the Brocken - but only one spectre around

[Mancunian]

I recently noticed in a TR the phrase brocken spectre and was wondering where that phrase comes from. Wikipedia had a clue: Its a translation from the german word Brockengespenst which is actually two words. Brocken is the highest top in the Harz mountains which are situated right in the middle of the northern half of Germany roughly halfway between Berlin and Cologne. Gespenst is nothing else but a spectre, ghost or wraith. The Brocken is notorious for its bad weather and has the highest amount of days with mist and fog in Germany (around 300) so the Brocken spectre phenomena can be experienced quite often. The top would also qualify as a Munro (if it were in Scotland) with its height of 1142m. And because its no further than 250km from my doorstep I thought it would be time for a visit.


IMG_8218 by Mancunian, the Brocken

There are many ways how to get to the top. One could cycle along the road which is closed to public traffic but has a tarmac surface and is not very steep. There are also many tracks through the dense spruce forest but we decided to take the narrow gauge steam train because of the children. Be warned: the train company rips you off. The round-trip ticket cost 32€ per person and thus a family will easily pay around 100€ for the train ride. On the other hand the journey itself is absoluetly fantastic and is very rewarding not only for train enthusiasts.


IMG_8208 by Mancunian, Schierke train station


IMG_8219 by Mancunian, on the way to the top

The top of the Brocken is bare of any trees (just like the munros) and has an almost alpine vegetation. Because of its location right on the inner german border the Brocken was closed during the Cold war and the russians as well as the east german Stasi had listening posts in the buildings on the top. The summit itself was an exclusion area and fenced off. Today the buildings contain a restaurant and a museum. The large antenna is still in use as well as the radar for air traffic control.


IMG_8222 by Mancunian, Antennas and Radar on the top

The view from the top is great in good weather conditions but mostly the Brocken is in the clouds.


IMG_8231 by Mancunian, NE view towards the town of Wernigerode

When we were at the top there was only one little Brocken spectre around


IMG_8237 by Mancunian, my own little Brocken spectre

The wind was so strong that we left after an hour and took the train back down to the station of "Drei-Annen-Hohne" where we had started.


IMG_8245 by Mancunian, the train is waiting for us

We will definitely come back in a few years and walk up which is also rewarding and the proper way to get up a mountain.


IMG_8251 by Mancunian, oncoming train

A last glimpse of the Brocken as seen from the Rappbode Reservoir.


IMG_8385 by Mancunian, on Flickr

[ChrisW]

A nice day out in the hills Mancunian, too far for little legs this time, but to be honest you've got to ride a steam train like that with the kids...they're only young once

Though at £25 you wouldn't want a large family