The Chillida Leku Museum will soon be open again. An excellent excuse to revisit the author, his home town and his most iconic works.

From logs that “poo” presents to Santa Claus’s evil alter ego who scares children... Did you know that there are lots of different Christmas traditions across Europe? We share many Christmas traditions, but there may be some that you’ve never heard of.

Walpurgis Night – the night of witches or, in German, Walpurgisnacht– is held at the transit from 30 April to 1 May in much of central and northern Europe. May 1 is the feast of St Walpurga, the patron saint of countrywomen and servants, and patroness of conjurers. Legend has it that this is the last time witches can celebrate their heathen festivals after the darkness of winter, and they have the whole night to do so.

One of the most popular sites for this ritual is Brocken, the highest summit in the Harz Mountains (some 50 km from Leipzig, Germany). This peak is often shrouded in dense fog, endowing it with an air of mystery. It even gives rise to an unusual effect known as the Brocken Spectre – an optical illusion that can appear in any fog-clad mountains, by which an enlarged shadow of the observer, surrounded by an iridescent halo, is reflected onto the clouds. The effect is actually created by the diffraction of cloud droplets. This also helped to magnify the legend of the witches in the place mentioned by the German writer, Goethe, at the beginning of his best-known work, Faust, when he describes the scene of the witches’ night celebration on the slopes of the Harz mountains. On Walpurgisnacht, participants assemble at Brocken around a large bonfire and spend the night singing and dancing. The festive ritual is purported to drive off evil spirits. Witches’ night is celebrated at all villages in the Harz Mountains, where the inhabitants dress up as witches and demons, while street markets, fireworks, parades and concerts are organised. Check out the programme listing all the Walpurgis Night activities in Harz.

The Harz Mountains – Following in the Witches’ Footsteps

Accounts from the Harz are not limited to witches. This mountain range in Lower Saxony is an impressive nature reserve featuring some of the really beautiful spots. The mountain trails wind their way between steep cliffs and valleys, ash forests, and networks of villages, palaces and castles dating from the time of the Saxon Dynasty. It is northern Germany’s resort of choice for cross-country skiing and hiking, traversing the natural habitats of the red brocket, deer, lynx and wild boar, as well as the white-throated dipper, black stork and peregrine falcon.

The Harz is criss-crossed by a network of over 8,000 kilometres of well-signposted nature trails, making it a paradise for hikers. While the Harz National Park itself is practically uninhabited, you will come across a few hamlets and restaurants offering genuine, typical German cuisine – the stellar dish of the region is roast potatoes with spices. One of the trekking routes, known as Harzer Hexenstieg (Witches’ Route), is a trail running some 100 kilometres from Osterode, through Brocken, as far as Thale. Halfway along the trail, at a place called Torfhaus, the witches’ trail forks along a stretch known as “Goethe”. Indeed, the poet and playwright walked this same route some 200 years ago.

Fairytale Villages in the Harz Region

The Harz Mountains are also dotted with some charming 16th-century villages, rich in history and legend. Of these, we have highlighted the following:

Goslar. At the foot of the Harz range lies this picturesque medieval town, known as the “Rome of the North”. It was the residence of German kings and emperors until 1253. The historic town and the old Rammelsberg mines, situated on the edge of the town, are listed as World Heritage sites. Also listed by UNESCO is the nearby Upper Harz Water Regale (Oberharzer Wasserregal), one of the world’s largest and most important pre-Industrial Revolution energy-management systems. Its 107 dams and reservoirs and over 300 kilometres of water channels provide a stunning backdrop for the Harz mountain hiking trails.

Wernigerode. This, the nearest town to Brocken is noteworthy for its striking hilltop castle and its medieval houses elaborately adorned with wood carvings.

Thale. Situated in the picturesque Bode Gorge, overlooked by the Hexentanzplatz, a lofty hilltop which can be reached by cable car. Hexentanzplatz, meaning “witches’ dance-floor”, was once a place of worship in Saxon times, sacred to the forest and mountain goddesses. Here you will find various landmarks associated with witches’ legends, in addition to the Walpurgishalle Museum.

