The Harz Mountains includes a National Park, renewable pine forests, lakes, villages and towns, folklore of witches & devils, cold war museums and WW2 sites so there was plenty to see and do during our stay. The former border dividing East from West Germany cuts right through the Harz so we were keen to find out more about life in those recent times following our education in Berlin. Fortunately for us Dave, a fellow biker staying at the B&B, had been stationed in the area during the 70's & 80's when he was serving in the British Army and was able to paint us a first hand picture of what life had been like. Also the locals had the foresight to preserve artifacts from the time and there are now several excellent museums dotted throughout the Harz.
We visited one at the former Duderstadt/Worbis crossing point where the guard tower and buildings have been converted into a museum. It was very insightful for us and we are now much better informed. It is hard to believe that the whole length of the East/West German border over a distance of 1400kms was fenced and patrolled for 40 years. Electrified fences, no mans land, armed guard posts, land mines and controlled crossing points - life was very different. One positive legacy from those times is the steam train that now operates throughout the area and is the only mechanical means to get to the top of the Brocken, the highest mountain in the Harz. There was an East German communication (spying) base at the top of the mountain and the train line was constructed to transport troops and supplies - there is no road. The train is now a tourist drawcard.
The Brocken stands at 1140 metres so there are no high passes like the Alps. Rather the roads meander through valleys and fields, towns and villages where buildings date back hundreds of years. Many of the villages contain myriad 'half timbered' Tudor style houses and civic buildings dating form the 16th century. Often these have been meticulously restored but just as often they appear empty and unloved. We had been told that many houses on the former East German side were in a 'no man's land' as ownership could not be determined. Owners had been forcibly removed by the Nazis and records destroyed and then the Communist regime had occupied properties for the next 45 years so the confusion is understandable.
The WW2 history of the area includes several major features. The notorious V1 and V2 rockets were manufactured and launched from here to bring devastation to London late in the war , Colditz Castle where Allied POW Officers were detained is within a day's return ride and the Mohnesee and Endersee Dams of Dambuster fame are a little further to the south in the Ruhr Valley.
The town of Duderstadt was a standout feature for us. It has some magnificently restored civic buildings, preserved sections of the medieval town wall, an open and inviting square and an impressive church bordering the square. The whole area of the Harz is just a wonderful place to visit with very relaxing rides on the bike. There was however one locally famous stretch of road that we did not want to miss. Greg, our host. is a keen biker and rides an impressively fast KTM Duke 990. As well as providing us with route plans and local advice aplenty, he pointed us towards the '36 Bends' a section of hill road that is frequented by Bikers from all over Germany. There is a Biker Cafe at the bottom of the hill where everyone gathers to regroup or turnaround for another assault on the ascending 36 bends.
The first rider we saw exiting the last left hander was on a Ducati 1098 with his knee slider just above the bitumen. The next hero took off up the hill on the back wheel. Ummm thay take this bit of road pretty seriously ! The beauty of this section of road is the consistency of the bends and the quality of the surface. Once you get into a rhythm the road just flows. There is however other traffic that uses the road (bugger) and two of our runs were spoiled by other traffic - there is nowhere to pass safely . We preferred to pull into a lay-by and give the slow traffic a head start. If this piece of road was in Australia it would have fixed speed cameras, hidden cameras, mobile police patrols, speed restrictors and anything else the fun police could throw at it. It would probably be closed for 'safety' reasons.
All too soon our time was up and we bid farewell to Greg & Jacquie our wonderful hosts. We have left with many places still to visit. As we have often said on this trip - next time.
