tat, lined the streets. It was almost impossible to make any progress. Crowds and shuffling along shoulder to shoulder aren’t really my thing. And since, due to stomach problems, I currently can’t eat or drink anything here either, making our way through this food-stall gauntlet was a real challenge.<\/p>\n
Bunny Ears, Hearts and a Waving Santa Claus<\/strong> But then, a little further on, we spotted him: Captain Iglo \u2014 no, Captain Santa Claus \u2014 aboard his MS Wilhelmshaven. With the little flag he tirelessly waves and the illuminated sailing boat he is sitting in, he is quite obviously the star attraction among the light displays. He certainly seems to be enjoying all the attention from the cameras.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, a Rather Thin Voice<\/strong> But please forgive me for saying so: as nice and likeable as the singer is, her voice simply isn’t suited to a stage like this. We decided to move on and watch the fireworks from \u201cFriedhofsberg\u201d instead. At least that provided a suitably happy ending to the evening.<\/p>\n Along the \u201cMan and Forest\u201d Themed Trail from Goslar to Hahnenklee<\/strong> First, however, we got a little lost on the way uphill because the signage was somewhat misleading at one point. With the help of Google Maps, we eventually found our way back onto the correct trail and, after a good hour, reached the Windsattel shelter. Along the way, we repeatedly came across information boards belonging to the themed trail. For example, we learned about cow herders and a \u201cladies’ band\u201d \u2014 although in this case, the ladies consisted of cows wearing, well, cowbells. \ud83d\ude42 Once at the top \u2014 the trail from Goslar had been almost entirely uphill \u2014 we treated ourselves to a little picnic break. A glance out of the shelter made it clear that we still had another uphill section ahead of us. But this time, it was really worth it. We enjoyed a fantastic view over Hahnenklee and the surrounding area. Truly breathtaking.<\/p>\n Just ten minutes later, we reached the summit of the Bocksberg. There was a lot going on up there. The place offers all kinds of attractions for families: a gondola lift and chairlift for getting up the mountain, summer toboggan runs and various action rides for kids, a witches’ labyrinth, and much more. It was quite lively. Fun fact: on our way up, we were overtaken by a car. \u201cWait a minute \u2014 aren’t cars not allowed up here?\u201d we thought. And indeed they aren’t. The driver was stopped and informed that the road was closed to vehicles. nbelievable that some people are even too lazy to walk the last few metres up the mountain. \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n We sat down at the Bocksbergh\u00fctte and rested for a while before setting off back down. We took a few more photos from the viewpoint and then followed hiking trail 8D, which was supposed to take us back to Goslar. The first two or three kilometres were rather boring, as we had to walk along a wide forest track. But things gradually became more interesting. We came across a few more information boards and learned that the so-called \u201cKiepenfrauen\u201d \u2014 female carriers who traditionally transported goods in baskets on their backs \u2014 once carried up to 40 kilos (88 lbs!) while even knitting at the same time. We passed a \u201chistoric\u201d signpost marking the old Harz road and eventually reached the spot where we had taken the wrong turn on the way up.<\/p>\n The Woman on the 50-Pfennig Coin<\/strong> Deeply impressed by what these women achieved \u2014 and I assume they were also expected to go home and cook, wash and clean afterwards \u2014 we continued towards the Taubenstieg trail. This beautiful path eventually offered us views over the Grane Reservoir, although there is currently very little water in it. From there, we descended back to the car park where our car was waiting. Conclusion: A truly lovely hike, which also left us deeply impressed by the history we encountered along the way.<\/p>\n
\nA few live bands were also on the programme. However, after the Iris Folk band didn’t sound particularly authentic, we decided to take a look at the light art in the spa gardens instead. It was just starting to get dark, which meant that the artworks made from hundreds of real tea lights would gradually become easier to see. At first, we were still trying to figure out what some of the arrangements of lights were supposed to represent. As the darkness grew and we changed our viewing angles, it became easier and easier. First, we spotted a boombox (that’s quite a lot of work for a tea-light installation!), then a heart with an arrow through it (very 1980s!), and finally a rabbit’s head.<\/p>\n
\nWe left the spa gardens \u2014 or at least tried to, somehow squeezing our way across the narrow bridge through the crowds \u2014 and stopped at the rock stage. \u201cRock Busters,\u201d the banners announced, were getting ready to perform. We decided to give them a try. When they finally got started after a while, however, we were a little disappointed. The first song was performed by a male-and-female vocal duo. Unfortunately, the woman’s voice was completely drowned out by the loud instruments \u2014 three guitars, to be precise. They checked the connection once again, and then carried on. What followed was a potpourri of different musical styles, including Skandal im Sperrbezirk, Alkohol and Jump.<\/p>\n
\nThe following morning, the weather didn’t look particularly inviting. The forecast said it should clear up during the day, though. We set off in the late morning and had planned a hike near Goslar. Starting from the Steinberg district \u2014 more precisely, from the car park at the Steinberg Alm \u2014 we wanted to follow the upper cliff path to Hahnenklee and return via the Taubenstieg trail. When we decided to take the route via the \u201cWindsattel\u201d towards Hahnenklee (Trail 2G), we noticed a symbol. It showed a kneeling woman with a plant. The signpost identified it as the Hahnenklee \u201cMan and Forest\u201d themed trail. Aha! It wasn’t until the way back that we would find out what the kneeling woman was all about.<\/p>\n
\nAnd then we finally solved the mystery of the woman on the 50-pfennig coin. She represents what was known as a Kulturfrau. These were women who replanted the forests devastated by the war in 1947\u201348 \u2014 entirely by hand! Millions of trees were planted at the time. The reforestation efforts continued until 1955 and would have been unthinkable without these Kulturfrauen and their hard work. The old 50-pfennig coin and a memorial stone beside the trail serve as reminders of these remarkable women \u2014 and, I hope, as a sign of respect for their tremendous efforts. Hats off to them!<\/p>\n