Quedlinburg. Just 10 kilometres from Thale lies Quedlinburg, the first capital of Germany and an important town during the Middle Ages. It currently holds the largest concentration of half-timbered buildings in the country. An interesting fact is that this town was ruled by women for 800 years.

You aren’t scared, are you? Come and see it for yourself. Check out our flights here.

Text by Scanner FM

Images by Olli Henze | Σ64 | Mundus Gregorius | GerturdK | Mathias Liebing |  JuTe CLZ | Marco Hamersma

The BMW group is marking its 100th anniversary this year by holding a temporary exhibition showcasing the company’s history, from 1916 up to the present, through a display of 100 “masterpieces”. We travelled to Munich to witness the inauguration of this landmark exhibition. There we learned both the history of this emblematic automaker and of Germany, and retraced its technological evolution over the last century.

The Building

The museum is housed in a futuristic complex called BMW Welt, ideally located near the Olympiapark. The venue not only serves automobile enthusiasts, as it also hosts regular exhibitions on themes related to technology, design and innovation. Designed by the Austrian architect’s studio, Coop Himmelb(l)au, it took four years to build. It was originally slated to open for the final stage of the 2006 World Cup in Germany, but it wasn’t completed in time, and eventually opened a year later. It is a vibrant building as it can be adapted to a variety of uses – it can operate as a market, a communications centre and also a meeting point for the exchange of ideas.

This is a modern building designed to be experienced with the five senses. Here you can see, hear and feel technology and design. It features a permanent auto exhibition, among other content. Prominent, too, is the Junior Campus, a place where children learn how to approach technology in an entertaining and edifying manner.

The Museum

The BMW Museum is a multi-purpose space which features presentations of new BMW car models, among other things. The museum interior is arranged into key sections, namely seven great thematic areas, each set within its own environment and endowed with a distinct aesthetic. On our visit, we learned that the main idea behind the conceptualisation of the museum space was to exploit the carmaker’s history as an expression of its modern, sophisticated character, one in which innovative technology is at the forefront, and design is used to enthral at first sight. However, cars are not the only exhibits here, as you will also see motorcycles and all kinds of technology as applied to motor sports. Also on display is the latest motor invention by the Bavarian automaker.

100 Masterpieces

BMW celebrates its 100th anniversary this month, and one of the main events they are hosting is the show, 100 Masterpieces, a temporary exhibition showcasing the company’s history from 1916 to the present. To this end, 100 works have been selected to exemplify one of the most innovative companies in the world. It is a journey through different periods and the display is spectacular.

The works are displayed within a hemispherical building on five platforms which stand for five specific periods through which the company’s history is presented. As is to be expected, the exhibition starts with the first “masterpiece” of BMW – the founding in 1916 of Bayerische Motoren Werke (Bavarian Motor Works). From here on, the journey through time moves between posters of different eras, each of which closely reflects the corresponding art avant-gardes of those times. The following section is dedicated to the company staff. Here, the focus is on the legion of workers, each of whom played their part in the construction of the German colossus. This section also touches on such aspects of the business as health, architecture, internationalism, production, corporate culture and sustainability. The itinerary is chronological and gradually reveals achievements of all kinds, notably motorbikes like the incredible R35, the near-pioneering R12, the striking K1, the Dakar-winning GS, and the innovative R NineT. And, automobiles – the latest BMW 7 Series, the legendary James Bond Z8, the iconic Mini Cooper, the amazing Isetta, a period trend-setter, and the futuristic i3 and i8. They have all made history at BMW, as has the production of aircraft engines. The exhibition also features a number of milestones in motor racing. We were particularly impressed by the display of rare mock-ups, films and photographs, as well as various preliminary sketches of fantasy prototypes. In all, the exhibition goes far beyond pleasing four-wheel fanatics. It is more of a lesson in history, aesthetics, design and sociology presented in a highly attractive fashion.

Don’t pass up the chance to discover the ins and outs of one of the icons of international motoring. Check out our flights here. The exhibition runs until 30 September 2017.

Text by Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Images by Germany Travel