In Berlin, there aren’t many mountains (if any) to climb. Luckily, not too far away in Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt) there is a region called the Harz Mountains which contains the highest elevations in the former East Germany and all of northern Germany. The first warm weekend in spring this year, we set out to hike to the top of the Brocken – the Harz’s tallest mountain at 1142 m.
Arriving in Schierke
Two regio’s and a half hour countryside bus ride later, we popped out at Schierke Stern and literally walked across the street to our tiny, immaculate campground (thankfully, since my backpack broke on the last trip and I was carrying a tent and sleeping bag inside a duffle bag). A quick meal of ready rice mixed with feta cheese and we were zipped into our sleeping bags just in time to hear the first rain drops of the night begin to fall.
After steadily raining all night, we lucked out with the rest of the weekend being fairly dry. We awoke to a very foggy morning, unable to see any of the surrounding mountains and certainly no view of the Brocken. We strolled to town on a trail alongside the road from the campground, astounded by the number of torn up and torn out trees along the way. What we supposed was a recent extreme storm would be a continual topic of conversation throughout the weekend. We were constantly reminded by new stump-filled meadows that something had occurred here within the last couple of weeks.
Schierke
Schierke is one long cobblestone road adorned with the cutest Ferienwohnungen (vacation apartments) for rent. It was just after 8 in the morning, and although it seemed like many things in Schierke were out of business or season, things that looked possibly in business looked positively not open. My colleague, Daniel, was certain he had seen on a map that there was a functioning bakery up ahead. After passing the old Rathaus (town hall), renovated Apotheke (pharmacy), grey stone church with WWI cemetery, a giant statue of Schierke Feuerstein (the local Jägermeister), and some giant, gorgeous, no-longer-in-operation hotels we arrived at the bakery, Brockenbäcker. Breakfast was enormous – a hard-boiled egg, two warm bread rolls, cheese, Nutella, apricot jelly, yogurt, and tea.
The Hike
Warmed-up and filled-up we continued walking through town until we hit the Kalte Bode stream at the end and then followed its meandering path a ways upstream. To our surprise, we still passed piles of snow. Later on in the day these piles would be deeper and larger, some with running water underneath. It was an interesting and wet game to play in deciding where to step – will I stay on top of the snow or sink? In my worst losses I would wind up to my knees in snow.
We hiked through more areas where the woods had been decimated into fields. The wind-felled trunks were now being logged if not for timber, then at least to clear the path. But after a while, there still lay trees across the trail which we had to climb over or sometimes under.
After some time, we crossed the river to another path and which eventually met up with the Brockenbahn, the coal-run steam train you can take from Drei Annen Hohne or Schierke to the top of the Brocken. From here we started to see more hikers. Once we hit the main trail it was tourist city, but at this point it was just under a kilometer left until the top.
The Summit
As expected, it was so foggy at the summit that you couldn’t see anything. Really anything. It wasn’t even possible to see the roofs of buildings you were standing next to. Apparently this is common for the Brocken and only if you’re truly lucky will you get to enjoy the view. So instead we took the mandatory summit pictures next to the Brocken rock and went into the cafeteria-style Brockenhaus to grab a plate of pommes (fries) and celebratory beers.
Further Hiking
Descending from the windy, viewless summit, we took the main trail. This route is a steeper climb and more steeply visited than the one we had ascended. Both points were advantages to our route up. On the way down, we tried to find some of the famed rock formations of the region – the Harzklippen. Instead we ended up on an adventure in the woods trying to find the right trail in some of the deepest snow we had experienced all weekend.
Giving up, we landed back on the main trail and walked right into the most famous rock of the region – the Schierke Feuerstein. The formations are created by onion weathering and look like huge piles of well-stacked rocks. I was surprised to see several bolted lines on the town’s precious claim to fame. This rock is also the name of the town’s fiery brandy which is a sweeter version of Jägermeister.
Not long after (really not long after), we freshened up at our campsite and went back into town. It was still quite early even though we had been hiking all day. To waste some time, we wandered around long enough for me to get some photos and to see the whole town a second time. Then we headed into the Villa Fichtenhof for dinner – the top-rated, but still reasonably priced, restaurant in Schierke. After a hearty Hirtengoulash (venison goulash) and Steinpilzpasta (mushroom pasta), it was back to camp for an early night.
There were plenty of hikes available for Sunday, but they’ll have to wait for next time. We decided to spend the day in Wernigerode instead – a choice I ended up thoroughly delighted by. I know I’ll be back to the Harz again. I want to see the view from the top of the Brocken and hike to some of the Klippen stones. Being not too far from Berlin makes it an easy and enjoyable weekend trip.