Weekend in Wernigerode

I just got back from visit Erin (a fellow Fulbrighter and my roommate for orientation in Altenberg.) in Wernigerode.  Wernigerode is about an hour away from Braunschweig in the Harz mountains.  I got there Friday afternoon and we wasted no time in setting out to see the castle.

It was a pretty steep hike up the side of the hill, but the view from the top was worth it.  We got there just as the sun was setting and had a beautiful view of the town.

After walking back through the town, we stopped and ate dinner at the "Potato House" which was on Erin's bucket list.  Absolutely delicious.  The next morning, we slept in and made french toast & scrambled eggs for breakfast.  We spent the day sightseeing and shopping in the Altstadt.  I had 2 favorite things we did that day.  They were climbing to the top of the "Our Lady" church tower and seeing the Lustgardens in all their fall glory.  Climbing to the top of the church tower was quite the adventure.  First you went up a tiny, winding staircase, then another winding staircase.  Then you came to a series of ladders through enormous bells and finally to a round room with various doors for balconies. You had a great view of the city as well as the castle.

Other cool things we saw:

• really unique Rathaus with a golden fountain
• the smallest house in Wernigerode
• the oldest house in Wernigerode
• The Brocken (mountain where witches are supposed to live as well as the former border between East and West Germany)
• beautiful fall colors on the mountains
• Cafe Wien

My other favorite thing we saw was the Lustgardens.  They were near the castle and  were so colorful I couldn't stop taking pictures.  If we had more time,  I could have wandered there for hours.

That night Erin made risotto and salad for dinner and it was absolutely delicious!  We watched Hocus Pocus in true Halloween spirit.  Sunday morning, we went to Erin's church (a Baptist church), but had forgotten that German time changed for daylight savings.  We almost left for church an hour early!  Church was really contemporary and all the people were extremely welcoming and nice.  The whole service was in German as well.  After church we had tea and cake during their fellowship hour, a quick lunch at Erin's, and then it was time to leave again.  The weekend went by so fast, partially because I was having such a great time!