Trip to Germany & Alderney

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Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 4:56 pm

So, a while back I made a trip out to Wernigerode in Germany, dragon hunting.
Lets start at Stansted Airport. In deference to the age of some of our members, I shall not comment on the first shp I found :

Hotel was nice, the view, well I suppose it'll do

I went with the wife, have you met her?

Lots of lovely buildings to look at, the smallest :

the oldest (being rebuilt, so also the newest?)

The Town Hall :

and the Cafe Wien, reasonable prices for food and drink.

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 5:07 pm

So, dragons eh! found this one slumbering outside its lair

Not sure what its says, but I think it isn't good

One thing about being in 'forn parts is the language barrier, order the healthy salad, or so you think and what turns up?

Well I paid for it, so I damn well am going to eat it.
The Harz mountains claim to fame is its Witches, a trip to the Hexentanzplatz is a must.
Here is a real dragon :

Must have been on a bit of a diet.
Now this lady I actually work with, bit of a surprise meeting her on holiday

The other nice feature is the small zoo where you can feed some of the animals, or, if you get too close, fed to them

Not being able to read some of the signs you have to figure out what you can feed by sign language, obviously these guys are on the list

Catering leaves something to be desired, I opted for a diet coke

There must have been something in the coke!

edit to spell Hexentanzplatz correctly.

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 5:14 pm

The other claim to fame is the Brocken mountain, from where you have great views of the country-side

or there again, perhaps not. I've seen pictures on a clear day and it is well worth the ride.
But beware of the dragons

I nearly forgot these two guys at Thale Zoo, the one on the right looks a bit smug

And, at the Brocken restaurant, this chap came wandering past

Back in town, after a couple of beers, I thought I would have a go at this house building lark, can't be too difficult, can it?

Part 2 will be after the break

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 5:16 pm

Nice pictures Freddie, I remember some of them that you posted in chat little while ago Laughing

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 7:00 pm

slowfreddie wrote:

Not sure what its says, but I think it isn't good

Err, did you taste the water?

It says "water not suitable for drinking."

However, judging from the skull & bones, it's only dangerous for robots. Wink

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 7:05 pm

But OK for pirates to drink?

I'm into steam locos, where were they slowfreddie?

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 8:25 pm

Very nice pictures, Slowfreddie, enjoyed them! I was in Wernigerode ages ago myself, too, joined the witches´ night on Walpurgis Night two or three times and have read what and whom Goethe´s "Faust" got to know on these occasions Very Happy

The ice looks yumm yumm! Guess you enjoyed it a lot.
My parents have taken the train ride up to the Brocken mountain a lot of times, they do not live too far from there, but unfortunately I haven´t so far, always having been there late at night and in the dark on Walpurgis Night (April 30 - May 1).
Thank you for reminding me of these places right here on Eater where I was not prepared to come across these memories again...

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 10:01 pm

Kd- I know you are native German, and I don't want to contradict you on the translation of the sign, but doesn't it say "Water safe for Mugus to swim"?

Bruin

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 10:08 pm

BRUIN wrote:

... you are native German ...

Err, no. I'm an American, but I do live in Germany.

BRUIN wrote:

... doesn't it say "Water safe for Mugus to swim"? ...

Yes, that's right. Sorry. Very Happy

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 11:52 pm

Very nice photos. We were there three years ago and need to go back. My little one's memory card failed and she lost all of her photos. I promised her a return trip.

Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 8:29 am

slowfreddie wrote:

a trip to the Hezentanzplatz is a must

Awwww...you've tracked me down to my hometown. Thank you so much for those pics! Smile

Seriously, I was born and spent my first 18 years exactly there, about 3 miles from the Hexentanzplatz, an ancient pagan ritual place. On weekends we used to go dancing in Wernigerode which is just 20 miles down the road. Shocked

trivia: The Harz dialect only knows one vowel, a long "a", so where other Germans would have "beide Beine in einem Eimer" (two legs in one bucket) a proud Harzer would say "baade Bahne an ahn Aahmar".

Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 5:41 pm

Thanks for pics and I enjoyed. Smile

Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 6:26 pm

Back from the break.
My second week of summer holiday was on the island of Alderney, the plane to take you there is not the largest you find at Southampton Airport

Either that, or that is one BIG bus.
Being the middle of July, the beaches were crowded

I think you can see someone on the next bit of beach if you look carefully. While we were there a French lady let her toddler pootle about on the beach and go into the water, wearing a nappy......It seems that they work by sucking up the water?
If you fancy buying a place on the island, and want to increase your tin-foil hattedness, this can be yours for £2.6M, comes with 4 bedrooms, a drawbridge and seaward defences including Napoleonic era gun emplacements and WWII improvements.

This one is through the lens of a pair of binoculars, I didn't notice at the time, but look at the shadows behind the duck

Nature lovers would enjoy it here, plenty to do and see, this is Henry, I think, he knows a good mark when he sees one

For a small island there is an amazing amount of flora and fauna

not to miss out the rock fanatics

And the twitchers

And you should see the size of this guy's speakers, that must be some stereo

During the WWII German occupation a lot of things were built, and still remain, this was a Fire Direction Tower if I remember correctly.

Like Roy Cropper, I like a nice bit of wave action

Well, that's nearly it, just time to catch my train :

and sail of into the sunset

But I do promise to dig out Wifey's photos of the pygmy goats for those who asked.

Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 6:50 pm

kleindoofy wrote:

slowfreddie wrote:

Not sure what its says, but I think it isn't good

Err, did you taste the water?

It says "water not suitable for drinking."

However, judging from the skull & bones, it's only dangerous for robots. Wink

That must be the famous cursed spring in the Harz Mountains - if you drink from it you turn into a werewolf - nice of the authorities to put a 'danger' sign up!! Laughing

Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 8:40 pm

Don wrote:

... exactly there ... an ancient pagan ritual place. ...

Ah, yes, those quaint East German pagan rituals.

Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 8:42 pm

I'll try if I can drag up some pictures of that.

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