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A Glimpse of Goslar

Grandmère and Elisabeth at the Kaiserpfalz

We wanted to show my mom a bit of Germany, a bit more than our regular routine, so we headed south to Goslar, a town in the Harz mountains.  It was our second visit to the Harz Mountains and Goslar, and our second visit in the clouds.  I have written down some notes about its history and the interesting (and not so interesting) museums we visited, but the part I’ll remember for the longest happened at the end of the day.  We had seen two museums each, separated by a long and very German lunch (a whole post in itself), there wasn’t anything else on our to-do list and the kids found a playground.  I was sure we’d be too cold to play, but the kids were game, so I thought, why not?  I wanted to go back into the town and find some shops to look at but I thought first we could let them play.  
I chatted with Mom, John pushed the kids on the swings, then I convinced Mom and Elisabeth to come with me to the top of the Zwinger tower, a tower that was part of the old wall.  John and Henry had already been up.  It was a steep walk up the stairs, and through a nondescript door, and we were on the roof, looking out over Goslar.  I had just read The Door in the Wall, a children’s book in which part of the action takes place in a castle in England.  The clouds were spilling over the mountains, and I felt like it was straight from the book.  We could hear Henry way down below, laughing and yelling as John played with him.  We went back down again because we were cold, and rejoined the boys on the playground.  
Henry tries on armor at the Zwinger Museum
Elisabeth atop the Zwinger tower, overlooking Goslar
After I watched Mom, John and the kids play hide and seek, Elisabeth somehow managed to convince me to join in.  And perhaps because of the surroundings, I for once joined in whole heartedly.  My first hiding place was behind a giant fallen down tree.  My whole body was hidden just by crouching.  Next I was even more adventurous and I ran up the side of the old wall, which is now grassy and tree covered.  Elisabeth could not see me, but she had peeked while counting (!!) and saw that I had run up high, so she was sure there must be a way up.  I was breathing hard, trying to make sure she didn’t see me.  She missed the moss covered steps and set off further down the hill to find a way up.  Soon we were all scampering around the wall, trying new ways up and down, slipping down the decayed bits of rock.  Just after this picture of the foursome was taken, Elisabeth pushed her way through some juniper bushes, Henry and I following, and we found ourselves, Narnia-like, in a new place.  But this place was a war memorial to the fallen in both world wars.  My playful attitude evaporated as I cautioned the children to avoid stepping on the plaques, to which they were oblivious.  The number of dead was astronomical, but every town and village in France or Germany has one of these memorials, and it always catches me off guard, no matter how many times I’ve seen them.
We returned to our playful world and I realized that I didn’t care so much about finding a shop in Goslar anymore, or finding another museum.  My impression of the town was fixed--it is old and it is fun.  It has obvious attractions and hidden secrets to discover.  We went home a cheerful bunch, and enjoyed finally seeing the sun emerge from behind the heavy clouds as we re-entered Hannover.

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