In order to escape the same white walls, that I am looking at in home office for nearly 9 months now, I went on a trip back to my childhood. What is the best place to hide in a pandemic? The countryside. Which is not densely populated and has a lot of nature to offer. It is just great not to have a constant reminder of the pandemic. Like wearing masks, now also outside e.g. in city centers and walking on the other side of the sidewalk when people are walking your way. This all became so fast your reality, that it also became exhausting to distance from everyone all the time.
In order to get a refresher on places I have been during my childhood, I took a trip to the Harz region. The Harz is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. It was a beautiful autumn drive to the Harzköhlerei Sternberghaus. Which was the starting point of a short hike to the Rotestein view point at the Rappbode. Which is a right-hand, southwestern tributary of the River Bode. Usually the Sternberghaus is welcoming guest with local food but due to the light shutdown we are currently living in Germany, the restaurant was closed.
The mostly known tourist place in the Harz region is the Hexentanzplatz – which to my surprise was not closed. The Hexentanzplatz is a plateau that lies high above the Bode Gorge, opposite the Rosstrappe. It is possible to either way hike up to the Hexentanzplatz or drive up with the car. The area is a tourist place and even to Covid-19 standards crowded for a weekend. Nether the less, the view into the Bode Gorge is priceless and worth going there once in a lifetime. Just driving through the autumn colored Harz region, was worth the trip.
