Halberstadt - Quedlinburg - Sangerhausen, 100 km, 13.9.

The circuit sections until now clinch the Harz mountain like tongs and the last missing section is from Thale to Wippra. I know these regions from earlier tours at the river Selke and Wipper. But let us have a plan: for a last attempt we could deposit the car at Halberstadt, start the tour via Quedlinburg, Thale and Wippra until Sangerhausen and return from there by train.

Once planned the next opportunity will be used for execution. The weather forecast is not so good, cold and showers now and then. But for it is the 13 th may be this is a fortunate day. During the drive to Halberstadt it starts raining and when I arrive a steady rain falls down. We have been some times at this town but have never seen the few remaining older parts. The town was destroyed in the war, but most of the relicts decayed during the DDR-aera when the more "attractive" concrete Plattenbauten were favoured by the authorities and inhabitants as well. I come around a corner and behind the cathedral I find myself in the center of the old part of the town. Some time later I park the car, some rotten houses around, let us hope that they return to life one day.

Gläserner Mönch

I put my raincoat on, fix the handlebar bag and the rucksack and then can start into the rainy morning. I have no city map so must switch on my sense of direction. The brochure about the Harz circuit describes a side tour to Halberstadt, I will try to find this route. And I really find it along the Westerhäuser Strasse near the Spiegelsberge. It is a fine feeling to leave a town on the right route. I cycle in a damp and misty forest. As I reach the southern end of the wood there is a strange illumination: the sky is dark from the rain but at the west there is a bright band at the horizon. And in consequence the rain soon stops.

At the border of the wood I find a sign: Gläserner Mönch, 0.5 km. I am curious about the backgrond of this hint. The secret is a rotten former excursion restaurant with a dance platform, terraces and bungalows, but all in ruins. The skeleton of a Trabbi in the garden contains a big plant of the Herakleum (Herakleum mantegazzianum). This all has seen better times, I think. Nearby there is the memorial place Zwieberge, there had been a concentration camp of the Nazis. The "Gläserner Mönch" is a rock with a nice outlook.

Lane of Sandstone Cave Nr. 11

I continue to Langenstein, an idyllic little hamlet. There is a sign of the remains of a fortification and formerly inhabited caves. The fortification is on the top of a hill and unreachable by bike. But the caves are nearby and I leave the bike behind. I have seen something about these caves in the television. There is a real lane as a plain channel in the soft sandstone. Aside are the cavities, some are connected and combined to several rooms. It is said that the last inhabitants were here at 1916. At one of those caves there is an entrance door and a house number. The age of these artificial caves is unknown. May be the "normal" houses around which are glued to the slopes have secret underground rooms too. Would be well suited for a party room or vine cellar. At some gardens one can see cavities with garden furniture, grill and sun umbrellar.

Thereafter one has to stay to a creek and meadows and soon reaches the next hamlet Börnecke. This looks somewhat rural "behind the mountains". At Westerhausen I pass the Königsstein, which is a group of jagged rocks and reach the main road B6. Then it's a stone throw to Quedlinburg, another world heritage site.

Roofs of Langenstein Market of Quedlinburg

As usual we find ourselves at the market place. Today at Saturday it is market time. Moreover there are various tourist groups, noticeable at their bent necks and a reclaiming person. I buy a sausage (Schinkenkrakauer) and chewing I watch the stone statue named Roland at the corner of the city hall. Around the market place are pretty half timbered houses. There was done much work during the last years to rebuild or restaurate the buildings, which were in decay from the DDR-period. Most famous is the castle hill and the Domschatz, but today there is no time for this. Eventually I look for the railway station to get out of the town.

Behind the rails there is the path to the ruins of the Gersdorfer Burg.

Gersdorfer Burg

I pass the Seweckenberge, a nature reservate with neglected grassland (Magerrasen). The rest of the Gersdorfer Burg is the tower only, nearby is a manor. I crawl in the bushes around the tower in a savaged park. There is an entrance and the door is broken. Behind the broken door however there is a locked grid of steel and let us be sure that this is the better thing for the ruins are rather fragile. So I turn to the next sandwich. We approach the Harz again, the sun is shining now. There is another geological phenomenon: a sharp ridge looks like a tilted layer of rock, a nature reservate too. During the steady climb the outlook gets better and soon we see the fine skyline of Quedlinburg and Halberstadt (The towers of Halberstadt are known to salutate over long distances).

We pass a shooting stand at the left, one can hear that they are busy to fire their guns. Nearby there is a motocross race area. But this is deserted today.

Ballenstedt

We reach Ballenstedt and the park of the castle. And I find myself at the "wrong" side - the backside - of the castle. This is somewhat rotten, but they are at work and the frontside shines in a bright yellow. There is a nice view to the streets of the town but I fail to find the witch-sign here. I find the road to Meisdorf and this is the correct path as well. There is a brand new golf course, 18 holes, the bunkers are filled with sand, the greens are sowed already but the balls do not fly yet. "Golf und Resortplatz Schlosshotel Meisdorf" is to be read at a sign. I dare to make a short trip into the park, there are sites for various open air sport activities like chess, tennis, squash, boccia etc. There is a training site for golfers as well where they exercise for the big "hole in one". At a high fence you can read: "Beware of the flying balls!". As a poor cyclist I do not feel convenient here and after a short round I run out to the freedom again.

Meisdorf Ruins of Monastery Konradsburg

We head on towards the ruin of the monastery Konradsburg. This is located on a hill and I resign to visit the picturesque site. I look for a shortcut to avoid some kilometres of the circuit path. I find the way via the tiny village Burggrund but miss to see the church at Endorf and a peculiar windmill somewhere. Now we come to Neuplatendorf and have to climb again. There is a wide view to the foothills of the easter Harz. Near the horizon we see the cone shaped heap of Sangerhausen already, our destination today. The next villages are Wiesenrode and Ulzingerode and there are nice churches. Just ahead there is a strange building, looks like an ugly apartment building on a hill. But at last it is the ruin of the fortification Arnstein.

The Rammelburg Meadows

The next section is very nice along the valley of the creek Eine. At Alterode I hit on a festival and I have to push my bike just across the fairground. The people look at me as if I were an alien. Soon I leave it all behind, leave the road too and trust on an adventurous path in the valley. Now and then one has to cross a meadow or pass a fallen trunk. While I climb out the end of the valley there is time to calculate about the rest of the day. If I am fast enough I could reach the train from Sangerhausen to Halberstadt, otherwise will have to wait another two hours. We finally reach the National Road B242, which is named "Harzhochstrasse". There is a road-restaurant, and this is named "Rammelburg-Blick". And in fact, beneath there is the castle Rammelburg. We have a height of 320 m now and I rush down, passing the castle without a stop for I will not disturb my arrival-calculation. But from the valley of the Wipper one has to climb out with some sweat. Meanwhile we have a fine sunshine and the route between the meadows is nice. At the famous Kohlenstrasse and a height of 350 m I have really completed the Harz-circuit. Moreover this is the last summit of the entire tour, and so the descent to Sangerhausen is a special pleasure. At last I have 45 minutes for the last 5 km and I think you trust in me that I reach the train in time. At 4.30 pm we leave at Sangerhausen and are back in Halberstadt at 6 pm.

Halberstadt

That's it, let's have a summary, which is to be read out of the previous text as well: