We plotted a route
through the Harz mountains bypassing Braulage and driving through the
pretty town of Clausthal-Zellerfeld. There were many opportunities
for walking all along this route and the campsite just east of
Clausthal-Zellerfeld looked to be in a very good position for
walking. The weather was lovely, sunny and clear, and that made the
scenery ever more attractive. One of the main reasons for visiting
the Harz was to decided whether we would want to return for a longer
visit at some time in the future. The answer to that question is a
definite yes, preferably when the weather is warmer. In addition to
the walking there seems to be quite a lot of this to do in the area.
Goslar is a beautiful town (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and there
are silver mines and museums to visit.
As we travelled through
the mountains we saw much evidence of mining although it appeared
that most of the mines were closed. Leaving the national park at its
north-west corner, the autumnal colours suddenly became much more
vibrant and we passed many areas of woodland blazing in vivid reds,
browns and yellows. In fact the scenery for the whole of the morning
was lovely right up until we joined the motorway just south of
Bielefeld. After that the land flattened out and lost much of its
interest.
We arrived at the
stellplatz in Darfeld, west of Munster, and the architecture and the
number of people riding those sit-up-and-beg bicycles told us that we
were close to the Dutch border. It was only mid-afternoon so we had
time to investigate the town. This turned out to be fairly
uninteresting with the exception of a schloss (country house) on the
edge of the town. It is a private house so it is not possible to get
too close to it but it is very attractive and its position on a small
island in the river makes it quite unusual. On the edge of the moat
is an old mill that still has its mill wheel.
Darfeld is obviously a
very religious town with large wooden and stone crosses and the stone
sculpted stations of the cross scattered all over the town.
Photos: The schloss in
Darfeld.
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