3-5. OLD MEMORIES

Today we drove into the Harz. In the inn in Halberstadt the international news flew past us on the TV screen while we kept in touch with the world via the net. It had snowed and it was icy cold. We thawed a bit in Braunlage, near the infamous Bloksberg where everywhere whitches were afoot. During the day we crossed several times over what until 1989 was a heavily mined border-zone. Snow was covered the fir-trees and we allowed ourselves a warm night at the youth hostel in Goslar. As a ten-year old girl I was in Goslar with my mom and we stayed at the same youth hostel. Now it was modernized and expanded but still with the historic dining hall from 1938. Down in Goslar all the historic houses appeared to be restored with great pride. Streets and alleys seemed larger than I remembered them, and everything was cleaned and orderly with room for all the tourists - unlike fifty years ago! On the main square Hjalte and I saw the glocken-spiel with figures of modern mine-workers, appearing when the bells rang. Our hostel host was happy with his first electric visitors and made an appointment with Goslar Times for next morning.

Nina