Germany 2025

While you've been enjoying my posts, and possibly wondering why they were a little more random than usual, I've been on my travels. 

A few months ago, I read that there is a plan to "decarbonise" the Harz Mountain Railway in Germany. This, I assume, means fewer steam engines and more diesels. Now, I'd always had it in mind that this was a line I'd like to visit one day, so perhaps this day was arriving? 

Over the last year, a few events have made me realise that life is short. Perhaps I need to seize the day a bit. Blow a chunk of savings on ticking off a few places I want to visit, and just get stuff done. My trip to Switzerland last year worked well, and I had been pondering taking another with the same company. 

Sadly, the Harz trips didn't work for me with the show calendar, so I dropped Ffestiniog Travel a line and asked what they could do. After a little discussion, a rough itinerary was supplied, along with an invoice. My plan included both the Harz, and, more importantly, the Wuppertal. Riding the Schwebebahn has been on my "bucket list" for decades. All the travel was to be by train, because this is the best way to move around, if not the cheapest. 

Anyway, in a week the plan was Eurostar to Brussels and then on to Aachen for my first night. After that, some more ICE action to Wernigerode for three nights, so allow me to experience the HSB. After that, back on the train to Wuppertal for a couple of nights, followed by a reasonably epic dash back home. 

I'll be honest, I was worried about doing all this. I speak no German, and while the itinerary was very comprehensive, I was on my own, albeit with limited support from the travel office. However, the fact that I'm writing this tells you I made it. And will now bring you some edited highlights over the next few (OK, many) days. 

And in case anyone is wondering why I didn't save cash by booking this all myself, preferring to use an old-fashioned travel agent, it's simple. For a start, I'm not confident about ticking all the boxes. More to the point, left to my own devices, I simply wouldn't get around to it. There's always something more important to do. Let's face it, I felt guilty enough about taking the time off as it was. No, I needed to be able to say, "Get me here, here and here" and have someone who knows what they are doing sort out the details. Which is pretty much how it worked out.