My heart's in the Harz mountains (now where's my brain?)

We hadn’t even heard of the city a year ago. But there we were one weekend in November – Kate, Kathryn, Elizabeth, and I – visiting the place where my Oma and Opa honeymooned about 60 years ago. A small mining city in the Harz mountains of Central Germany called Goslar.

Barbara and Bill were there, too. Bill was in Germany for work and was between conferences in northern and southern Germany. And Goslar was just about midway. Barbara tagged along.

Here’s a little history. This hard working blue collar city was sparsely populated in the mid 20th Century, as the mines were drying up and the proletariat wanted to get into the heavy industry found two hours west in the Ruhr region (famous for German’s Economic Miracle of the 1950s.)

Perhaps because they needed people, the town became one of many in the region that accepted refugees from former German areas after the war. My Opa and his family – refugees themselves coming from Silesia, now in southern Poland – somehow wound up here and lived here for a few months (we think) before getting jobs and moving further west.

Vacationing here for a weekend didn’t sound too enticing to me either, people. November in Central Europe in a defunct mining town? Germany’s equivalent to Appalachia? No thanks. But, alas, my mom was in town and that’s where she wanted to go. C’est le vie.

Anyway, our expectations were lower than Bush’s current approval rating. But, in all honesty, it was one of the most charming cities we’d ever been to. Undamaged during World War II, this town had beautiful old gothic churches, romantic half-timbered facades, and the types of bubbly cobblestones that lull Elizabeth to sleep in a matter of seconds. Both the town and the mines are UNESCO World Heritage Sites –like the Pyramids at Giza!
But unlike the Pyramids, there really wasn’t much to see, other than insane cuteness around every corner. Oh, and this Glockenspiel that told viewers of the history of mining in the region.
Pecos was there, too, by the way. Although I don’t think he fully appreciated the family history of this town, he did seem to appreciate watching the dancing miners, which we thought was weird and charming. Us humans were more interested in this freakily muscular small man pooing gold coins. Yes, this must be the Appalachia of Germany.
Anyway, it was a short trip – but a good one. Pecos enjoyed the Glockenspiel; Elizabeth enjoyed her first hotel; Kathryn enjoyed the geological findings in the mine, Barbara and I appreciated the family history; and Bill and Kate hopefully liked the town.

Plus, it was a good chance for us to let our scabie clothing and furniture be quarantined.