This handsome village is in the western half
of the Hartz National Park in north-central Germany.

A narrow gauge railroad built in the late 1800s
still serves the villages in the Harz Mountains,
which straddle the old border
between East and West Germany.

To watch little movies taken aboard the chugging train,
click on the images below.

Movie #1	Movie #2

Ilka is a veterinary medicine student.

Boris is a carpenter and architect.

Kira the dog joined us as we rode the train
up the highest mountain in the Hartz
(her ticket was half price)
and walked back down to the village of Schierke.

Boris was moving his workshop into new quarters.
His father ran a woodworking shop in Braunlage
for many years and did restoration work on old buildings
in East German towns after reunification.

Boris is a native of Braunlage.
He tries to use local trees and likes to envision
particular pieces of furniture
being produced from particular trees.

This was our little hotel in Braunlage, the Hartzidyl.

Boris and Ilka took us to this monastery in Blackenburg that
has been converted into a conference center and retreat.
In the fine restaurant in this building we ate fish that had
been raised in ponds like the one in the foreground.

Along the narrow gauge train line lies the village of Schierke. Just a kilometer or two from the old East-West border, it was a vacation spot for high ranking GDR officials prior to reunification. Since reunification, some of the hotels in town have (like this one) been abandoned.

Also along the narrow gauge train line is the tiny village of Neuwerk. Gary was born in Newark, Ohio, and we wondered if there could be some connection between the two names.