Harz Mountains Christmas Markets

We had a wonderful trip to the Harz Mountains Christmas Markets. As neither of us knew anything about the area, it was a great benefit to have outings organised for us to see and hear about the area.

The train ride up Brocken Mountain was a real highlight - a pity it was a total white-out at the top, but the views on the way up were very memorable. As usual, we were well looked after by Great Rail Journeys and our Tour Manager was extremely helpful, even organising an extra guided walk for those of us who were interested, which turned out to be most of the group. The hotel provided a wonderful selection of tasty food and the service was excellent.

I recommend this trip to everyone.

A very good tour with snow, steam trains and three varied Christmas markets plus a very competent Tour Manager.

The hotel food and rooms were excellent although the admin of drinks at mealtime could be improved.

It is a Standard class tour and the problem here is the reserved train seats are always occupied with passengers who haven't reserved. It took up to 30 mins to move said passengers and their luggage elsewhere: not a pleasant experience. My next tour will definately be first class travel.

From the off the atmosphere was friendly and jolly as we set off to enjoy the festive atmosphere of northern Germany in the snow. There were blips in the usual efficiency of the german rail network but, with the help of our Tour Manager, Alex, we survived that and got to know each other better.

On arrival at our destination of Hahnenklee the snow was falling and the trees were already looking beautiful in their white coats. The ponds across from the hotel were frozen and surrounded by white tufted fringes. It all boded well. Despite a late arrival there was plenty of hot food awaiting us and the rooms were spacious and warm.

Over the next four days we explored the most picturesque destinations in the area. Goslar, Wernigerode and Quedlinburg all offered up a festive atmosphere with their brightly lit markets, stunning architecture and beautifully decorated shops and cafes. We drank it all in enthusiastically along with hot chocolate topped with cream and gluwein. People were very friendly and welcoming despite our lack of German - but we did try!

The optional trip to the summit of Mount Brocken, the highest point of the Harz, was spectacular. Early on, we wound through the forest where the boughs of the trees were bent heavy with snow, looking like the famous witches of the area. Further up, clearings appeared through which we saw wonderful views of the opposite slopes. At the top we were met by a lunar landscape - the air icily cold but so fresh. Again, a hot meal and a warming glass of gluwein warmed us up enough to venture out to take in the sights - looking down over the valleys. Travelling by steam train in these conditions added to the atmosphere as the pace was slow enough to take it all in.

On our last evening, our Tour Manager organised a torch-lit guided walk around the village and through the woods, ending up in a warm and welcoming bar where we sampled our last gluwein of the trip and reminisced over the past few days. It was the best possible way to end a fantastic holiday.

What a wonderful journey that was. Everything you could wish for: cold, snow, sunshine, comfortable hotel and good company.

The steam engines were wonderful as they effortlessly pulled the train to the top of the Brocken. A tip for this trip is to make use of the buses if the steam railway isn't running, as you get a wonderful view as the road travels almost as high as the Brocken. We used the 265 from Wernigerode to Rubeland to visit the caves and it was well worth doing, only taking up the afternoon. You have to use the bus station near the railway and not the one in town though.

It is also well worth searching out the Henry Moore sculpture - Goslar Warrior - that seems to be abandoned at the Rear of the Kaiser's Palace.

I particularly like the friendship that evolves between all members of the group throughout the time we are together. On all our trips, people have rallied round to help others that might be less able. We were really sorry to see all the others depart their separate ways from St Pancras. People we might have known for less than a week.

Thank you for the opportunity to say how much I enjoyed my recent trip to Wernigerode with Paul in charge. I welcome the chance to say how great it was as the lady next to me in the train wrote a book about the tour and I just said I enjoyed it.

I feel that some people expected a lot more than I did. I was most pleasantly surprised at how good it all was; it was excellent value for money and went very well.

The hotel was very good and was geared to tours. I thought the food was very good, but I have experience of providing bulk catering and I think some people were expecting 5-star treatment.

The trip up the Brocken was amazing fun as the weather at the top was so unutterably foul! I was determined to see the museum at the summit and I achieved this despite fearing I would be blown over.

Quedlinburg and Goslar were also lovely. I liked having a free day and I was able to 'lose' the rest of the tour when I went for dinner so I was very happy.

A really good trip and I'm hoping to go back to the area on my own in the summer.