Dave’s Travel World

Summary

After leaving Cologne I interrupted my InterRail adventure to the Arctic Circle by spending a day exploring the Harz Narrow Gauge Railway.

This page describes:

• the layout and history of the railway system; together with

• my experiences and thoughts, from my arrival in Quedlinburg through to my departure at Wernigerode.

It additionally provides a useful map of the Harz narrow gauge railway network.

For easy reading this post is divided into a number of sections and subsections as detailed in the accompanying ‘Page Contents’ tag.

Each section and subsection can be directly accessed from the tag. Each details a different aspect of my day exploring the Harz Narrow Gauge Railway system.

What’s the Harz Narrow Gauge Railway All About?

An Overview

Today it’s all about narrow gauge railways and steam trains.

The Harz Narrow Gauge Railway system dates back to the end of the nineteenth century and consists of three lines:

The first (the Selke Valley Railway) runs south-westward from the UNESCO listed town of Quedlinburg to Eisfelder Talmuhle, via Stiege.

The second (the Harz Railway) runs north – south from Wernigerode to Nordhausen Nord, via Drei Annen Hohne and Eisfelder Talmuhle.

The third (the Brocken Mountain Railway) ascends Brocken Mountain from Drei Annen Hohne.

In all, the system makes up one of the most extensive narrow gauge railway systems in Germany, if not in the world. The system is connected to the wider ‘full size’ DB rail network at Quedlinburg, Wernigerode and Nordhausen Nord, meaning that it continues to have an essential local community function as well as its more recently acquired role as a tourist attraction.

If you want to visit the Harz area for a few days the nearest airport is located at Hannover. Details of flights to Hannover can be found using the link below:

Find flights to Hannover

What Does The System Look Like?

The Harz Railway Map

The arrangement of the full system is set out in the figure below.

Where Does My Journey Start?

My journey starts from the historic UNESCO town of Quedlinburg and proceeds in a number of stages all the way to Wernigerode, changing trains at Alexisbad, Stiege and Eisfelder Talmuhle.

What is Quedlinburg like?

Quedlinburg is a great place to stay if you are excited by small medieval German towns. It has an extensive historic centre containing over 2,000 ancient half timbered buildings and is one of the few German towns that survived WW2 completely intact.

If you want to find out more about Quedlinburg joining a walking tour of the historic UNESCO centre is a great way to spend an hour or two. More information can be found at:

Find out about walking tours of Quedlinburg

Where Do I Stay in Quedlinburg?

I make the town my base for the first night and I stay at the Hotel Donschatz. This delightful small hotel is located within the historic centre and provides a reasonably priced offer for anyone who just wants somewhere to stay for the night. They have both single and double rooms available.

Explore accommodation options in Quedlinburg

After checking in I take a leisurely stroll through the medieval streets until I come upon the town square. Here I settle down in front of a welcoming inn for a beer or two and watch the world go by.

Some Views of Quedlinberg

Making my way back to the hotel seems a little more difficult than getting here. It’s now dark and the street lights are medievally dim.

Anyway, after several wrong turns I find myself back outside the front door of Hotel Donschatz. All is deadly quiet so I creep up the stairs to bed – Oh, I didn’t mention that there is no lift. A bit of a draw back if you have heavy luggage but you can’t necessarily have ‘medieval’ and full levels of comfort.

My Plans for Exploring the Railway

My Planned Itinerary

Initially, my intention for the day is to travel from Quedlinburg to Wernigerode, via Eisfelder Talmuhle, and to take a side diversion at Drei Annen Hohne to the top of Brocken Mountain. However, I am beaten by a lack of time.

The Reality

In fact, time constraints, combined with a mixture of:

• a lack of Wi-Fi connections;

• nonexistent German language ability;

• the absence of any paper map or timetable; and

• then the loss of charge in my phone

all combine together to result in a very frustrating day.

My problems start before I even board the train in Quedlinburg. Building works at the station mean that accessing the train platform is far from easy.

Inadvertently I misunderstand the instructions from the lady at the booking office and waste 15 minutes wondering around all sides of the station before finding my way to the platform.

Booking Train Tickets to the Harz Area

By the way, if you intend to arrive into the area by train you can find out all you need to know about Deutsche Bahn services to Quedlinburg, Wernigerode and Nordhausen Nord below.

Find out about buying Deutsche Bahn Train Tickets

Changing Trains En-Route is a Nightmare

Once underway, that is where my troubles really start. Trying to fathom out which train is going where at each change point along the journey proves much more difficult than I had anticipated:

What Happens at Alexisabad?

At Alexisbad I need to make my first change of train. I realise, once my arriving train has departed, that I have no idea how long I might have to wait for the next train or where it might actually be heading. To make matters worse, there are no timetables to view anywhere, no signs to see and no one around to ask for help about anything.

On top of all this, I discover that I have no phone signal and there is no internet service available at the station, or anywhere else nearby for that matter.

Eventually, after about an hour’s wait, a train that I think is going to Stiege arrives. Indeed, to my joy, seven stations later we arrive at Stiege.

What Happens at Stiege?

At Siege though, I have to change trains again. The change here seems relatively straight forward, but, after boarding what I decide is the onward train, it departs from the station in the same direction as we arrive.

This convinces me that I have, in fact, boarded the wrong train and I am now on my way back to Alexisbad. I have several ‘Fawlty Towers’ type conversations with other non-English speaking passengers and am completely resigned to arriving back at Alexisbad.

At this point I have the brilliant idea of using the GPS in my phone to follow where we are going. However, I only get as far as establishing that there is still no phone signal before my phone dies from lack of charge. What a disaster – I am obviously completely unprepared to be let loose in the world.

Much to my surprise however we do eventually arrive in Eisfelder Talmuhle, my intended destination.

Surrounded by knowing looks from my fellow travellers I quickly disembark from the train.

Subsequently, after viewing a detailed map of the railway system I realise that Stiege station lies at the start of the branch line to Hasselfelde, rather than on the main line, explaining the reversing actions.

What Happened at Eisfelder Talmuhle ?

At my final train change point, Eisfelder TaImuhle, I am faced with a choice of three different stationary trains, all going different ways and a total lack of information. Somehow, through use of a mixture of hand gestures and poorly pronounced iterations of Wernigerode I eventually depart, with apprehension, on the correct train.

Perhaps the Train is Not for You

If all of the above sounds like too much hassle, and you’re not really excited by steam trains anyway, you could always simply explore the Harz region by car. It has some wonderful scenery and Brocken Mountain is the highest peak in northern Germany.

If you need a rental car you can explore your options below:

Explore local German car rentals here

What have I Learned from this Experience

Ah, all of the above would have been so much easier if I had:

• remembered to charge my phone before setting out;

• perhaps brought an old fashioned paper map with me; and

• even learned a bit of German so as I can communicate with someone occasionally

Relying on Wi-Fi for mapping and translation, a partially charged phone and speaking loudly in English is a recipe for disaster in the remote areas of the Harz Mountains.

What Did I Learn ?

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Tags

#solotravel #budgettravel #travellingoverland #trainsandbuses #over60stravel #harznarrowgaugerailway #harzmountainrailway #thebrockenmountainrailway #harzrailway #Wernigerode #Quedlinburg #BrockenMountain #HarzMountains #harztrains #harznarrowgaugerailwaymap