Love it! Thanks.

marginal_marjiela thanks for your advice I will keep it in mind.
Goslar
Rammelsberg Mine
Goslar was a very old mining town. In fact mining in the area goes back over 3000 years. They mined silver, lead, zinc and copper from deep into the Rammelsberg mountain. We took the mining tour - a journey by little mining train into the mountain. The guide was excellent. Coming as we do from a gold mining historic Australian town and having a geologist son we found the tour very interesting and entertaining. For instance, we came to a cage sitting atop a deep shaft. The guide called for anyone interested in going down the shaft and a half dozen brave tourists stepped forward and were ushered in to the cage and the door of vertical bars closed behind them. The guide reached for a lever above her head, and explained that this shaft that our brave men had entered would plunge a kilometre deep into the mountain once she pulled the lever. While the men were caged they were still in full view for us. It was obvious that they were reconsidering their valor when the guide sounded the warning presumably for places far below and pulled the lever. It was pure theatre. Nothing of course happened and a relieved group of men rejoined us outside the cage!

Goslar Town
The town is ancient and almost totally preserved. A mass of narrow cobblestone streets, lined both sides with beautiful half timbered Patrician and common houses. We stayed in one of these. There are many restaurants, cafes, horse drawn tours, hotels and boutique museums. Mining ceased in 1988 so it is now dependent on the tourist euro. The tourists were many but almost all were German people holidaying.
Our two bedroom historic half timbered house with all amenities cost us 45 euros per night.

The Glockenspiel
The town has an excellent glockenspiel housed in one of the market square buildings. The music is accompanied four times daily by moving figures illustrating various aspects of mining. The square fills with people for each show.

The Hospital of St.Anne
This ancient hospital built in the 15th century to serve the old and poor, only closed in 1978. It is full of beautiful woodwork, religous art treasures and an hour glass that runs for two to indicate to the preacher that he had gone on for long enough.

Finale
That brings to an end my report. I thank everyone for taking the time to read. I am sorry it was so long but it was a long and very enjoyable 7 weeks in Germany.

We came home through Mainz, revisited, and flew home via Singapore to Melbourne. We are currently thinking about another trip. Chile, Argentina, Iberia, France or Eastern Europe. No doubt Fodorites will be invaluable consultants when we again start the planning process.
We wish you good health and touring.
John and Jo Walter

Thank you. I have very bad eyesight, plus blurry vision because I am an alcoholic and am on countless meds. It isn't easy living in the Valley of the Dolls, sweetie darling.

Thin gorjus

Interesting and detailed trip report - glad you had such an enjoyable stay.

Thanks John and Jo for a long and interesting trip report.
I was living in Germany for many years, but there were several places like Beilstein or Potsdam I havent seen yet.
The only thing I could not understand was that you obviously were eating in Italian and Spanish restaurants only. And some even not owned by Italians or Spaniards. I spent 1 week in Sydney several years ago and can remember they had any kind of European restaurants there.
The German cuisine might not be world class, but they have much more to offer than bratwurst and sauerkraut.
And for you winelovers, the wines from Germany like Rheingau Riesling or red one from Assmannshausen can easily compare with good crus of France, Italy or Spain.